Our Favorite Salsa

I have no idea what this salsa is really called but I know that we LOVED it last year! I am also thankful that although I lost it my friend Ann Marie still had the copy I gave her!

8 cups chopped tomatoes

6 cloves garlic, chopped

2 1/2 cups chopped onions

1 cup chopped jalapenos

1 cup chopped bell peppers

1 cup tomato sauce

1 cup apple cider vinegar

2 Tbsp pickling salt

2 1/2 tsp cumin seed

crushed red pepper to taste

Mix all this in a large pot and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.

 

 

Remove from heat and stir in the juice from 1 lime and 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro.

Fill hot pint jars to 1/2” headspace and process for 20 minutes in boiling water bath. Let rest 5 minutes before removing from canner.

Dill Pickle Relish

I decided to make dill pickle relish, too. I have made quite a few jars of sweet pickle relish but I do like a good dill pickle relish on hamburgers… This one came from a Canadian website, so I had to change the units but here it is in American… LOL

4 pounds cucumbers, chopped very small

1/4 cup pickling salt

1/2 tsp turmeric

2 cups white vinegar

1/3 cup sugar

4 cloves minced garlic

1 Tbsp dill seeds

2 tsp mustard seeds

1 1/2 cups finely chopped onion

Combine cucumbers, salt and turmeric in a large bowl. Stir in 1 cup cold water. Let sit for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Drain and rinse well in colander, pressing out moisture.

Bring vinegar, sugar, garlic, dill seeds, mustard seeds to boil. Add cucumbers and onions, return to boil, stirring often. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.

Fill hot jars up to 1/4” headspace. Process for 15 minutes in boiling water bath. Let sit for 5 minutes before removing from canner.

Makes 6 half pints

Jalapeno Salsa

I have made two batches of this salsa this year. I must have bought some really mild jalapenos. You would think that with equal parts of tomatoes and unseeded jalapenos, it would be really hot. But it wasn’t… It was good and flavorful, but not hot. I like it because it doesn’t need many tomatoes, which came in handy this year…

3 cups chopped tomatoes

3 cups chopped jalapenos, seeded or unseeded

1 cup chopped onion

6 cloves minced garlic

2 Tbsp minced cilantro

2 tsp oregano

1 1/2 tsp pickling salt

1/2 tsp cumin

1 cup cider vinegar.

Combine all ingredients in large stock pot. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Ladle into hot jars, leaving 1/4” headspace. Process 15 minutes in boiling water canner.

Let rest 5 minutes before removing from canner.

Makes about 3 pints.

Zucchini Relish

This year’s horrible weather meant no cucumbers. :o(  But we do have zucchini… So what do you do when life hands you zucchini? You make zucchini relish! It actually turned out really good and I was able to make 3 batches with one zucchini!

2 cups chopped zucchini

1 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup chopped green pepper

1/2 cup chopped red pepper

2 tbsp pickling salt

1 3/4 cups sugar

2 tsp celery seed

1 tsp mustard seed

1 cup cider vinegar

Combine zucchini, onion, and peppers in large bowl. Sprinkle with salt. Cover with cold water. Let stand 2 hours.

Drain; rinse and drain thoroughly.

Combine remaining ingredients in large saucepan. Bring to a boil. Add vegetables. Simmer 10 minutes.

Pack hot relish into hot jars, leaving 1/4” headspace. Remove air bubbles. Adjust 2-piece caps. Process in boiling water bath for 10 minutes. Let rest 5 minutes before removing jars.

Jalapeno Jelly

Last year this was one of our favorites, but it wasn’t quite spicy enough. The recipe said to seed the jalapenos. I only seeded about half of them last year and this year I didn’t seed any of them. Wowzers! Don’t stand in the steam while it boils! But man is it yummy!

Our favorite way to eat it is on a toasted bagel with cream cheese and the jelly on top. It’s also nice with crackers and cream cheese as an appetizer.

12oz jalapeno peppers (seeded or not seeded to taste)

2 cups cider vinegar

6 cups sugar

2 pouches of liquid pectin

Puree peppers and 1 cup vinegar in food processor until smooth. Combine puree and remaining vinegar and sugar in large saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat. Boil 10 minutes, stirring frequently.

Immediately add pouches of pectin. Continue hard boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and skim foam, if needed.

Fill 4oz or 8oz jars to 1/4 inch headspace. Put on lids and rings to finger tight. Place in boiling water bath and process for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let rest for 5 minutes before removing to a towel on the counter. Let sit undisturbed for 24 hours. Remove rings and store in cool dry place.