salsa

Lazy Cherry Tomato Salsa

~ Caroline ~ 56 Comments

We’ve been harvesting a lot of cherry tomatoes recently.

Normally, cherry tomatoes are mostly for fresh eating since it would be crazy to peel them for sauce or other canning projects…

…but since I hate peeling pretty much everything (carrots, peaches, potatoes, etc.), I stopped peeling my tomatoes long ago.  I just zap them with my immersion blender for sauce, ketchup, jam, and salsa.  If I peeled my tomatoes, there’s no way I’d have a two whole shelves in the pantry filled with tomato products.  There’s just no way, not enough hours in the day.

This means I can take advantage of that delicious, superpowered cherry tomato flavor for all my canning projects — it doesn’t just have to be a summer treat.

This salsa is my way of turning a bajillion cherry tomatoes into something wonderful.  I’m sure we’ll have it with tortilla chips and in burritos, but what I really want it for is breakfast.  I like fried eggs with salsa and tortillas for breakfast, and this salsa is my secret stash that I’m not sharing with anyone.

 

Unless they ask.

 

And then I’ll probably end up frying eggs for both of us.

 

Lazy Cherry Tomato Salsa

adapted from the recipe for “Spicy Tomato Salsa” in the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving, p. 205.

Makes: 6 pint jars

Cook Time: 45 minutes or so

Ingredients:

  • 12 c. roughly chopped cherry tomatoes, stems removed (it’s fine to do a quick, sloppy job with this chopping, you just want to get an accurate measurement of 12 c. of tomatoes and not 8 c. of tomatoes with a bunch of air pockets)
  • 3 c. diced onions
  • 1 c. tightly packed chopped cilantro
  • 15 cloves of roughly chopped garlic
  • 6 fresh cayenne chilis (or whatever you have)
  • 3/4 c. apple cider vinegar
  • 1/4 c. fresh lime juice
  • 1 tbs. sea salt

Prepare boiling water canner, jars and lids.

Combine all the ingredients in a big, heavy bottomed pot.  Cook on medium heat for about 20 minutes, until everything is simmering and tender.  Puree with an immersion blender (or whatever you use to puree things).  Feel free to leave the salsa a little chunky if you like.

Cook for another 20 minutes on medium heat, stirring occasionally,  until it’s slightly thickened. Ladle into hot jars, leaving 1/2″ headspace. Process pint jars for 15 minutes.  Remember to adjust for altitude if necessary.  (Half pint jars also get fifteen minutes of processing time, if you don’t want to do pints).

 

P.S. You can definitely use whatever tomatoes you have for this, it doesn’t have to be cherry tomatoes.

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I Love Tomatoes

~ Caroline ~ 2 Comments

Here at Black Dog Farm, the tomatoes are officially in. It took forever because the beginning of the season was so cold and rainy, but the time has finally come when I can walk up to the garden with an empty basket and return with a whole assortment of multi-colored beauties.

Which makes me happy, because this is my favorite breakfast:

over-easy egg, warm tortilla, summer salsa

Nothing quite like the taste of ripe tomatoes and a freshly laid egg.

Summer Salsa

I like to make up a batch of this salsa and keep it in a glass quart jar in the fridge.  I’m not sure how long it lasts because I always eat it within a few days, but I would guess five or six days.

Makes: about a quart

Cooking Time: 10 minutes or so

Ingredients:

  • 6 medium to large heirloom tomatoes of assorted colors (these are my favorite varieties: Ananas Noire, Hillbilly, Copia, Tigerella, Old German, Pineapple, Brandywine, and Cherokee Purple)
  • about 1/2 pint. of cherry tomatoes, but really just a big handful.  Sungold and Chocolate Cherry are my favorite cherry types, and their orange and dark red-brown colors are quite pleasing to the eye as well)
  • 1 large shallot, minced
  • 1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
  • 1/4 c. of roughly chopped fresh cilantro
  • juice from 1/3 of a lime
  • a splash of white vinegar
  • 1 tsp. garlic powder
  • sea salt and fresh black pepper to taste

Toss everything together in a big bowl.  Mash it up with a potato masher to get the juices all flowing together.  Taste it. If it tastes bland, add lime juice and salt. 


P.S. To get really crazy, add a cubed up avocado, a can of rinsed black beans, and a splash of olive oil to make a really nice entree salad. Serve it on a bed of baby greens with blue corn tortilla chips and it will blow your mind!