This past Tuesday, my friend Jessica and I got together for a salsa canning party! Our little ones played/crawled around our feet as we went about putting up 22 jars of salsa. Now, we had already canned salsa at our September Canning Club meeting, and it had turned out great. We, however, didn't yet have access to the recipe we'd used in class, so for our own endeavor, we used this recipe.

Though John claims it is "the best salsa outside of a restaurant" he's ever tasted, I found it only okay. Now, let it be said that that is probably not the fault of the recipe. The recipe calls for 10-12 peppers and doesn't really specify which ones to use. We used a combination of bell peppers and habaneros because that's what I'd just harvested from the garden. I think that the citrus, sweet taste of the habaneros lent a sweet and spicy flavor to the salsa that seemed a bit odd to me.

At last night's October Canning Club meeting, I got my recipe book in.

This means that I now have access to the salsa recipe we used in class. Next year, I'll plan to can a bunch of it using these ingredients:

7 quarts peeled, cored, chopped Roma tomatoes

4 c. seeded chopped long green chiles

5 c. chopped onion

1/2 c. seeded, finely chopped jalapeno peppers (wear gloves when cutting up peppers ;)

6 cloves garlic, finely chopped (maybe more -- I love garlic!)

2 c. bottled lemon or lime juice

2 Tbs. salt

1 Tbs. black pepper

2 Tbs. ground cumin

2 Tbs. fresh cilantro, chopped (maybe more -- I love cilantro!)

Directions:

If you like a more processed Mexican-restaurant-style salsa (like I do), be sure all your veggies have been pulsed in a food processor to the desired consistency. Combine all ingredients except cumin and cilantro in a large pot and heat until boiling. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Add spices and simmer another 20 minutes. Fill hot jars with salsa, leaving 1/2" headspace. Remove air bubbles. Wipe rims of jars. Add lids and rings. Process for 15 minutes in a boiling water bath.

Yummm!