Salsa-licious

That's a funny title, makes my kids laugh.  Salsa-licious!  And this is a funny post because I haven't tasted it yet!!  It's too spicy - would be dangerous.  But, this salsa wins because it isn't salsa-soup - it's beautiful, lovely - so it wins.

Ruby, my expert tomato-dipper.

My sweet, beloved friend Jess H gave me this recipe.  She makes it every year.  We laugh, because we both like adaptable recipes.  It is essential that substitutions can be made.  We have too many kids to go to the grocery store just because we want to make salsa!!  Substitute freely!!

Salsa

5 gallon bucket of tomatoes (who cares what kind!)  Peel, core and quarter after doing the hot-water-dip-trick.  Jess says you needn't quarter - just squeeze them with your hand as you plop them in the giant pot.  To reduce wetness of salsa, consider squeezing the tomatoes a bit for extra seeds and juice to go into your chicken bowl (oh, this is a compost bowl - my chickens love tomatoes).  Start the tomatoes cooking on low/med heat while you get busy chopping the rest:

6 banana peppers

4-6 green peppers

4-5 medium onions

garlic

cilantro

hot peppers to taste

Add above to tomatoes and stir well.

I used the "garden" method of picking every ready pepper in my garden, donning gloves and chopping them ALL up.  Hence the too-spicy for anyone but husband results.  Jess says hers is always "mild".  That's how I'll do the next batch so the rest of us can also munch.   

  

Before the tomatoes boil, carefully spoon out about 1 C of liquid into a bowl so that you can stir in

1 C cornstarch

1 C apple cider (or white) vinegar

1/2 C sugar

2 T salt

If your reserved liquid is too hot, you'll get lumps.  (I prefer to have less liquid in my salsa, not more, so you don't want to add water just so you can dissolve the cornstarch.)  Stir, stir, stir as you add the cornstarch mixture to your big pot and watch it thicken!!  Woo-hoo!!

Now for the illegal part.  Do not tell the FDA.  Quick, heat up another pot with water enough for a quart jar (or whatever kind you'll use) to lay down in and be submerged.  Get a cute, helpful girl (at least 7 1/2 years old, per Ruby) to help you with that fun magnet wand that retrieves the canning lids from the hot water.  Submerge your first jar and lid (being careful not to splash the cute girl perched on the stool nearby).  Fill your hot jar with your hot salsa, put on the hot lid, screw on the ring, place the jar upside down on your counter for a beautiful display of salsa.  Leave it alone until tomorrow, it will be all sealed and ready for winter-time munchings!!  This made 11 quarts for me - I used about 5 gallons of tomatoes and about 1 gallon bag of hot peppers and 3 green peppers.