Satisfy My Sweet Tooth Salsa Archives » Satisfy My Sweet Tooth

Aug 25
2011

Green with envy Salsa

I was a little green yesterday. With envy, not with a tummy ache don’t worry. I was talking with a friend who was raving about all of the wonderful produce that her garden has produced this summer and how she has so much she doesn’t know what to do with it. Boy, that’s a tough problem to have, isn’t it? I live in a condo in the city with no outdoor space for a garden, but I can’t wait to someday have tomatoes and herbs growing out of my ears! I think it must be such a wonderful sense of satisfaction and accomplishment to go out to your garden and pick the ingredients for your meals, come inside and wash them and just enjoy the clean, organic splendor of your own produce. Someday sweet teeth, someday.

As for now, I love to support our local farmers’ markets. Last week my mom and I bought all of the ingredients for salsa and spent a few hours of fun in the kitchen. Again, I love that canning gives you the ability to capture the flavors of a season and enjoy them all year long. Do you ever get attached to your ingredients or final products as you are baking or cooking? For example, my imagination went wild while I was treating each tomato for the salsa with care. In my mind, first, my tomatoes got to enjoy a few minutes in the hot tub (blanching them in hot water), then they were submerged in a refreshing pool (ice bath), then I gave their skin a peel (literally peeling the skin off) and massaged the little babies (crushed them with my hands to break them up). I hope my tomatoes enjoyed their day at my spa and I think I have officially divulged way to much information about myself to you!!!

Canned Salsa

by Mercedes Porter

Keywords: snack side vegetarian vegan vegetables

Ingredients (6-7 quarts or 12 pints)

13 pounds tomatoes
3 large onions, diced
6 green peppers, diced
5 jalepeños, diced
10 garlic cloves, minced
juice of 4 limes
2 Tbsp cumin
2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 (12 oz.) can tomato paste
Special Equipment: canner, jars, lids, rings, candy thermometer

Instructions

Clean jars with hot water and boil lids before processing.

Fill large stock pot with water and heat to a boil. Place tomatoes into water and blanch until skins begin to split. Remove tomatoes and place into ice bath. Peel, core and remove any blemishes from blanched tomatoes, then crush tomatoes by hand into large pot that salsa will be cooked in.

Add all other ingredients to pot with tomatoes and stir. Place candy thermometer into mixture and heat on medium until temperature reaches 180º. Once mixture reaches 180°, simmer over medium heat for 10 minutes. Add tomato paste, stir and cook another 10 minutes.

Turn off heat and pour salsa into prepared quart or pint jars. Seal with boiled lids and rings and process in boiling water for 15 minutes.

blanch tomatoes in boiling water until skins split

place blanched tomatoes into ice bath

peel, core and remove blemishes from tomatoes

dice and mince other vegetables

place all ingredients into large pot

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Fish tacos with homemade salsa verde recipe

I love Mexican food, but I do not always enjoy how I feel after eating it. Don’t get me wrong, I love enchiladas smothered in cheese and an authentic sauce once in awhile. But I’m often so miserably full when I am finished that it makes me not want Mexican food for a long time. So when I am craving the spice and flavors of Mexican food, I find lighter versions of my favorite dishes to make at home. I will make a southwest chicken salad with rotisserie chicken, dressing made with salsa and ranch and all of my favorite toppings, chicken tortilla soup or tacos with different fillings. Today, I was craving the light flavors of simply seasoned fish tacos with a quick homemade salsa.

You can add whatever else you like to your salsa, these are just some of my favorite ingredients.