Salsa Fresca with Green Tomatoes: Canning Workshop and Recipe

Robin, Paula, Meena and Doris (L to R)

On Saturday we had our second canning workshop for the community gardeners. Five ladies joined me in my kitchen to can 18 pints of Salsa Fresca with Green Tomatoes. We had a ball. Everyone made a portion of the salsa beforehand. We then combined everyone's, conducted many taste tests and proceeded to can. All the tomatoes, peppers and oregano came from the garden.

Salsa Fresca with Green Tomatoes
Makes 4-6 pints 

Chop into small pieces 6 cups of green and red tomatoes, 2 cups chopped red onion, 1-2 large green and/or red bell peppers, 1-? (how many can you handle?!) Jalapenos finely chopped, 2 cloves of garlic finely chopped, 1/2 cup of cilantro leaves chopped, 1/2 cup of fresh lime juice, 2 teaspoons ground cumin, 1 teaspoon fresh or dried oregano (I added fresh whole leaves), 1 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon black pepper. Mix together, let the flavors meld and then taste test, adding more herbs or salt. Now this tastes great as is, but it will taste better in late February!

When your salsa is ready and your hot water bath is rolling proceed with canning... Click here to go to my post on canning basics.

Canning specifics for Salsa Fresca with Green Tomatoes:

We removed about 1/2 cup of liquid from each pint to pack in more salsa; save the juice for drinking, fermenting, soups and cocktails. Leave 3/4 of head-space and process in the hot water bath for 15 minutes. If you doubled, tripled or quintupled your recipe keep canning!

Enjoy! XOMC

Thank you to my friend Sarah for lending a helping hand and taking some great photos!

Assembly Lines work great!

You can can without wine but why?

Inside out

How to Can Tomatoes

This past weekend I had a few gardeners over for a Mini-Canning Workshop. Every weekend while gardening at the Eric Waller Community Garden many of us talk about canning and preserving but we never actually get to share with others how to do it.  If you are not familiar with canning it can be a bit of a mystery and often seeing is believing and I think, well I hope, I dispelled the mystery for a few that day. We had a lot of fun and got to know one another a bit more while teaching and learning  a worthwhile skill.
Basically hot water bath canning is meant for high-acid foods like tomatoes, pickles, jams/jellies, fruit butters, sauces, salsa, chutneys and fruit. The concept and goal is to create a sterile and sealed environment to keep foods preserved without preservatives for months and even years. My canning experience goes way back to some of my very first memories; the basement pantry/cellar that housed my Mom's canned cache of tomatoes, carrots, green beans, pickled watermelon rind, salsa, beets, stews and sauces. Every visit to my Grandparents house out in the Minnesota countryside was not complete without Grandma Alice's apple butter pancakes and a double-dare visit to the seemingly endless cavern of her root cellar (and her incredible garden!). Before she passed away she gave me some Ball canning jars that belonged to her Mother. I watched my Mom pressure can green beans for the County Fair (she won blue ribbons) and helped my dad can an endless supply of salsa every late summer (everything from our garden of course). I think I lived off salsa my entire high school career. I tell everyone who is interested in learning to can that it is a lot of work, it takes time and care. Yet, there is nothing better in the whole wide world then using your own grown and canned tomatoes come mid-February in your stew or sauce. Nothing.

Get your can on here with these supplies....

How to Can: Tomatoes in their own Juice (adapted from the Ball Canning Guide) Makes about 6 Quarts or 12 pints

You will need:
A enamel water bath canner.
The wire rack that hold the jars (to keep them off the bottom of the pot and still while boiling).
Tool set: magnet tool for retrieving the lids from their sterile bath, head-space measuring device, jar grabber and funnel).

Next stop; tomatoes, lots and lots of 'em. The general rule of thumb is 3-4 pounds per quart. The water bath canner will fit 7 quarts at most, BUT it gets very, very full. I recommend doing 6 at a time. So if you wanted to can 6 quarts you will need about 18-24 pounds of ripe tomatoes. "That's a lot of 'maters..." as my Dad would say. So it can be worth your while and a friends to can together! Then split the profits. Also, it's nice to have some company while canning.

