Peaches and Salsa of the Zucchini Kind

We are still working on the peaches, canning them as they ripen. Yesterday's yield was six quarts, and we have a bushel left to do. We'll see how many ripened overnight.

These aren't the easiest peaches to can because they're the cling variety, meaning the meat of the peach tends to cling to the seed. So it's a messier process and rather than neat halves we have smaller pieces in most instances. But they taste delicious.

A friend mentioned that he was making zucchini salsa last week and that got me curious. Last year I pureed a lot of zucchini and froze it for use in chili, spaghetti sauce and other dishes. It made a nice addition, kind of a filler with no strong flavor but adding some good veggie content. So salsa? I figured it would be about the same.

And the way I made it, that's pretty much what it was. I admit, I cheated! I used Mrs. Wage's Salsa mix, medium heat instead of my own spices and salt. Mrs. Wage's is easy to use, and the taste is fantastic. With so many fruits and vegetables coming in right now I need all the help I can get. There doesn't seem to be much in the way of chemicals and preservatives in Mrs. Wage's as far as I can tell, and it's sure better than the store-bought salsa any day.

So, for the salsa, I used this combination:

6 sweet banana peppers
2 bell peppers (all I had at the time)
4 onions
6 medium zucchini (about 10-12 inches long)
and a bunch of tomatoes of all kinds--cherry, yellow pear, pink, red, yellow and black--enough to make a total weight of 12 pounds of vegetables.
2 packs of Mrs. Wages and 1 cup of cider vinegar (per package directions)

All the veggies went through the food processor with the shred blade. That left enough larger bits to satisfy me as I like a chunky salsa.

Then cooked according to Mrs Wages, put in jars and processed according to package directions.

How did it taste? Delicious! We ate one whole half-pint jar of it plus the little bit left over after filling the jars.

I will absolutely be making more. And looking forward to having it all winter long--and adding to chili too.

For a recipe that is all from scratch, click here.


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