Determined to can some homemade salsa this year, I grew eight different kinds of peppers in our garden along with onions and 12 different kinds of tomatoes. Finally the tomatoes, peppers and onions are ready. After searching all last summer for my special salsa recipe I broke down and began to search the internet for a good one since time is a wasting with all this nice produce ready to go. After digging
out the crockpot for Sunday's dinner, I discovered another recipe box that I had tucked away with recipes that I hardly ever use. Lo and behold.....I found my salsa recipe! I haven't made salsa in eight years and sitting here now, I know why I haven't made it in eight years. It took me all day to do! The tomatoes have to be blanched in order to peel them. Then they have to be chopped and drained so your salsa isn't too watery. I needed six quarts of tomatoes for this recipe so I figured I had enough after counting 26 tomatoes on the counter. I was wrong. Then, I thought I could chop all the peppers in the food processor, but they had to be chopped by hand so they didn't turn to mush. Onions were chopped by hand too. Mind you, this was six cups of peppers and six cups of onions. The tomatoes have to be cooked down for an hour before adding all the spices and other veggies. By the time all was said and done and the entire house was heated up during a 108 degree day, I managed to can up only seven pints of salsa. The enjoyment of looking at these seven beautiful jars of homemade salsa can be topped by knowing how wonderfully tasty it will be when the snow begins to fly. Opening one of these jars will be like opening a jar of summertime and I will be ever so grateful that I slaved away today. While I was busy in the kitchen all day, the rest of the family split and stacked wood; put the fans on the chickens; and worked on school work. From the sounds of that, I'm glad I was in the kitchen! It's evening now and probably still almost 90 degrees, the bugs are filling the night air with their songs and I am so grateful for air conditioning! I know our Amish friends get by in this heat without any relief and I admire them for it, but I'm not hardy like they are. I sure wish my old friends up in northern Wisconsin could send some cool air our way!
out the crockpot for Sunday's dinner, I discovered another recipe box that I had tucked away with recipes that I hardly ever use. Lo and behold.....I found my salsa recipe! I haven't made salsa in eight years and sitting here now, I know why I haven't made it in eight years. It took me all day to do! The tomatoes have to be blanched in order to peel them. Then they have to be chopped and drained so your salsa isn't too watery. I needed six quarts of tomatoes for this recipe so I figured I had enough after counting 26 tomatoes on the counter. I was wrong. Then, I thought I could chop all the peppers in the food processor, but they had to be chopped by hand so they didn't turn to mush. Onions were chopped by hand too. Mind you, this was six cups of peppers and six cups of onions. The tomatoes have to be cooked down for an hour before adding all the spices and other veggies. By the time all was said and done and the entire house was heated up during a 108 degree day, I managed to can up only seven pints of salsa. The enjoyment of looking at these seven beautiful jars of homemade salsa can be topped by knowing how wonderfully tasty it will be when the snow begins to fly. Opening one of these jars will be like opening a jar of summertime and I will be ever so grateful that I slaved away today. While I was busy in the kitchen all day, the rest of the family split and stacked wood; put the fans on the chickens; and worked on school work. From the sounds of that, I'm glad I was in the kitchen! It's evening now and probably still almost 90 degrees, the bugs are filling the night air with their songs and I am so grateful for air conditioning! I know our Amish friends get by in this heat without any relief and I admire them for it, but I'm not hardy like they are. I sure wish my old friends up in northern Wisconsin could send some cool air our way!
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