Tremendous Tomato Sauce!

Last summer I made tomato sauce from Simply in Season for the first time. LOVED IT! So this year, I'm making more. I froze last year's, but our freezers are already almost full and we're awaiting another 1/8 of a beef and 1/2 of a pig (local), so I'm canning.

Yesterday, I picked these from our garden:



By afternoon, I had tomato sauce:



Believe it or not, I don't really enjoy cooking all that much. But few things are as satisfying as watching the filled jars line up on my pantry shelves.

Here's my favorite tomato sauce recipe from Simply in Season. I quadrupled the recipe when I did it.

Basic Tomato Sauce
Yields 3 pints

1 onion (chopped)
2 cloves garlic (minced)

Saute until soft in 2 T. olive oil.

2 carrots (shredded)
1/2 green pepper (chopped)
2 bay leaves
1/4 fresh parsley (chopped)
2 T. fresh basil (chopped; or 2 t. dried)
1 T. fresh oregano (chopped; or 1 t. dried)
1 T. fresh thyme (chopped; or 1 t. dried)

Add. Stir well.

6 c. plum tomatoes (peeled and chopped)
6 oz. tomato paste
1 T. honey (optional)
salt and pepper to taste

Add and season to taste. Simmer 15 minutes. Remove bay leaf and serve or freeze. To can, ladle into hot sterilized pint jars to within 1/2" of top, add 1 T. lemon juice or vinegar per pint to assure acidity, seal with sterilized lids, and process full jars in boiling water bath for 35 minutes.

Scrumptious Salsa

Here's our favorite salsa recipe. We got it from a friend. I don't know the origin beyond that.

Salsa

12 c. tomatoes, peeled & chopped (Roma are best)
3 c. celery, chopped
3 c. onion, chopped
1 c. sugar (the recipe says "use less if not Roma tomatoes")
1 c. vinegar
1/4 c. salt (I use canning salt)
2 T. mustard seed
2 T. red pepper (recipe says "can use ceyenne"...I use red pepper flakes)

Put the above ingredients in a big pot. Simmer. Bring to a boil. Add:

2 c. chopped green bell pepper
4-5 jalapeno peppers, diced (recipe says 1-2 for mild...I find it varies depending on strength of pepper)
2, 12 oz. cans tomato paste

Bring to boil again. Put into pint jars. Water bath 20 minutes. Makes 8-9 pints.

That's what the recipe says. However, since the recipe was passed through friends, I wasn't sure about the safety of the time/heat. So I called our local extension office for advice.

They listened to the ingredients and said that I need to pressure cook based on the time that would be used for the low-acid foods on the list. They advised 35 mins. at 10 lbs pressure. I've done that ever since and always had success. Not sure how much nutritional value is left after it's cooked that long, but it sure tastes good. ;) This year I canned it in quart jars since we go through it so fast. I made one double batch; my husband assures me that he and the kids could easily down another double batch in a year.

Couple of additional tips:

I like to chop/dice everything on one day and then can it the next. I use a food processor and just put one ingredient through after another. I end with the jalapenos. I take the tops off the jalapenos and then throw the entire jalapeno into the food processor and dice to smithereens. I transfer the jalapeno to a container using a spatula and never have to touch it.

I learned the hard way about jalapeno pain. I'd always heard that the oils in jalapeno can hurt, but I'd made salsa for years and never had a problem, so I got careless. One year we had an abundance of jalapenos so I diced them to freeze for chili, etc... I touched them. That night, my hands were on FIRE! It was so bad that I couldn't sleep. Nothing helped...not hand washing, not lotion. It was horrible. For at least a day afterward I could feel a burning sensation in my hands. I respect jalapenos more these days.