Salsas and Relishes

When gardens start overflowing with veggies it's time to come up with many ways of preserving what you have been nurturing all summer. In the past week, I have been amazed that my two daughters, who can be the biggest whiners about canning, are now showing some interest in what I'm doing. It has gotten me wondering--who are they and what did they do with my daughters?

Yesterday (9/8/09) I made catsup. I used the same recipe I used when Becky and Rachel were little. When Becky came to claim my granddaughters, she wanted to know what the wonderful smell was. I told her it was homemade catsup. She asked if she could have some! What? You want some? I couldn't believe it! I had her taste it. She looked at me and asked if this was the same recipe as when she was little? I replied that it was. She said, "and I didn't like it?" "Yes," I replied. Then she said, "this is awesome!" Whoa! The proverbial "you could have knocked me over with a feather" comes to mind. Do ya think she's growing up?

Now, I will get on with the story of how the catsup got made. My mom and I were looking over the "traditional" recipe of making it. The recipe of dipping the tomatoes in hot water, letting the skins split, yada, yada, yada. We decided to try just coring the tomatoes then cutting them in quarters and running the quarters in a food processor until it looks like tomato mush. This means whirring up the seeds, skins and all. I did that and then mixed in the cloves, allspice, salt, vinegar and I put in 1/3 cup of honey. The original recipe didn't call for anything sweet, but something sweet will enhance the flavor. I added all the ingredients together and simmered it on a low temperature for a couple hours, stirring frequently to keep it from burning on the bottom. THEN I used an immersion blender to further smooth out the tomato mixture and take care of most of the seeds. I cooled it in the refrigerator and put it into plastic containers to be stored either in the refrigerator or the freezer. It worked great!

At that point I had used up all the tomatoes that I had and I was mourning the fact that I wanted to make salsa and didn't have more tomatoes. Well, at that exact moment my across the street neighbor showed up at the door with a huge bowl of tomatoes and wanted to know if I wanted any. Yay! I told her to give me whatever she didn't need and I will make some salsa and catsup and share that with her. I also plan on making spaghetti or pizza sauce and tomato juice. It's wonderful when things work out.

Salsa:
25 to 30 medium tomatoes, peeled and cut into quarters
2 large green peppers, cut into chunks
2 large onions, cut up in chunks
2 tsp. chili powder
2 tsp. cumin
3 tsp. cayenne pepper (optional or to taste)
2 tsp. garlic salt
3 tsp. canning salt
Put the tomatoes in a pan and let set 45 minutes and drain juices. Add rest of ingredients and boil 15 minutes. Put in jars and process in water bath for 10 minutes. Makes 8 or 9 pints.

Oicantoes or Salsa
16 cups chopped tomatoes, without skin
4 cups chopped onion
2 cups chili peppers
2 1/2 cup white vinegar
1/3 cup canning salt
1 1/2 tsp. garlic salt
1 1/2 tsp. chili powder
2 tsp. pepper
2 tsp. cumin
1 (6 oz.) can tomato paste
Cook uncovered for 1 1/2 hours or until thick. Put into sterilized jars and process in water bath for 35 minutes. Makes 10 pints.

Salsa Sauce:
30 to 35 tomatoes
6 onions, chopped
2 cans chopped green chilies
4 green peppers, chopped
1/2 cup vinegar
1 cup brown sugar
2 tsp. salt
Pepper to taste
2 small cans tomato paste
Combine all ingredients except tomato paste; simmer 2 hours. Add tomato paste and simmer another 1/2 hour. Put in hot jars and seal. Place jars in cake pan or pie pan. Process in preheated 250 degree oven for 1/2 hour.

Tomato-Pineapple Relish
2 cups tomato juice
1 1/2 cup crushed pineapple
1 pkg. pectin
2 tsp. worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp. cloves
1/4 tsp. allspice
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
5 cups sugar
Bring first 7 ingredients to a full boil. Add the sugar and bring to a boil again. Boil 1 minute. Seal in jars and process according to water bath directions.

Pepper Relish
2-3 green peppers
2 medium onions
2/3 cup apple cider vinegar
2/3 cup honey
1 Tbsp. salt
Chop onions and peppers; cover with boiling water for 5 minutes. Drain and boil for 5 minutes in syrup made of honey, vinegar and salt. Pack in hot quart jar; and seal. Let stand for 1 or two weeks in refrigerator for best flavor. If you wish you can make this recipe bigger for more jars of relish.