KITCHEN - salsa BATCH # 3

I just love this time of year - fresh produce for all! I haven't had any trouble getting my hands on lots of local fresh produce - from our garden, friends, and the farmer's market. I have been striving to make a very HOT salsa. Sadly, the flavor tends to mellow with time leaving me with a delicious, albeit mild, salsa. Last night I made the hottest salsa I could handle by adding +/- 0.25 c pureed, roasted habanero peppers. 

onions and pre-roasted peppers in jars (plus a load of summer squash from my boss)

happily simmering away

Salsa Batch # 3 
~10 c (or more) tomatoes - diced small
1 huge onion - diced (about 3 c)
1 bulb of garlic - diced fine
1.5 c pasilla peppers - roasted and diced (I did this ahead of time and stored them in the fridge)
0.25 c hananero peppers - roasted and pureed (same here)
1 T kosher salt
2 T vinegar


To Do
1. Place diced tomatoes plus 2 t salt in a colander in the sink. Let drain for 30-60 minutes. 
2. Combine tomatoes, onion, garlic, pasilla peppers, , half of the habanero puree, remaining salt, and vinegar in a large pot over medium heat. 
3. Gradually bring mixture to a boil - remember to taste the salsa as you mix and spice accordingly - now is when you decide how much roasted habanero puree to add!
4. Turn off heat and pour into hot, sterile jars. 
5. Seal jars and place in boiling water for 20 minutes (15 at sea level plus 1 for every thousand feet of elevation). 
6. Remove jars and wait for that lovely lid popping sounds. Music to my ears!


The next batch will be even hotter! This recipe made me 3 pints and 5 half-pints plus a few spoonfuls to eat with dinner. I've already shared a pint with my boss (he provided the tomatoes) because that is why I CAN- to share the season. 

After salsa-fest we went for an evening 'run' with the pups. Penny was loving the race around the park - but Wiley - he was another story. We got about a mile into the run and he needed to roll around in the cool grass at the park. I let Rob and Penny go on without us so Wiley and I could take a leisurely stroll/roll through he park. He rolled about 4 more times on our short-cut to meet up around the other side of the park. People playing tennis actually stopped to watch our 80 lb dog flip and roll all over the grass - he looks like he's trying to itch but he's really trying to get cool. I was eager to make it home because I did something I've never done before - left the oven on and dinner cooking while out for a run. Yikes - everything was fine and dinner was just about ready when we returned.