To Begin: 
Check your jars for chips, cracks, dirt, and other objects you don't want in your food. Run them through the dishwasher to be safe or wash them really well with water and soap. Make sure you have fresh lids and rings (never re-use a lid, the rings you can). Next, prep your water bath by placing the rack inside with your jars, fill each jar with water THEN fill the pot with water until the jars have about two inches of water covering them. With the help of a friend place the very heavy pot on the largest burner of your stove, cover with the lid and set to high to boil. Meanwhile bring another large stock pot filled with water to a boil. While you are waiting for the water baths, wash your tomatoes and remove the "belly button" from the tomato and any other blemishes. Then clear and clean your sink, fill it with cold water and some ice. When your small pot with water comes to a boil add about 8 tomatoes with a slotted spoon, count to thirty and transfer them to a colander set inside a large bowl, then dump them in your sink, repeat until all the tomatoes are blanched. Next, set to work on removing the skins, they should slip off quite easily. If not plop them back into the hot water for 10-15 seconds more. You can seed the tomatoes; keep in mind that when you do you lose about half of the tomato, frankly I don't mind the seeds so they stay.
Once the skins are removed, you can discard your small pot you used to blanch them in and replace it with a small sauce pan, place the lids that came with your jars (or from the pack) into the sauce pan and cover with water, set to a boil then keep on low until you are ready to use them.

Setting up your space: 
Key word: tidy. Canning is messy. So stake your claim on all the counter space you can get. Have a space on your counter with cork pads, a thick towel or a sturdy baking rack covered with a towel. This is your jarring station where you will park the jars, fill the jars and let them rest after you can. Next to this space is where your big beautiful bowl of tomatoes should go and your salt and lemon juice. Have extra towels on hand for spills.

Start Canning!
Once you have everything ready to-go the process goes quickly. Have a bowl of kosher salt ready with a 1/2 or 1/4 teaspoon and a liquid measuring cup of lemon juice with a tablespoon measurement. Your hot water bath should be rolling along nicely at this point. Carefully remove the lid from your bath and set aside. Using your jar tongs remove one jar at a time emptying the water from each jar and setting the jar on your designated work-space. Repeat until each jar is removed and cover your bath.
Next fill each quart jar with a 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, for pints a 1/4 teaspoon of salt and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice. Then add your tomatoes, starting with a few at a time. Press them down by using the head space measuring device or a wood spoon, repeat this until the juice does not allow you to add any more. Then remove some of the juice to a bowl so you can squeeze in a couple more tomatoes. Tip: I usually don't leave the tomatoes whole, I use my hand to "crush" and break them up a bit. If you want them whole then press them in just a little bit. Next, measure your head space; for a quart you want 3/4 of an inch for pints its 1/2 and inch. Tip: you want to get as much of the air out as you can, you do get a lot already when you pack the tomatoes, but just to be sure give each jar another good press and an extra pinch of salt and sprinkle of lemon juice.
THEN...Use a clean cloth to wipe up the rims and edges of each jar, then use the magnetic wand to fish out a lid from your sauce pan, repeat for each jar. THEN... place the rings on each but only finger tight. THEN...you are ready to place each jar into the hot water bath, remove the lid and...carefully...mindfully...pick up each jar with your jar tongs and slowly dip each jar into the pot going around and finally the middle (if you are doing pints). Cover and set your timer for an hour and a half for quarts and 1 hour for pints. Kick back and enjoy a cocktail!
When the time is up there are a couple of options. Option 1: Maybe you are still canning! Way to go! Carefully...mindfully remove each jar and set them in a designated space to cool. Then load up round two. Option 2: You are DONE. Leave the jars in the bath and turn off the heat. Remove after the water has cooled slightly or simply remove them and let them cool. When they are cool tighten the rings and date/label them. Place them in your pantry to ogle and ah at and show off to friends.
Tip: I leave the water to cool and pour it over my compost or potted outdoor plants.
Warning: Canning is not always fool proof. You want to make sure each of your jars seals. You may hear "pings!" or pops after you remove your jars from the bath. Or they may come out sealed. If they do not seal you can add them back to the bath to try again. After a second round and no seal make them part of lunch or supper. Botulism occurs when the jars have not been properly sealed and you did not leave them in the bath long enough to kill any harmful bacteria. The reason why you boil the jars and food is to kill anything that may rot it and of course seal the jars.

