The following recipe is my adaptation of a number of ‘tries’ at making salsa.  This one has a teeny kick to it.  If you like a great big kick, taste it once it has been simmering for about an hour.  If it isn’t hot enough, add another pepper and continue cooking for another hour.

I am giving you a recipe for a small batch.  This won’t take you more than a couple of hours to produce and you will end up with half a dozen jars.

I often say, for this kind of a recipe, if you are in the mess, go for it.  Triple it or quadruple it.  You will most certainly want reinforcements if you jump into the bigger operation.  I had  two loved ones and we could have done with a couple more and a few more hours.

But it got done and it’s delicious.

60 roma tomatoes peeled and seeded

1- 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes

3 large cooking onions

2 green peppers

2 red peppers

5  celery stalks

**11/2 or 2 Jalapeno peppers, seeds removed  (depending on how hot you like your salsa.  We like a kick but not so hot it burns the mouth.  For my palate 1 1/2 is good) You can also add the really hot peppers but we find that the jalapeno peppers work well.

**LISTEN UP– always handle the above peppers with care.  Wear surgical gloves (either latex or plastic)  Let me know if you need some because I had to buy a box of 100.  Happy to share.  Surgical gloves are quite appropriate because you need to pretend you are a surgeon.  I have a healthy fear of hot peppers and I don’t fear much when it comes to kitchen work.  Cut into small pieces and when you have added them to your other ingredients to be chopped in the food processor, wash the cutting board carefully.  My first year making this salsa I laughed about the necessity to handle peppers with care.  I had no cuts and I was careful not to splash or squirt into my eye.  I did not realize however, that fingers have pores that will happily soak up bits of juice.  You have all had an experience with lemon juice I presume.  Believe me.  If you get hot pepper juice in the pores of your fingers you will not do it twice.  It feels like a burn.  Like a serious burn.  Just no blisters to show for the pain.  Have I scared you?  Good!!!

Carry on!!

1/2 cup vinegar

2 tsp. salt-2 tsp. pepper

3 large cloves of garlic

3 TBLSP. chili powder

2 cups fresh cilantro

1 handful fresh basil

1/4 cup sugar

* sterilize 6 –  500 ml jars in hot soapy water or in your dishwasher.  You may notice that not all of my jars are 500 ml.  I keep jars over the course of the year, that I think would make good salsa jars.  Feel free.  You just need to be sure the lids have perfect rubber.

* put flat tops in pan of water on the stove and turn heat to lowest temperature.  I re use lids from one year to the next but this is tricky.  The lids need to be in perfect condition with not even a spec of anything sticking to the rubber part.  This is what makes the top SEAL.

*Set clean jars aside, upside down on a clean tea towel until ready to use.

*boil a kettle full of water or a pot of water

*Cut a small X in the top end (not the stem end) of each tomato and place in a large bowl.  Cover with boiling water.  Allow to sit for two minutes and then remove tomatoes one at a time.  Yes, the water is hot but I have been doing this for years and still have my fingers (no scars) if you cannot touch the water use a paring knife to take each tomato out of the water.

Run it for a second under cold water (but don’t let it get cold) so you can handle it and remove skin.  Cut tomato in half and take out the seeds.  You will be left with just the shell of the tomato.  This is what you want for your salsa.

Put these pieces in another bowl.  When your bowl is full, dump into your large pot.

**IMPORTANT!  Do you have a heavy gage stainless steel pot.  If not why not?  Take yourself to Caynes superstore or even Costco or the Bay.  A good one is not cheap but you will have it for the rest of your life.  Once you have used a good pot you will never do without one.  Yes, you can use a light weight stock pot but you will need to stir constantly so that your mixture (whether it is tomatoes or anything else) does not stick to the bottom.  If you have sticking, you have burning.  If you have burning, you have burnt flavour and that is not a good thing.  I use my stock pot for making soup, broth, canning and lots of other cooking.  If you plan to make just the amount I am giving you here, a smaller pot will work but try to use a heavy stainless steel one.

The hard part is done!

Now for the fun part!

chop vegetables in food processor. Cut peppers into 8 pieces and celery into 8 or 10 pieces. Do not make them mush but chop fine.  It is not essential to have a food processor.  A knife and a cutting board will work too.  I was telling my helpers the other night, that in years gone by, all of this chopping for canning was done by hand.  No electric choppers.  My helpers were quite incredulous.

you can do the chopping in batches and after each, add mixture to pot that is being filled with tomatoes.

Combine all ingredients in pot

Bring to boil and then simmer for at least 1 hour until it begins to thicken.  Continue to stir.

MORE COOKING IS BETTER THAN LESS AS LONG AS YOU STIR SO THAT THE MIXTURE DOES NOT STICK TO THE BOTTOM OF THE POT!!!

You can leave your salsa in this form or you can blend in a blender or use a hand held blender to puree it further.

If you feel it should be a bit thicker you can add a can of tomato paste

When nearing the end of the cooking time, turn oven on to 400 degrees.  place clean jars in oven on a cookie sheet. and turn oven back to 300 degrees.  Remove jars two or three at a time and place on a second cookie sheet.  Using a pyrex measuring cup dip salsa out of pot and pour into jars.  Fill to 1/2 inch from top.  Do only two at a time.

**IMPORTANT–With a damp cloth, wipe top edge of jar to be sure there are no tiny bits of tomato or vegetables on the jar.  Make sure it is COMPLETELY CLEAN.

Top with lids that have been resting in saucepan of hot water.  Tighten ring around the lid and set jar on clean T Towel

continue process until your salsa is gone from the pot and is in the jars.

NANO always says

“Never touch the top of the jar until it has sealed.”

NOW, comes the really fun part!!  This is Nano’s favorite (besides eating the fruit of her labour)  The popping of the lids as they seal.  She loves it and I love it.  Throughout the day or evening or whenever you actually make your salsa, as it cools inside the jars, they seal.

Pop, Pop, Pop

The Sound of Success!!

Store in a cool place and enjoy for months to come.