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Suddenly I have tomatoes everywhere!
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Then more tomatoes (and an even larger picking that I forgot to photograph)!
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After they were scalded, peeled diced and drained, I had enough for 1 1/2 batches of salsa. I used my own home grown onions, garlic and these lovely peppers. The green bell peppers weighed over 1/2 pound each. I also used my own jalapenos (forgot to take a picture of them).....and they didn't have a bit of heat. They were sweeter than my sweetest sweet peppers. That's three years in a row my jalapenos have turned out sweet, so I'm not going to grow them again. I can buy them at our local Mexican market for 59-cents a pound. For this batch of salsa, I had to use dried red pepper flakes.
After all of that.....I found a box of a dozen brand new pint jars I'd stored in the back of the closet. Yay, that means I can make more salsa next week!
That's just odd that your jalapenos would turn out sweet. Maybe it just mimics you????
ReplyDeleteHave you ever counted just how many jars you own? I'm trying canning for the first time ever this fall and I'm amazed at just how many jars some of my long-time-canning neighbors have.
Sue, I have never counted them, but last year I rounded them all up and put the pints and half pints in a vacant closet, added shelves and moved all my home canned goodies and canning supplies in there. I have been using the pints for jam and sauerkraut this summer, and didn't really notice how few were left. The box of unseen ones was on a shelf in the back, while all the others were in boxes on the other side. I have a lot of quart jars, which I seldom use (only for tomato juice). I keep those stored in the garage. I know I had more jars when the kids were still home. I've often wondered if they might be up in the attic....but I'm not going to climb up there to look!
DeleteJalapenos can be sweet with soil that is too rich, and too much water. I've put mine in pots the last two years, and tried to ignore them until they begin to wilt. They're still sweet! I bought some at the store last year that were sweet, too.
Look at all your tomatoes, I'm sure there is even more to come! Your pile of summer squash makes me smile, we have been having squash almost everyday and it is still coming.
ReplyDeleteThat is really strange about your jalapeno peppers being sweet three years in a row. They do say weather can affect a pepper's heat.
Oh yes, wasn't it just last week I said I didn't think I was going Then they started ripening.
DeleteI'm so sick of summer squash, I'd like to rip it all out. Especially the zucchini. I do like the yellow crooknecks, but those plants are so prolific! I usually only let one grow in the hill, and this year I let two of them survive. They are going to get chopped back soon though, as they are trying to take over the pole beans and I can't hardly get from one side of the garden to the other without getting all scratched up on them.
Nice work Granny! I'm not surprised that you found those jars after you were finished! I think that you've done that before! I need to make salsa too. I guess that's a job for this weekend!
ReplyDeleteYes, Robin, but I rearranged things last year and got them all out of various kitchen cupboards, garage and laundry room, and into that spare closet in Mr. Granny's man-cave. For some reason, the new ones got put way in the back on the bottom shelf, and it's dark in there! I still don't know how I missed them...I was just concentrating too hard on the boxes up front :-)
DeleteAh, the tomato invasion begins! We ran out of canned salsa from last year and are looking forward to a fresh batch.
ReplyDeleteRachel, I don't eat it often, but my kids inhale it!
DeleteI need your recipe. I was just thinking the same thing--lots of tomatoes and peppers. Mr Farmer doesn't eat tomato anything because of heart burn, but the kids and I love it.
ReplyDeleteLangela, it's in my blog here: http://tinyurl.com/mkhc4w
DeleteIt's Annie's Salsa....not my Annie's, LOL, but some lady who posts on Gardenweb, and pretty much the go to for a safe canned salsa. I omitted the tomato sauce and substituted a can of crushed pineapple in this batch, which is the way my daughter and I like it best. I'll make my next batch according to the recipe for the boys.
Oh boy I can't wait!! We are still a couple weeks away but salsa time is coming soon!!
ReplyDeleteStoney, I'll bet your family consumes it by the quart! I wish I could find someone to trade me some pint jars for all my quart jars.
DeleteWow, tomatoes already?? I am sooo... jealous! Mine are still putting out tiny baby ones! Those long green mild peppers- I've had many of those plants too! I didn't think I planted those, but must be part of banana pepper seeds. Are they green banana peppers? I've had a few seeds turn into yellow banana peppers too! (No, those green ones do not turn yellow:)
ReplyDeleteHa, always something new turns out of those seeds!
