It's Almost Salsa Time!

Many people over the past year have asked me for my salsa recipe. It actually started as my sister-in-law's recipe. I've just tweaked it a little, and tried to 'volumize' the measurements...3 cups instead of 6 medium peppers etc.

Here's what I use:

Tomatoes: 3L
Green Peppers: 1.5 cups (1-2 large)
Garlic: 0.5 heads
Onion: 2.75 cups (2 large)
Jalepeno (Whole): 3 medium
Pickling Salt: 1.5 Tbsp
Vinegar: 0.5 cups
Pepper: 0.5 tsp
Sugar: 6 Tbsp
Cumin: 1 tsp

Here's what I do:

I like to use plum tomatoes because they have less juice and thinner skins. I get them from the farmers market at the corner of Mer Blu and Navan Road. 1 bushes of tomatoes is about 20L.

I wash them, cut the bigger ones in half and throw them into my food processor.

Because I'm not a big fan of super chunky salsa, and am a huge fan of doing things as quickly and easily as possible, I throw all the other veggies in the processor as well. Here are the peppers, not beautiful and uniform, but works for me!

Tea lights seem to help keep the onion juice from my eyes. Oh! and make sure you use gloves if you decide to cut the jalapenos by hand!!!!!

In the pot and ready to boil.

I don't really know how long I boil it. Until everything looks cooked I guess. I don't have the patience to boil off all the liquid, so I usually just scoop the juice of the top. Sometimes I'll throw the juice in a jar to preserve by itself. Makes a tasty sauce to throw over a roast in the crock pot.

Make sure you use a good pan, and/or stir often to avoid it sticking to the bottom and burning.


My canning method is NOT recommended by any of the canning companies, but I know many ladies with many more years of experience who do it this way, and I haven't killed anyone yet, so here's what I do (follow instructions at your own risk).

Wash jars in dishwasher, pop into oven at about 250F, for at least 20 minutes to sterilize. Heat lids in water as per instructions on box. Pour boiling salsa, into hot jar, top with hot lid, and screw on the ring thingy. Set on a towel. Check that it 'popped' before storing. Tada. Done!

Enjoy!

Mornings at Mishewa

We had another GREAT week at Camp Mishewa. This year we especially enjoyed our site right on the water...words can't describe...pictures come close. Here's Mark enjoying a morning coffee; and the moon at night...

An Update on Our Feathered Friends

The baby robins have grown significantly. I snapped this shot May 23.

Ummm, Mom, can I get my own room?!?!

You may remember from one of my previous posts that there was some question as to whether or not a Baltimore Oriole had taken up residence on our property. Today we found the answer.

Isn't amazing how they are able to make their nest hang?!? Good thing we didn't cut down this poplar like we had planned this spring. But it really isn't in a spot where it can grow forever...

As I was typing this post I thought I'd go and take a quick snap of our robin's nest. I hadn't witnessed any feeding times lately, but still frequently saw the robin flying out of the nest as I approached. Well, guess what I found...

No rest for Mamma Robin!!!

And! As we were sitting on the front deck enjoying a tea, I noticed two sparrows approaching a bush in front of me, with worms in their mouths. Devin was pacing, and every time he got close to the bush they would fly away. As he walked away, they would cautiously approach, but never enter the bush. Finally, I asked him to sit for a bit, and sure enough, they quickly dashed into the bush and left, "sans worms." Shannon and I took a quick peak and discovered yet more hungry mouths.


So fun!

And for those of you who also use blogger...do all your pictures land at the top of your post when you upload them, and then you tediously have to drag them to where you want them? or am I doing something wrong?