Mum's Salsa

Labor Day weekend is salsa-making weekend at our house.

We use my mother's recipe, and put up 10 or 11 half-pint jars to last us until next Labor Day weekend.

It's a spicy salsa with sweet undertones. It's great with corn chips, but I also stir it into cooked rice and bean salads. I also add some to mashed avocado for a quick guacamole. I love having a stash of it in the pantry.

It has enough acid from the tomatoes and vinegar that it does not need pressure-canning, but it does need 15 minutes in a hot-water bath to sterilize it for long-term storage. If you've never canned before, read the easy canning directions on the website of Ball canning jars.

The recipe can be divided in half -- we've done that in years when we could only face carrying 5 pounds of tomatoes home.

The spiciness of the salsa depends on the number and kind of chiles you use. We use serranos and jalapenos -- this year some came from our garden. We taste the chiles before adding them so we have an idea of the heat. We taste during the cooking, and add more chiles if necessary. The hot-water bath of canning reduces the heat of the salsa, so we like to make it a little hotter than we want the finished product.

The amount of salsa you make will be determined by the juiciness of the tomatoes you use and the consistency of salsa you prefer. If the tomatoes are really juicy, you will cook off more liquid and end up with less salsa. We found san marzano tomatoes at Finley Farms this year -- the kind used in Italy for paste -- so there was less juice to cook down and we ended up with more salsa. I like it thick enough to stand up on a corn chip. We usually cook it down, in two pans, for a few hours.

Mum's Salsa
10 lb tomatoes
1 onion
2 red bell peppers
3" celery stalk
fresh chiles to taste
1 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp salt
1" cinnamon stick
1" fresh ginger root
1/2 tsp whole cloves
1 tsp mustard powder
1 1/2 cups apple cider vinegar

Bring a pan of water to a boil and prepare a bowl of ice water. Cut an X in the base of a tomato, put it in the boiling water for 90 seconds until you can see the peel separating from the flesh at the X. Lift it out with a slotted spoon and put it in the ice water. When it's cool enough to handle -- after a couple of minutes -- pull the peel off the tomato, cut out the core, dice the flesh, and put it in a large heavy-bottomed pan. You should be able to do 1/2 dozen tomatoes at a time. It's fast with two of us -- Larry Xs, boils, and adds them to the ice water. I peel and chop.

Dice the red peppers, celery and chiles to taste and add to the pot with the diced tomatoes.

Bring to a boil and cook 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add remaining ingredients, stir well, and let cook until it's the consistency you like. (We use two large pots for the 10 lbs, dividing the ingredients equally. We then combine it all into one pot as the ingredients boil down.) Stir regularly to make sure it doesn't stick on the bottom.

Prepare a dozen half-pint jars with canning lids and rings. Wash them in hot soapy water, rinse well, then sterilize the jars in a 200°F oven -- leave them in the oven until you are ready to use them. Wash the lids in hot soapy water, rinse them, and let them sit in hot water until you need them. The rings don't need to be sterile.

Bring a large pot of water to the boil. It needs to be deep enough that a jar can stand on a rack in the bottom and be covered by 2 inches of water above its lid.

Fill the jars to 1/4" to 1/2" from top. Wipe the rim, add the lid, and screw on the band. Add to the pot of boiling water. When all the jars are full (or there is no more room in the boiling water bath) make sure there is 2" of water above the jars, cover, bring it back to the boil if necessary, and then time it for 15 minutes. Use tongs to remove the jars from the pot. Put them on a board and leave them there until they are cool. You'll probably hear the ping as the canning lids suction into place from the change in pressure from the water bath to the air. (At least, I think that's what causes the suction.)

When the jars are cold, label them -- make sure to include the date -- and store in a cool dark place.

Open a jar in the cold depths of winter for a sunny meal.

Makes about 10 half-pint jars.

Emptying the fridge

Last week our fridge was bulging at the seams.

I figured that most of it was Thanksgiving food, and that after Thursday, things would calm down.

Not so.

It seems I was a little over-inspired at the farmers market, and we had a plentitude of kohlrabi, rutabagas, parsnips and greens.

I was leaving for a week with my mum, and knew that Larry would eat bachelor food while I was away. So I did my best to empty the fridge.

I roasted the parsnips and cooked the kohlrabi to eat with Thanksgiving leftovers.

I cooked the greens from the kohlrabi with lacinato and red kales. I froze some, and we ate the rest for dinner with potato cakes made from leftover mashed potatoes. (Is there anything better than mashed potatoes patted into cakes and lightly browned in a little olive oil?)

The lettuce was washed and wrapped in paper towels for Larry to make into salads. (Or feed to the compost heap.)

Finally, I found three bunches of cilantro. I picked out the freshest leaves and found I had enough to make a double-batch of this spicy cilantro pesto, which I stashed in the freezer. I'll serve it as a dip with raw vegetables, toss it with pasta, or drizzle it over vegetables and rice.

The recipe comes from A Celebration of Herbs, a lovely book published by the Huntington Library and Gardens in Pasadena, and given to me by my friends Lisa and Sally. It has old botanical prints from the library and modern recipes inspired by the Huntington herb garden and the diverse cultures of southern California. It would make a nice gift for any cook on your list.

There is more space in the fridge now, and I feel good knowing that my freezer is well-stocked for when I return.

Spicy Cliantro Pesto
2 1/2 cups fresh cilantro, stemmed and coarsely chopped
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1/2 cup walnuts
1 1/2 heads (yes heads, not cloves) of garlic
1/4 cup lime juice
1 tbsp plus 1 tsp chili powder
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tsp dried crushed red chiles
1 tsp salt
3/4 cup olive oil

Put all but the olive oil in the food processor. Whir until minced. With the machine running, gradually pour the oil through the feed tube. Blend smooth. Season to taste. Refrigerate for 1 week, or freeze for 1 month.

Update: I defrosted this pesto for supper on Christmas Eve. I tossed it with hot rotini and halved grape tomatoes, and served parmesan on the side. It was spicy and garlicky and delicious, although the saltiness had increased in the freezer. If I make it to freeze again, I will cut the salt by half. Also, I think it would be a little intense as a dip.

Surplus tomatoes

If your tomatoes are bursting off the vine faster than you can eat them, put some aside to use over the winter in soups and stews.

You could can them in preserving jars, but who needs all that hot work in these lazy days of August?

Instead, wash and dry them and throw them in a zip-loc bag in the freezer. (Plastic is food-safe as long as you don't use it for liquids or hot foods.)

The tomatoes will change texture in the freezer, so they won't be good in salads, but in any cooked use they will be great. They will taste better than canned tomatoes with no worries about preservatives. And when you defrost them the peel will slip right off.

It's a great way to preserve your home-grown tomatoes without a lot of work.