Finally, Some Heat!

We finally (!) got a batch of salsa to be hot enough.

For years I have been afraid to use chilis, after a nasty up-close experience with the pain of dealing with them. The Farmer was conscripted to help this year with the salsa prep. He used gloves--smart guy!

We used our Victorio Strainer this year on about 1/3 of the tomatoes, to provide a smoother texture (something that was important to the kids).

All tomatoes, both chopped and put through the strainer, were first disemboweled. Our weapon of choice was a grapefruit spoon. It seems that scooping out the center of the tomato (seeds and all) makes for a thicker salsa (something that is important to all of us).

Here's a photo of the finished results. We're happy!

Here's how the Salsa of 2009 was created:

8 cups of tomato puree, made from Roma tomatoes, disemboweled and put through the strainer

14 cups of Roma tomatoes, disemboweled and chopped

3-4 cups of chopped onions (the food was flying, folks, it was hard to keep up with measuring)

2-1/2 cups of finely chopped chili and jalapeño peppers (use gloves!)

5 cups of chopped assorted color bell peppers

1/2 cup vinegar

1 large can (12 oz.) tomato paste

2 Tbsp. salt

1 Tbsp. garlic powder

1 Tbsp. black pepper

1 Tbsp. oregano

Combine all in large stockpot and heat through. Pour into pint jars and pressure can at 5 lbs. pressure for 15 minutes. (Or use canning method of your choice.)