Chunky Tomato Salsa

My favorite thing to can is salsa. I can’t get enough of the delicious smell as it wafts from the kitchen and into the rest of the house. And I’m all about being steadily employed in the kitchen. Yes, there can be a lot of wait time when you’re boiling down your tomatoes, but there are also more vegetables and herbs that need to be prepared as well.

There’s a lot more love and a lot more room for creativity in salsa. Do you like it spicy, or do you like it sweet? Do you want it chunky or smooth? Do you have a lot of tomatoes or a lot of corn? Do you have other veggies you want to try in it, such as zucchini? You can give salsa as a great thank you gift, or part of a gift basket, or you can keep it all to yourself, or serve it at parties. (TIP: You can also pack it up and send it over in a care package to those deployed guys. If you package it right, you can get a bag of chips and a jar safely through military mail.) However you choose to make it or use it, it’s great to know you have some jars on hand.

This particular recipe is a favorite in the Blue Shoes household. Although I may have made this last batch a tad too spicy for my hubby… we will see what he thinks when he gets home. It does take a bit of time for the boiling down so make sure you have cleared out at least a full evening or half of a weekend day for whipping up this tasty treat.

Chunky Tomato Salsa
Makes 4-5 regular mouth pints or 3-4 wide mouth pints

Ingredients

• 8 lbs ripe red tomatoes
• 2 cups yellow onions, chopped
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, snipped
• 1/2 cup lime juice
• 1/2 cup distilled white vinegar
• 1/3 cup tomato paste
• 5 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 cups seeded and chopped fresh chile peppers (or use whatever kinds of peppers you like, and keep seeds in or out for varying levels of heat)
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp coarsely ground black pepper

1. Peel tomatoes. The best way to peel tomatoes is to bring a pot of water to boil. Lightly slice an x shape on the bottom of each tomato, just enough to crack the skin. Place tomatoes in the boiling water for about 30 seconds or until skin is peeling away (time may be slightly less or slightly more depending on the size and ripeness of your tomatoes). Scoop them out of the water using a handheld mesh strainer. Don’t use tongs as too much pressure may burst the hot tomato.
2. Seed, core, and coarsely chop tomatoes. (This part is really messy so don’t even bother trying to keep it clean.) Place chopped tomatoes in a large colander; set aside and let drain for 30 minutes.
3. Transfer drained tomatoes to an 8- or 10-quart stainless steel or nonstick heavy pot. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Boil gently, uncovered, for 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until thickened, stirring occasionally.
4. Stir in onions, cilantro, lime juice, vinegar, tomato paste, garlic, peppers, salt, cumin, and black pepper. Return mixture to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes.
5. Ladle hot salsa into hot sterilized pint jars. Leave a 1/2 inch headspace. Wipe jar rims; adjust lids and screw bands.
6. Process filled jars in a boiling-water canner for 15 minutes (timing starts when water returns to boiling). Remove jars from canner and cool on wire racks with one inch of space in between jars for at least 12 hours.

A properly sealed jar of salsa has a long shelf life, and the heat/flavors of the ingredients will get stronger over time. Serve with corn tortilla chips. Yum!

EXTRA #1: Try mixing up the texture by using heirloom tomatoes instead of regular red vine tomatoes.

EXTRA #2: Roast your garlic and make it extra garlic-y (slice off the top third of a garlic head, place the bottom half on a piece of tin foil and drizzle with olive oil, salt and paper, replace the top third, seal the tin foil and roast at 400*F for 30 minutes. Mash it with a fork.)

Perfect Guacamole

Guacamole… My favorite thing to make for game days, summer parties and barbecues, or just to enjoy while hanging out. I love trying guac at restaurants to help improve my recipe (especially if they make it right there in front of you!). My hubby always gobbles up this guac right away so I have to be quick if I want to get any for myself.

Some days my taste varies and I add more heat, or more salt, or more onion. It’s whatever your taste buds are looking for, so don’t be afraid to add or take away ingredients from the below recipe.

Guacamole
serves 2 to 4 people… maybe… 😉

• 3 ripe avocados
• 1/2 small red onion, chopped (about 1/4 cup)
• 1 to 2 chili peppers (seeded & diced, or add more heat by using the seeds as well)
• 2 Tbsp cilantro, finely chopped
• 1 Tbsp fresh lime or lemon juice
• Sea salt & ground black pepper to taste
• 1 small tomato, seeded and chopped

1. Cut avocados in half, remove the pits, and scoop the avocado from its skin. If you eat a lot of avocado, you might own a pitter to make this easier. Don’t have an avocado pitter? Check out my trick below!
2. Using a fork, mash it! Don’t go overboard, you want it to be somewhat chunky. Some of the chunkiness will go away as you stir in the rest of the ingredients.
3. Add the onion, peppers, cilantro, lime juice, salt and pepper and mix. Refrigerate this mixture until you are ready to serve.
4. Do not chop or add the tomato until you are ready to serve. You want the tomato to stay fresh tasting!
5. Serve with your favorite tortilla chips when ready to eat!
6. If you do not eat all your guac in one sitting like we do, you can store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days. Your tomato won’t be as fresh, but it still tastes pretty good.

Other types of ingredients you could add include Worcestershire sauce (adding too much could make it more of a liquid than a chunky dip), garlic, or other types of peppers.

My Avocado De-Pitting Trick:
Using a chef’s knife, slice the avocado all the way around following the pit with your knife. Pull the halves apart. Pick up the half with the pit, and being VERY CAREFUL not to cut yourself, hit the pit with the knife blade so as to get it stuck (kind of like how you might first hit a watermelon). The knife should lodge itself in the pit. Twist/flick your wrist quickly to wiggle the pit loose. Sometimes the pit will stick to the knife; if this happens, just tap your knife against a hard surface.

This is a refined trick and there is a fine balance between hitting the pit too hard and hitting it too soft. Please be very careful not to hurt yourself and definitely do not let children do this trick!

Roast Corn Salsa

Now’s not necessarily the season for canning, unless you just finished harvesting your winter crops! But this salsa is one I’m just finishing off the last jar of from last year’s canning, and it’s just too good not to share! If you’re having a party, you could make it to eat immediately with plenty to share (although you might want to reduce the quantities). It will last about a week in the refrigerator.

Roast Corn Salsa
Makes 5 pint jars

• 8 ears corn (about 3 cups kernels)
• 3 large chili peppers
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 5 cups chopped tomatoes (about 3 pounds)
• 1 cup chopped red onion
• 1-1/2 cups cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup lime juice
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1-1/2 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp coriander seeds
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
• Salt & Pepper to taste
• 1 cup fresh cilantro, chopped