How to Make Garden Fresh Salsa

SALSA!!!!! 

There is nothing better than a fresh bowl of salsa made from garden tomatoes. 

 My Mother-in-law taught me how to can beans and tomatoes many years ago. I figured that if I could can tomatoes, I could can salsa because they are similar. I found a couple recipes and started experimenting.

I’ll be the first to tell you that my salsa never turns out the same way twice, even though I have a recipe I “sort of” follow. It is covered with notes and crossed out measurements and ingredients. The final product is usually pretty consistent, and I decided I needed to write this baby down again with all the changes I’ve made over the years.

Salsa can be changed up however you like it, depending on what kind of peppers you have, how many you use, how many limes and garlic you want, etc. This batch came out excellent, so I will try to follow this (more or less) for the next batch. And there will be a next batch, because every time the kids come home, they leave with a jar or 7… Obviously this recipe can be cut down to make a smaller batch.

Here is this year’s recipe – I made a very large batch, as I had a huge amount of tomatoes, and finally got some frozen peppers from a friend – my peppers didn’t do much growing this year.

FRESH GARDEN SALSA

•  20 lbs tomatoes (weighed after they were peeled and cored)
•  4 cups sweet peppers (anaheim/banana/bells)
• 2 cups jalapenos – adjust to your liking. I took some of the seeds out – more seeds=more heat. This will make a “medium heat” salsa. I actually used 4 cups and it was pretty hot.
• 7 onions
• cloves from 2 garlic bulbs, chopped plus 1 tablespoon garlic powder – again, to your liking. I would put in 50 garlic cloves if I didn’t have to peel all of them!
• 1-2 tablespoons cumin
• 1/4 cup salt
• 2/3 cup sugar (optional. I think it helps cut the acidity of the tomatoes a bit)
• 6-7 sliced, squeezed limes
• 2 cups chopped cilantro (optional)

I chop everything very roughly, because I will use the immersion blender on it later. You can also use a food processor or blender, but the immersion blender is SO much easier. If you like very chunky salsa and don’t want to blend it at all, cut your veggies a bit smaller. They will cook down, so they don’t have to be super small.

Start with putting the tomatoes and any juice that comes from them in a large pot and let it start cooking down while you get everything else ready.

Meanwhile, start cutting everything else up and dump in the pot as you cut.

You can see my frozen peppers here, which were actually pretty easy to cut and seed. Remember when you are cutting hot peppers, be sure to wear latex gloves! Trust me on this one…

Gather all your spices and add in. I put in the hot peppers here, but would suggest waiting until later when you have blended everything, and see if you want your salsa hotter. Add Red pepper flakes accordingly, but add them slowly and taste as you go.  As I said, mine came out pretty hot, and I wish I hadn’t added so many pepper flakes. Fear not, we will eat it anyway!

Juice your limes and add. I have this great electric juicer that I really only use during canning season, but it is totally worth it for canning salsa alone.

Okay, margaritas, too…

Let the mixture simmer for about 2-3 hours and then blend if you wish.. Taste and add more peppers or pepper flakes if necessary.

When it gets boiled down to the consistency you want, add the cilantro (optional – I realize it is not an herb loved by all.) Let cook a while longer, then can in a hot water bath for 15 minutes for pints and half pints. This made 23 pints.