Best Canned Salsa Ever

Roma tomatoes, I read, are the best for making salsa.  So I grew hundreds of them!  We like our salsa.  What makes this canning recipe unique is the flavour that comes from broiling both the tomatoes and the hot peppers- it gives them roasted yumminess.  It's also a great way (over poaching) to get the skin off your veggies, and do you ever pack a lot of veggies into this recipe.

Ingredients:

~7  cups of tomatoes chopped
(slice off top to make flat and place in rows on baking sheet, broil on high until skin starts to peel away)
~5-6 peppers diced broiled peppers (I used Crimson Reds, but you could use Anaheims's or other big ones)
(also broil on baking sheet until blackened, skin will peel away, remove stem, veins and seeds)
~3 Jalapeno peppers
(not broiled, remove stem, veins, seeds and dice)
~1 1/2 cup of diced onion
~3 cloves of minced garlic
~1 cup of apple cider vinegar (the vinegar makes it safe/acidic for canning)
~1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
~1 tsp of cumin
~2 tsp of dried oregano
~2 tsp of salt
~2-3 tsp of sugar

Directions:

Prepare all ingredients and combine in a large pot.  Bring to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes. Place in sterilized jars (in boiling water for 10 minutes and handled with tongs).  Fill to 1 cm from top and wipe rims with clean cloth.  Prepare covers by sterilizing as with jars.  After lids have been secured, put jars filled with salsa in bath, water covering jars by 1".  Boil for 15 minutes.  When you remove, you should hear the "ping" sound of the canning process working.

Canning truly is not a scary or overly laboursome project.  There are many great websites to walk you through the stages.  Best of all, it allows you to enjoy the harvest of your garden throughout the year.  I love opening a jar of fresh salsa in February.  Happy salsa making!

Hot Pepper Relish

There's a whole lot of hot happening in my garden; it's truly a Mexican fiesta!  Here is a recipe for hot pepper relish that I am canning.  The red and green complementary colours are stunning in the pot and the sweet offset to the spice is tasty on the buds.  It makes me want to eat a dozen hot dogs:)

Ingredients:

6 medium sweet onions
10 crimson hot red peppers
20 jalapeno peppers
1 tbsp of salt
boiling water
2 1/2 cups of cider vinegar
2 1/2 cups of sugar
1 tsp of turmeric

Directions:

Use a food processor to chop or dice by hand the onions and the peppers.  Caution with handling hot peppers.  All the spice is in the seeds and the membrane, which should be removed.  Put in a large pot, add salt, cover with boiling water, and let stand for 10 minutes.  Drain, discarding the water.  Return pepper and onions to large pot, add vinegar, sugar, turmeric and boil for 20 minutes.  Ladle into prepared jars (7 pint size jars).  Tap jars to remove air, wipe clean the rims and adjust lids.  Process in boiling water for 15 minutes.  Remove and let cool.  Listen for the "ping" to know that you're canning process worked.  Enjoy!