Make salsa ~ not war

Salsa is easy, war sucks. So let’s talk about salsa! I had a bunch of CSA garden veggies from Featherstone Farms and it all lined up with making a big batch of salsa. I also figured with the quantities I had I was going to make a lot of salsa, canning immediately came to mind.

I certainly don’t have any particular go to recipe for salsa. I wonder if most people who make homemade salsa probably have some methods, but the recipe will change from time to time based on the ingredients available. I had two, big heirloom tomatoes and about a pint and a half of cherry tomatoes. I had 1 jalapeño, two serrano peppers, two yellow peppers I couldn’t identify, and a huge bunch of spring onions from our CSA. I added garlic, lime juice, one chipotle pepper in adobo, a small touch of cumin, and a splash of cider vinegar.

I roasted all the vegetables except the spring onion tops in my wood-fired pizza oven to bring a nice roasted char to the salsa. I gave the salsa a bit of a simmer and everything was tasting really delicious. The true test though is after everything has cooled and getting the right balance of flavors with heat and acidity. I also made about 3 quarts worth so it was time to get canning.

I haven’t done any canning in a while, and honestly I have only done it a couple times. To be clear, I am talking about water bath canning. That is all I have experience doing. It is very procedural so after following all the steps, I just needed to wait to test my salsa once it had all cooled. It turned out great, and I had a delicious snack the next day. Chips, salsa, avocado slices, and a couple of cold beers. So good!

Making salsa is easy if you taste as you go and keep it simple. Canning is easy if you follow the steps. Go ahead, make salsa.