Salsa Making Day

We've been chopping and freezing peppers, onions, and tomatoes all summer getting ready for Salsa Day. This allows me to wait until I have the time to put it all together and also keeps any produce from going to waste since the garden produce is never ready all at the same time.

Yesterday, I put them all in my big pot and let them thaw all morning before mixing in all the other ingredients and cooking it in the afternoon. I've tried a few recipes for making salsa and this continues to be my family's favorite. The way it is written gives us a mild salsa. If you would like a hotter salsa, trade out some green peppers for more jalapenos. We use this all year long for dipping chips and spicing up casseroles and tacos.

You can easily cut this reipce in half or thirds - I've just learned I like to get it all done at once and we always go through it by the time next year's salsa day comes around.

Salsa

3 gallons tomato puree or chopped tomatoes

30 large Anaheim peppers

26 jalapeno peppers

8 green peppers

10 medium onions

1-2 bunches cilantro

¼ cup garlic powder

4 cups white vinegar

½ cup salt

3 Tbsp cumin, optional

2-3 cups Ultra Sperse

Cut out stems and remove the skin from the tomatoes, if you wish. Dip tomatoes in boiling water so the skins will slip off easily. Chop and measure. Use a gallon ice cream bucket to make measureing easy. (I actually just chop my tomatoes in my food processor skins and all. We don't mind the tiny bits of skin all mixed in with the salsa and it really speeds up prep time.) Cook your tomatoes in a large pot while you are chopping everything else. Stir occasionally. Use gloves when working with peppers and avoid getting any oils into your eyes. (I use a food processor to chop my onions and peppers.) You can trade the pepper varieties around to play with the spice level. We use more green peppers and less jalapeno. Mix everything except the Ultra Sperse with the tomatoes. Bring to a boil. (You can let it simmer a while before adding Ultra Sperse to allow it to cook down some.) Gradually add the Ultra Sperse, stirring until as thick as you like. Bring to a boil again. Ladle into warm pint or quart jars and process immediately. Process jars for 20 minutes (sea level.) Adjust for altitude if needed. Makes about 18 quarts. I chop peppers, onions, and tomatoes as we pick them from the garden and store them in the freezer a little at a time until I have enough. This makes salsa day go much faster and not feel like as much of an ordeal.