The end of summer comes way too soon, and with autumn upon us, it's time to pick the last of, well, everything from the garden. This results in a LOT of red and green tomatoes of several different varieties. Time to make salsa.

I start by washing, stemming and measuring the tomatoes. I have 32 cups of tomatoes. Hmmm. This sounds like a recipe I'm gonna eyeball and write down, salsa is a proportional thing. It comes out suprisingly well! As a matter of fact, I am writing it down as-is. It is bursting with flavor in a very balanced way between heat, sweet, sour, tomato, crunchy veggies (texture) and herbs. It's zesty!! If you like really hot salsa, this is not it, so amp up the jalapeno and cayenne pepper to taste. If you try this out, let me know what you think, and if you do any "twists" on it, please share!

INGREDIENTS:

• 32 cups of tomatoes, cut into into 2" chunks (this is what I had, don't ask me to convert it to bushels or pecks)
• 6 cups of onions, mixed colors, cut into 2" chunks
• 1 med. head of peeled garlic (about 3 TBSP.). More to taste.
• 5 cups bell peppers, mixed colors, cut into 2" chunks
• 1/2 cup pickled jalapeno, plus 1/2 cup of jar juice (if using fresh, cut amount in half and use 1/2 cup of white vinegar)
• I cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 cup of fresh lime juice, plus zest
• 2 TBSP. salt
• 1 TBSP. cracked black pepper
• 1.5 TBSP. of cumin
• 2 TBSP. dried oregano
• 1 tsp. cayenne or red pepper flakes
• 1 tsp. chili powder
• 1 TBSP. sugar

I process the veggies in batches to MY desired salsa texture, which has a bit of chunk and some finer pieces. Into the stockpot it goes with the rest of the ingredients. We stir and start simmering. I let this pot go for about three hours until it has body and gives me the taste I am looking for. Feel free to correct/adjust the salsa to your desired taste. Add more salt, more heat, more acid. And write it down so that you can duplicate it!!

Once the salsa passes your taste and viscosity test, it's time to either serve or preserve. You could serve once chilled, save in the refrigerator for a week or so, freeze some for a 6 - 8 months, or "can" it for a year or so of unrefrigerated shelf life. Let's can it. Canning is my new COVID hobby.

There are excellent tutorials on how to can online, so do your research, gather your equipment and go for it! I process the salsa for 30 minutes, and when the jars are removed from the water bath, a "pop" of the lid tells me there is a good seal on the jar. Time to cool, label and hand out to family and friends (ny favorite part). Try this salsa today, and if you have no green tomatoes, tomatillos will do the trick. Enjoy!