Random, those are my favorite Red Marconi peppers. They get huge, much fatter and longer, very red and sweet. I picked those two early, as they had some sun scald and I didn't want them to rot on the plant. I have had to pick quite a few of my peppers early due to sun scald. I have them planted in north to south rows, so the plants along the west side of the row are getting hit with the really hot afternoon sun. Next year I'll go back to planting them east to west.
DeleteOh how I miss salsa. Heck if you were here you could have borrowed some of my pints. I have more than I use. Now half pints I run out of occasionally as I do the little tiny ones because I tend to give them away.
ReplyDeleteDaphne, with both of us watching our weight, we're not eating a lot of the canned jams and mincemeat that are taking up so many of the pint jars. It's too bad my kids don't care that much for them either, so I can't even give it away! I should have put the jam in half pints, as I seem to have quite a few of those. Pints are always the size I need for tomato sauce, tomatoes, salsa and sauerkraut. I do have quite a few wide mouth pints, but I didn't have any lids for those.
DeleteI will take a couple of your zucchini if you have too many! LOL Nice that you got so much salsa canned. Great that you share with the kids too. We don't eat much jam or jelly either. Nancy
ReplyDeleteDon't tempt me, Nancy! I might put them in a box and ship them to you, LOL! I tried to give some to my neighbor tonight, but he thanked me for the jar of salsa and declined the squash. He did hint that he liked tomatoes and corn! I might part with a few tomatoes, but the corn is mine...all mine!
DeleteCheck out tattler reusable lids Granny! They work great :-)
ReplyDeleteAngela, I've read reviews on the Tattler lids, and there are many negative comments. The consensus seems to be that they have a high sealing failure rate, and unless you can hundreds of jars of food each season, the cost is higher than using disposable lids. There are some who worry that the lids contain formaldehyde. My biggest problem is that I give probably half of my canned goods away to family and my neighbor, and none of them is very good about returning my jars, I'd probably never get the lids back! I do save all of my used disposable lids and reuse them for freezer or refrigerator storage.
DeleteInteresting review by Tattler lid user, with comments:
http://harmonioushomestead.com/2012/05/31/tattler-lids-review/
Negative Amazon reviews:
http://tinyurl.com/p5zdxjo
Ah, my tomatoes are only just beginning to ripen and I've never had enough to make salsa. That's a dream for some future when more of my trees are taken down and my garden actually gets some sunshine. But I will keep dreaming. Your salsa looks marvelous!!
ReplyDeleteNutmeg, I didn't expect to get enough tomatoes for canning this year, as most of my plants are succumbing to viruses (or blight). I was surprised I had enough for salsa, and already probably enough for another batch!
DeleteAG, You have my mouth wartering. I love salsa on eggs. Omlets of all kinds are even better with a heavy covering of Salsa. My tomato favorite though is the old southern stand by Fried Green Tomatoes. I freeze 8 or 10 sliced green ones so we can enjoy them all winter. We make an entire meal on just fried tomatoes as fast as they come out of the pan. Keep up the good work
ReplyDeleteOh, Frank, you Southerners and your fried green tomatoes! I tried them last year, and we didn't like them at all, LOL! Some of us Northerners are odd ducks. We don't even like collards, turnip greens or okra!
DeleteOh wow, look at all those tomatoes and salsa. First Jenny and now you are giving me the tomato envy. Your salsa looks great, and I can contribute some habaneros from my garden if you want to make it HOT!
ReplyDeleteKris, I had one hot pepper plant that set my son's tongue on fire. Unfortunately, the only pepper that it grew was the one my son ate!
Deletemmmmmm....salsa. Mine isn't very good this year because I had to use store tomatoes, but by god, I wasn't missing out on homemade salsa regardless of how I was able to make it. There's just no substitute, is there.
ReplyDeleteRibbit, there is a pretty good substitute if you have Safeway stores in your area. Safeway Select Peach-Pineapple Salsa.
DeleteIngredients:
Diced Tomatoes, Water, Tomato Puree (Water, Tomato Paste), Pineapple Peaches, Jalapeno Peppers, Sugar, Dehydrated Onions, Salt, Vinegar, Dehydrated Garlic, Natural Flavors.
I used to buy it all the time, before I began making my own. I love the stuff! I add crushed pineapple to most of mine now, I'm tempted to try adding finely diced peaches as well.