Today I had intended to share a story about a long lost wandering soul who has recently returned to the bosom of the the family here in the little green cottage. It seems though, that I am still ferreting out the details of this epic tale and will have to save it for another time.So today you get tomatoes. A great big heaping helping of tomatoes!
Did I say BIG?2011 turned out to be a pretty good year for the tomatoes, the best we've had in about 3 - 4 years. That last little burst of hot weather kicked it into full gear. Of course even with sharing some with neighbors and eating plenty ourselves, we still had a small mountain of them.
So...on one of the hottest days of the year, in a very steamy and also very tiny kitchen, I began to blanch and peel and prep.
Normally I would can the whole toms, or turn them into a basic sauce, but this year I decided on Salsa!In the pot went: onions, garlic, sweet peppers from the garden, jalapeños, cilantro, cumin, pickling salt, sugar (just a pinch), and a combo of red wine vinegar and cider vinegar.
It cooked down just gorgeous! Now we are set with salsa for many months to come. I love putting up food (ok I didn't love how hot it was, or how my fingers were made raw with all the prep, but it's totally satisfying and worth it!)
I'll be back on Friday with a happy how-to! See you then.
17 comments:
That looks delicious! Unfortunately our dog Olive keeps on eating our tomatoes straight from the plants! I think a new fence is in order...
Salsa is one of those foods I can't live without. Growing up I promised myself that I would always have salsa and chips in my house.
The promise should have included homemade salsa lol. It looks delicious.
Oh yummy! I made a lot of fresh salsa when our cherry tomatoes were going crazy, but so far the 'putting up' prize has to go to Ben, as usual. He has jarred tomatoes whole, made a tomato sauce and preserved it for the winter, and, of course, made soup for freezing. (And I, naughtily, discovered that my favourite soup recipe can be made without skinning the tomatoes! Hurray!)
Think our tomato crop has been the worse ever this year, lots of green ones though.
Carol xx
Your salsa looks yummy.
That is one big tomato in your hand.
I see that I am not alone in my love of Salsa!
Cow Road - we had to build a new fence to keep our chickens from eating up the whole garden.
Floss - Wow, good on Ben!
what a monster, looks like delicious salsa. A harvest to be proud of.
Those tomatoes look absolutely delicious!! The finished product does too - YUM!!
My stomach is growling. I love salsa. I love the *idea* of putting up food, but I never seem to find the motivation to do it. (My grandmother would be so disappointed in me, ha!)
Oh my goodness what a bumper crop!! ..and that salsa looks awesome, yum!
what a beautiful huge harvest! can't wait for to do the salsa tomorrow xo
It's funny, because last weekend I was taking care of my brother and he asked if I could make some salsa from the tomatoes and such from the garden. I told him "hell no, I'm not doing that!" along with a look of complete disbelief at such a suggestion. I should've just sent him your way!
See Chris - that's the difference between you and me...
the only difference, otherwise you're my total doppelganger!
utterly fantastic! there is something so amazing about having made jars of yummyness, when you have grown all the veg first!!
Lovely tomatoes and gleaming jars! It does make for a steamy job on those hot days, but so worth the effort. I also have been busy with 'putting up' and dreaming of the warm things to come on those miserable, rainy NW days in our future. - I have a feeling about who it might be that has come back to the green cottage...can't wait! xo
Yummy colors, these tomatoes look so delicious!
This was not a so hot Summer here where I live so, no much in my veggie garden. I love that huge tomato and all you preserved!
Those tomatoes look pretty incredible! Congrats on the massive harvest. :)
Post a Comment