Any questions? Email me!

XOMC

By the way accidents do happen; in all my years of canning this was my first casualty. So take caution and be careful and no one gets hurt.

Spicy-Sweet Beet Relish Ferment and Savory Vegetable Ferment

This spring I planted about 200 beet seeds. Chioggia and Detroit Reds. We ate the thinning's first followed by roasting the baby beets, then we boiled and skinned the big beets for salads and tasty snacks when they were at their peak. This past weekend I pulled the rest out to make a Spicy-Sweet Beet Relish ferment. Not really having a game plan other then the fact I had about 8 pounds of beets to use up and about a pound and a half of hot peppers. With those two as my base I decided to go for it...Now one interesting thing happened while I was prepping this ferment. I also had a hot water bath rolling for some pints of tomatoes and a pint of tomato juice left over from the canning workshop the day before. As I was putting the pints into the bath I stopped before putting the tomato juice in. It was giving off the recognizable sound of a fermented "hiss". Sure enough I opened it up and it was bubble-city. I took a sip and OMG! I just made tomato soda. No way was that going into hot water! It tasted SO GOOD!!! So I decided I would add it to my Spicy-Sweet Beet Relish to give it a sweet kick and jump start the ferment.

Spicy-Sweet Beet Relish Ferment
Makes about 2 quarts or 1 quart and 3 small jars

You will need: about 6-8 pounds of beets, boiled with the skins removed, allow to cool and chop into bite sized pieces. Two apples, cored and chopped to the same size as the beets. Three hot peppers, sliced into rings, seeds removed and toasted in a hot skillet until slightly charred. Remove from heat, cool and chop finely. Optional: a half cup of red grapes (I used organic seedless since they are in season right now) cut into quarters. Combine all into a large bowl with about a teaspoon of kosher salt. Mix and beat them around a bit until they start to give up some of their own juices. Then pack it into your jar, pack a bit press down, pack in more and press down, do this until you are about an inch and a half from the top. The goal is to remove as much of the air as you can and to cover the mixture with its own juices to create the anaerobic environment for the good bacteria to take over. Once it is packed you can finish it off with a small bit of salted water or fermented tomato soda, leave about an inch at the top. Cover with a lid. Set your ferment in a bowl to collect the juices that will inevitably pour out once the ferment gets to bubbling. Enjoy after the first three days then transfer to the fridge or cool cellar to store. Make sure you date it! This ferment tasted like magic after about 36 hours. Try it with a roasted meat dish or with fish. Or on its own!

How to make Tomato Soda: Juice 6 tomatoes, remove the seeds, pour into a jar with a lid, let it sit out for 24 hours, after that time it should be fizzy and ready to drink or use.

Savory Vegetable Ferment: Eggplant, Leeks, Swiss Chard, Peppers with Caraway and Cucumber
Makes about 2 quarts or one large jar

You will need: One large eggplant, cut up into bite sized pieces, 2 leeks washed well and sliced into thin rings (try to use as much of the leek as possible, greens too!), a medium sized bunch of Swiss Chard chopped into small pieces, stems too, 2 medium sized peppers chopped (I used 3 small chocolate peppers and one green pepper), combine into a large bowl with 2 teaspoons of kosher salt, mix and beat up until the vegetables give up their juices. Add about 1 teaspoon of caraway seeds to the mix. Stuff and pack the vegetables into your jar until the juices cover the vegetables. Then slice about 3/4 quarts of 1 medium sized cucumber and layer them over your vegetables pushing them down to weight the ferment when you have used up all the slices take the end piece place it in the middle and close up your ferment. Set your jar in a dish to catch the overflow of liquid. Taste at the three day point. You can move it to the fridge or keep it on the counter to eat from, remembering to transfer into subsequently smaller jars to keep the air from ruining it.

