salsa

It all started last night when I picked boxes of ripe tomatoes from the garden.  Since I had the peppers and onions on hand, I thought I'd better pick them too and make salsa today.  It was an all day project!  I found a new recipe on Allrecipes that I tried first.  It turned out a little too mild for me, so marked those jars "mild" with the name of the recipe, and on to the next batch.  This one a tried and true recipe from years back.  I chopped and chopped the afternoon away, and finally poured the last jar this evening.  It does cook down some from when you start, but I like to strain off some of the juice, and seal that in jars.  This makes the salsa thicker, plus I really like the flavor  the juice gives chili.  I just add a jar of juice to my browned hamburger, a can of tomato sauce for some color, open some cans of beans, and mix it all together.  Nice flavor, and super easy.

Since the first batch of salsa was too tame, I tasted and tasted the big second batch.  Twice I went back out to the garden for more jalapenos, and hope the final tasting was right, and it now has a medium "kick" to it.  

The salsa is now done for the year.  I have a few tomatoes still in the box that weren't quite as red as I'd like, so will can them in a few days for soups and such.  Tomorrow I will once again be canning, pears this time.  I have 2 boxes that are ready to go.  yum!

The end is in sight for harvest!  woohoo!  They moved over north of Nashua this evening to get the patches that were too green a few weeks ago.  Once they finish there and move back home, hopefully the last of the green stuff will be ready to go here.  It has been a loooonngg harvest - since the middle of July.  Everyone is more than ready for a break, but thankful for the crop God has blessed us with.