Harvest Time!

The last 2 weeks have been full of corn and tomatoes.

We pressure canned 32 pints of corn and cut the kernels off of scads and scads of ears to freeze.  I found the directions for both in my Ball Blue Book.  The frozen corn looks great and I can't wait to enjoy the taste of corn on the cob this winter.

I haven't tried the bottled corn yet, but it doesn't look very appetizing.  After spending 55 minutes under pressure it looks pretty beat up and, if I'm being honest, a little brown. I don't think I'll be bottling corn again.

Just a side note: This is what happens when you leave your computer unattended while writing a post.     this is connor speaking. bring me hot chocolate.

Tomatoes and peppers are starting to trickle in. I was able to scrap up enough to make a double batch of Chile Salsa. The direction says to combine all the ingredients and "heat to boil, and simmer 10 minutes."  I don't really understand why the extension office recommends this.  All salsa recipes say to simmer for 10 to 20 minutes. I followed theses directions the first year I made salsa and ended up with jar after jar of thin, watery salsa. 

I cooked this mixture down all day long and got a nice thick, yummy salsa.  As a matter of fact, Chili Salsa is probably the best salsa I've ever made. My only complaint is it's lack of garlic.

P.S. I'm sorry for all the errors in this post. Connor is relentlessly campaigning for the computer, because he wants to play Webkinz. I can't concentrate any more!

This season's 1st batch of salsa

It's early yet for salsa. So I was tickled pink the other day, when I was gifted 10 very ripe tomatoes from our community garden. Because it was such a small amount, I googled "small batch canning recipes" and came across the Fiesta Salsa Small Batch recipe at the Ball site.

Because this salsa was intended for fresh eating, (Note: If I had meant for this salsa to be processed and shelf stable, I would have follow the recipe exactly!) I changed the recipe up a bit. I added about 1/2 an onion and a jalapeno. The recipe calls for 1 tablespoon vinegar, but I added about 3 and I cooked the mixture down for way longer than the recipe called for. I wanted a nice thick dipping salsa.

The results are exactly what we have been craving! Nothing beats homemade salsa!