As Promised, A Salsa Story

This year I grew a very tiny garden with only four tomato plants. I also grew bell & jalapeno peppers. I knew that I wanted to make salsa.

Since my tomatoes were ripening at different times, I used the peeling method I learned from The Mrs Volfie at Our Half Acre Homestead.

As each tomato ripened, I put it into my freezer.  On Saturday I peeled them all using the method in the video above.

I then had a big pot of peeled, frozen tomatoes.  I cut them up with a knife into chunks as they thawed and kept draining the excess water from the pot.

I then added bell peppers, jalapeno peppers, yellow and red onions and some cilantro paste.  A tablespoon of pickling salt and a squirt of lime juice.  I brought it to a boil and let it simmer for 15 minutes to further thicken the salsa.  This is a 10L pot.

I prepared my jars by washing them and got my lids ready in hot water.  The tall canner you see on the stove is for pressure or steam canning but in this case I use it as a water-bath canner.  I fill it with water and let it heat up to get ready.

Once the jars are filled and the lids are on, I put them in the water and let it boil for 15 minutes.  For this to work, the jars need to be covered by at least an inch of water.

I removed them one by one with the special jar lifter.  They need to cool on a low heat-conductive surface like my wooden cutting board.  As the salsa cools down, each lid will 'pop' and demonstrate that a vacuum seal has been created.  This prevents any bacteria getting into the jar and allows you to store at room temperature in the cupboard.  Just like store-bought salsa.

Final yield, 7 one-litre jars of salsa and one tiny 'leftovers' jar to go in the fridge.  Its delicious and I know its good because I made it myself.  The whole project took be 15 minutes of peeling, then I waited a few hours for the tomatoes to thaw, then did the prep and canning in about an hour.

I really enjoy this stuff and is saves money too.  The ROI is hard to calculate since so much of the contents came from my garden.

If you're interested in learning more about canning, I recommend The Mrs. Volfie on YouTube.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

This year I was invited to a turkey thanksgiving supper yesterday and I'm hosting a big family meal today (I'm making a slow cooker pot roast).  We have lots to be thankful for and I wanted to write about one of the big reasons for the holiday, the completion of the harvest and celebrating the bounty of the land.

This year, I put in a ridiculously small garden.  I planted peppers, two cucumber vines, four tomato plants.  Here's what I ended up with:

• Many meals garnished with fresh veggies I grew
• 12 500ml jars of bread and butter pickles
• 5 500ml jars of dill pickles
• 7 250ml jars of delicious relish
• 7 1000ml jars of salsa (post with pics coming tomorrow)

Of course I added some onions and and other marginal ingredients but essentially I got all these preserves by making sure I watered the garden every second day.  The effort was quite small.  I also took the time to gather some free food which either grows wild in my neighbourhood or was offered to me.  I used this free rhubarb and crab apples to produce:

• 7 125ml jars of strawberry/rhubarb jam
• A dozen 500ml jars of preserved crab apples in light syrup
• Several jars of crab apple jelly totalling 4L.

I know that home canning/preserving isn't for everyone but I enjoy doing it and I like knowing what's in the food that I give to the kids.  Of course, being productive in the kitchen could also help lure a potential future wife onto the scene.

Just remember, growing your own food is like printing your own money.

Enjoy the long weekend.