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.


Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

Salsa!

The garden is full of tomatoes in all states of ripeness. Larry likes to pick them and put them on the table on the deck, which means there is now no place to eat outside. Unless you want to eat tomatoes.

Over the weekend I dug out my salsa recipe and made a batch to can (a jar or two got polished off before they even went into the canner, though!).


The recipe can be varied depending on what you have at hand. I don't like cilantro and I didn't have any tomatillos. I also didn't have enough hot peppers and used canned ones instead. Cheating! but hey, who cares? I'm the one who has to eat it, and the only one likely to know (except of course, the whole blogosphere knows now).


Here's my basic recipe:



Susanna's Salsa

A bunch of very ripe tomatoes, Romas are best, I think ( a peck or maybe more), chopped up (I don't peel them, but you can if you prefer)

3-4 onions, chopped (how many depends on how much you like onions--I used white, but red are nice too)

2 bell peppers (sweet), chopped (can be green, red, purple, or gold--your choice!)

A few cloves of chopped garlic

4-5 fresh chilis (or a 4-oz can of green chilis)

jalapenos to your taste (fresh is best, but I used a 4-oz can)

about 2 tbsp lime juice

about the same of olive oil

and about the same of cider vinegar

1 teaspoon salt (to your taste)

1/3 cup chopped cilantro or parsley (I used parsley)


Combine it all in a bowl and mix well. Put into a blender about 2 cups at a time and BRIEFLY blend (I used the pulse button). Texture should suit your taste. If you like it really chunky, don't blend at all.


Heat just to boiling. Ladle into sterilized jars and seal. Process in a water-bath canner for 5 minutes (bring the water in the canner to a boil, THEN add your jars). I ladle some of the juice out to make the salsa thicker.


That's it. Simple and delicious. You don't have to can the salsa, of course--you can just eat it without cooking it at all. Either way is delicious.