Canning Salsa

As the abundance from the garden begins to roll in, I have become obsessed with preserving our harvest. Watching it grow, picking it, washing it, finding a place to put it, and then wondering... 

"What the heck am I going to do with all this food?" 

I can't just throw it away. Garden produce tastes too good, far superior to the washed-out, bland, old, tired food at the grocery store. Fresh vegetables nearly explode with flavor. As a card-carrying tightwad, I can't let good food be wasted. As a good Catholic, it's sinful that I should have such abundance and not make good use of it. And with a jobless husband, it just smacks of tempting fate. So I've thrown myself headlong into canning. 

Today, I tried out a recipe for salsa, given to me by a good friend. I boiled, I peeled, I sliced, diced, and cut. I mixed, and then, at last, I tasted. 

WOW!! 

Let me be the one to tell you: fresh salsa tastes nothing, nothing!, like grocery store salsa. (Well, of course not. Being made from fresh ingredients makes a difference. Duh!) So thanks, Tonja, for the salsa recipe. I now will be able to have a slice of summer when the snow's flying this winter. And my husband is very impressed by my kitchen abilities, even though I told him I just followed instructions. 

I also have to add an addendum, here. Tonja is so smart - she gave me the idea to save the juice from the tomatoes and can it, also. So we'll be using that to cook veggies this winter. Whoo-hoo!!