Mom of Great-Bull-Shihtzu: Some like it HOT....but I'm a mild kinda gal!

Ever since I was a kid I hated recipes. I rebelled against THEM telling ME what to do and how. Hence, my parents endured several gross concoctions that I made up all on my own! So, after being scolded for wasting yet more ingredients during a time when the budget was tight, I started using recipes as a guide, but still did my own thing with them! The results were much better in my opinion, plus who has time to measure?!

I still hate following recipes! So, my husband (a recipe follower and close measurer) bore with me as we created our own salsa. Then we found we really liked a batch but could not recreate it exactly. As a result, I wrote it down as we went last summer! I'm happy to say it was really delicious and a little ashamed to admit that it was so good, we didn't really share! Since we really enjoy sharing, we doubled the recipe this year...you're welcome friends and family! :)

We canned our salsa so there is added lime juice and vinegar to adjust the acidity making the salsa safe to can, plus it adds good flavor! This is the part I implore you to follow, the Ball canning website has the specifics on this. There are a lot of sites where you can find canning advice so, I won't go into that. Just be sure to have the proper tools, be safe, and have fun!

Be sure to have farm fresh ingredients, if at all possible, because it really does make a difference in maintaining that wonderful fresh flavor you will enjoy all year! Roma tomatoes are best to use since they are hearty, firm, and meaty. This year we doubled the ingredients exactly except we used 3 limes and 1.5 bunches of cilantro...I saved some for my bunnies, they were appreciative!

Geatbullshihtzu Salsa circa 2012

1/2 bushel Roma tomatoes

2 ears of corn

3 med onions

1 lime

2 bulbs of garlic and 1 section of elephant garlic

1 sm pack of yellow and red peppers

1 bunch of cilantro (chop finely)

4 jalapeño peppers (be sure to wear gloves...more on this in the tips section) 4 jalapeños makes a mild heat...add additional jalepeños for more heat or less if you are a complete wimp! :)

Salt 4 tbsp

Pepper 1.5 tsp (fresh cracked)

Chili powder 1 tbsp

Red pepper flakes. 0.5 tsp (freshly ground)

Sugar 1/3 cup

Garlic powder 0.5 tsp or so...you never can have too much garlic!

This made 28 cups so we added 1.5 cups of white vinegar (5%) <-again, the most important thing to measure in the whole recipe....you want to be sure it's safe to eat in a month or two! Your family, your friends, your body, and possibly the health department will thank you!

TIPS

1) boil water in a big pot (like the one below) dunk the tomatoes in for about 5 minutes then scoop them out and toss them into the freshly scoured sink (fill sink with ice water). This will help the peels just slide off.

2) we put the tomatoes in a colendar to drain off some of the juice (drain off as much as you like to make it thick or thinner according to your preference.). We like our pretty thick and get about 3/4 of a gallon of juice off per 1/2 bushel...this will vary depending on your tomatoes.

3) jalapeños...wear gloves like dish washing gloves from the dollar store then throw them away after. Do not touch your face or skin with the juice/oil from these little suckers, it'll hurt like the dickens and there is no good way to soothe the burning. Wash everything you use to chop these up before proceeding. Trust me on this, I learned the hard, I am now SUPER careful!

4) now, with gloves on, core the seeds out of the jalapeños and blend half the number of peppers in a cup of tomatoes (in the magic bullet if you have one...since they are indeed magical!) dice the others. We think this helps incorporate the heat throughout the batch but still gives a few little surprises if you get a chunk!

5) have fun, experiment it's going to be good no matter what, right? Or else you just have more to gift that year!! Seriously, make it yours if you want to....one year we added artichokes, that was pretty good!

6) this process is very time consuming, plan on this taking a day...depending on how much you make. however, the results are worth it, and it's fun! grab a friend to help and it'll go faster!

7) i just tasted the finished product....we might not be sharing! Sorry!! ;)