XOMC

Garden Porn: Biggest EVER

Wow. I'm sure Google will bring many confused internet surfers to this post with that title...they may be a bit disappointed. This weekend was prime-time for the Community Garden and putting some food by. We had our biggest harvest yet to date this past Saturday; eggplants, butternut squash, green and red peppers, jalapenos, watermelons, beets, tomatoes, herbs, romaine and butter-crunch lettuce, Swiss chard and leeks. I also harvested the rest of my beets from the front yard garden to make room for my fall cabbages and kale. With all the delicious food-stuffs piling up in the kitchen there was much to can and ferment this weekend. Saturday after the garden three garden members came over to learn the basics of hot water bath canning. Each brought over about 8-12 pounds of garden tomatoes, already skinned. All together we canned 7 quarts and 9 pints of garden fresh tomatoes in their own juice. It was a lot of fun showing others how to can; its a relatively easy thing to-do, but its helpful to see the steps and how it works before venturing out on your own. I will post the How To and basic recipe later on...






















This weekend was also spent with a good new friend drinking Cherry Kombucha outside and making plans to take over the world (which is always easier to do with a buddy). We sipped our hot-red elixir from some fun little vintage Playboy Bunny glasses outside. It was such a perfect weekend for indulging in fortunate bounties of food and friends. I hope yours was just as wonderful....XOMC

Garden Porn: Bountiful Pleasures

This is probably the best time of the summer...Everything in the garden is practically busting with color and flavors, summers last hurrah before autumn and the long grey winter. This past weekend was a mini-celebration in all that the summer has to offer. A lot of harvesting was done at the Mount Washington Community Garden; tomatoes, Swiss chard, beets, leeks, butternut squash, basil, eggplants, romaine and butter crunch lettuce, red and green peppers, jalapenos and cherry tomatoes. We planted garlic and more spinach and lastly red clover crop cover. While we worked we all snacked on some tasty watermelon. Another lovely weekend workday at the garden!
On Saturday I canned 5 pints of roasted tomatoes with roasted garlic and oregano (all from the garden). Canning always takes SO LONG...But come January when we want some tasty tomato sauce or soup I have a whole pantry full of organic garden tomatoes ready to use. This week we also plan to can salsa, beets and possibly some green beans. Also on Saturday I planted some Winterbor Kale plants, green cabbage plants, some Heirloom Alliums from Southern Exposure Seed Exchange.  

The Color Red: New Kombucha Flavor & Lots of Tomaters

We had a busy weekend around the house...lots of sanding, painting, installing new bathroom and closet doors and finishing up the bedroom. All the little things are adding up and its starting to look really nice! Now with the ducks happily in their garden home we can relax a bit and get the rest of our home projects completed.
I wanted to share with you some of the flavors that appeared in our kitchen over the weekend; red was the default color of choice!
One of which is a new kombucha flavor that I am wild about. Cherry Chia with Yerba Mate (as opposed to black tea). The Yerba Mate gives the kombucha a less over the top tea flavor and instead allows the fermented flavors to sing. We are enjoying this batch of 'buch quite a bit; in fact I think it may be my best in a very long time. To make Cherry chia; add 1-2 teaspoons chia seeds to your bottle, remove the cherry stones from about 6 ripe washed cherries, cut into quarters, add the cherries to the chia and fill with brewed kombucha, swirl a bit of kombucha around to get the chia seeds wet, then fill to the bottom of the neck of your bottle. Cap and date...the cherries and chia become active really quickly (like minutes); burp your bottle the first couple of days and refrigerate for a couple days before you open; it's powerful!!!

The next flavor this weekend was tomatoes...lots and lots of juicy red-ripe tomatoes from the Eric Waller Community Garden and our front yard garden. I am letting them ripen just a tad more today before I can them whole tonight. We will have lots of delicious and local/organic tomatoes for winter stews! Yum!

XOMC