Ready For More

More canning that is!  I did my first batch of salsa for the year yesterday.  I ended up with six quarts.  I tried a new recipe and I think it's going to be good!  Since I'm going to make a lot more, I'm going to try a couple different recipes I've found and see which one we like best.  It didn't take as long as I thought it would either.  The kids were really good and after the tomatoes were peeled and chopped, I used my new food processor for the garlic, onions and peppers.  The pulse feature is perfect!  I was afraid it might turn everything into mush but it chopped everything nicely.  Using it was a huge time saver!   I might do some applesauce this year too.  Last year I did apple butter, which was really good, but we go through tons of applesauce here so I thought I'd give it a whirl.

Mmmm.....Fresh Salsa!

Last weekend, our friends, Jeff and Teresa, were here and we were talking about canning.  I mentioned that I couldn't wait to start canning salsa and they said they preferred fresh salsa.  I do too, but I also like canning it so when we get a craving, it's there.  After we talked about it though, I started the fresh salsa and had to make some.  I don't have a recipe, I just throw a few things together and it usually turns out pretty good.  Here's todays (approximate) version:

5 tomatoes - diced

2 jalapenos - finely chopped (we like it HOT so I leave all seeds/membrane in)

1 Serrano pepper - finely chopped

1 white onion - diced

3-ish Tbsp cilantro - finely chopped

4 cloves garlic - finely chopped

Lime juice

It turned out garlicky and with a nice medium heat.  Even though it made a pretty big bowl, I don't think it's going to last long :)