Salsa Day One

 Yesterday was salsa day one. I picked up 100 pounds of tomatoes I ordered from the farm, then went to the Commissary and bought 32 pounds of green peppers, 16 pounds of hot peppers, 32 pounds of white onions and a few bunches of cilantro. My goal was enough salsa for our family until this time next summer, when I can repeat the whole process. 


I made the dining room table the staging area. 

We then washed and chopped the veggies. James, Ben and Tori did most of the rough chopping, then we ran the tomatoes through the Vitamix and the other veggies through the food processor. (Moriah and Alyssa got the fun of lots of dish washing.)

When we got to the onions, we all wore goggles or sun-glasses. Goggles actually work well, but I think they are incredibly uncomfortable. My swimmers feel right at home in them. 

After the veggies were chopped and weighed, we staged batches for cooking on the kitchen table.

Yesterday I did three double batches and today we did two; I think we will finish up tomorrow with two more. The kitchen is always an absolute wreck by the end of the canning session.

Here are yesterday's 36 jars along with tomorrow's tomatoes. Today's are canning and cooling. It's a lot of work, but I really love canning - there is something rewarding about it. Tomorrow I am going to add up the actual cost and have an idea of how much it cost per quart. I'll let you know.