Fresh Salsa

Yes, we are spending a lot of time with tomatoes these days!!! I love the process, but would enjoy it even more if it wasn't so often happening late at night.

Last evening we didn't get home until about 7pm as we had an appointment to donate blood at RMH. Next time I need to remember my camera. Kali is so cute going along, holding her little arms close to her while she sits on my lap in the initial checking in, lest they confuse her with me and stick her! But she likes the snacks and the little kids area and last evening had three little chairs (yellow, green and blue) lined up next to me. The blue for her with her blue dress and then she found a little yellow stuffed animal and a green one for the other colored chairs. I had a little cheer leading squad! I so looked forward to time to sit still and reflect, but the person working with me was very talkative so there wasn't a lot of quiet moments. I did learn from her that my blood, for a number of reasons, is the type of blood that will likely be saved to use for infants and children. That was new to me and felt appropriate because of Nora being my inspiration for becoming a regular donor. We are next eligible to donate the week of Nora's second birthday.

On our way home from the hospital Kali was playing with the new boxes of canning lids. We had quite a job waiting for us at home with tomatoes coming in in abundance. We were planning to make sauce with fresh tomatoes, garlic, onions, peppers, basil and oregano; all of those things growing within yards of our home. When I read the "Mild Fiesta Salsa" recipe on the back of the Ball canning lids box I groaned and felt more than a bit digusted.

You will need:
5 14.5 oz cans of petite diced tomatoes
1 1.3 oz pkg Ball Simple Creations Mild Fiesta Salsa Mix
That's it!! Thankfully they at least mention the possibility of substituting fresh tomatoes for the canned :)

It is hard for me to imagine someone who has not canned before going out and buying any necessary equipment, canning jars, salsa mix, canned tomatoes and making their own homemade salsa with the above recipe. It seems like an awful lot of work for a final product that can't taste much fresher than just buying salsa in the store.

It is probably good that we are nearing the latter part of the canning season for this year. Jason had to get out cardboard to help make a second layer of canned pints in the pantry as our available space it slowly diminishing before our eyes (with a lot of chopping and work involved in that progression!). I actually put out a plea this week for canning jars that are sitting unused in people's homes and have enjoyed trading empty jars for some filled ones this week.

One more piece of news and then time to turn my focus to the work day ahead and away from stocking up for the winter. Kali has her first LOOSE TOOTH!!!!!