Homemade salsa

I've been a little busy & a little sick over the last couple weeks. I think I'm finally in full control of my sinuses. One of the things I've been up to has been bottling homemade salsa from farmer's market vegetables.  I didn't get much in the way from the peppers or tomatoes I planted this year.

Here's this is based on my mother's recipe she used for decades:

Chop, dice, or blend (your choice of consistency) the following vegetables:
40 tomatoes (I used 20 Romas & 20 regular)
6 Serrano peppers
2 Poblano peppers
3 Anaheim peppers
3 Jalapeño peppers
1 large onion (2 cups)
5 cloves garlic
* my mom adds 2 cups bell peppers, my wife is allergic to them.
** this yields a mild-medium salsa. More peppers = hotter. Fewer peppers = milder. I personally prefer salsa much hotter than this, but I wanted it to be enjoyable for younger taste buds. My mom recommends 9 - 12 Jalapeños for hot salsa. I'm guessing that would translate to "pleasantly medium-hot" level.  (My mom has less robust tastebuds than I do)

Put vegetables in a very large stockpot. Add:
1/4 cup sugar (I'm investigating the potential to use less))
1 Tbsp non-iodized salt (I use kosher salt)
1 Tbsp oregano
1 Tbsp cilantro
Juice 4 limes
1 cup vinegar


Slowly heat to a boil. Almost all the liquid for the salsa is coming from the tomatoes. If you heat it too fast, it will scotch.

I turned the knob to simmer and let it sit for 5 minutes. Then I turned it up 1/2 of a number on the dial every 5 minutes until it boiled. Then I turned it down 1/2 a number every 5 minutes until I found a nice simmer.

Boil/simmer for 60 minutes.

Ladle from stock pot to bottling jars. Leave about a 1/2 inch space in the jar. Jars need to be clean but not sterile. Lids should be sterile. Put lids on.

Bottle per your bottling device instructions. I have an old steamer they no longer recommend using because its impossible to know the internal temperature of what is in the bottle and thusly if all pathogens are destroyed. However, since salsa cooks an hour, I'm pretty sure it's sterile after.

This recipe yielded 16 pints.

Sierra Nevada - Southern Hemisphere Harvest

Today is the first day of real Autumn temperatures at my house. My outdoor thermometer is sheltered and always seems to read a little high. This morning it read 40F (4.5C). The house dropped down to 64F (18C).

So I spent this morning getting the house ready for winter. Mainly this means covering the evaporative cooler and making sure the boiler still works.

After all that work, I decided to crack open something refreshing: Sierra Nevada's Southern Hemisphere Harvest 2012.

This beer uses only freash hops from New Zealand: Pacific Hallertau, Motueka and Southern Cross.

I had it with some left over spinach, chicken, & parmesan pizza from last night.  Mmmm... nothing better than spinach pizza.

Wing Nutz - Wings & Beer

Wing Nutz is a local chain in Salt Lake. It's a place I like to frequent to get my hot wings fix.

These guys have quite a variety of sauces and they aren't overly vinegary, like you might get at a Chili's or a Wingers (another local chain).

Also, they strictly do not fry their wings. I've had some sauces that are really good & some that are bad. I can't remember the bad ones, I don't order them anymore.

Actually, I don't order anymore. I let my wife order the wing combinations, because I can't remember.  So I'm guessing here:  chili garlic, parmesan curry, jalapeno honey BBQ, traditional, and southern hotties.  You can also get them as either chicken or "hog" wings.  Hog wings are pork shanks.

Snowbird Oktoberfest 2012

Oktoberfest always holds a special place in my heart.  I lived at Ramstein Germany from 1983 through 1988.  I was 11 to 15 years old.

I began my love of beer while living in Germany.  Now an important disclamer note here:  Germany has vastly different drinking laws than the United States.  I do not advocate changing the US drinking laws to match Germany's.  Also, some day I'll write a post about how I ended up in the emergency room after a night of binge drinking.

Not a fun memory.

Anyway... so I grew up drinking a lot of Dortmonder Exports and Schwartzlagers.  So when I get nostalgic, that's what I go for.

While living in Germany, I never made it to the actual Oktoberfest.  I don't think my mother was willing to risk having my brother an I exposed to that much drinking.  Also, the mid-1980s was a bad time for Americans living in Europe.  American military and their families were the targets of choice for Libyan sponsored terrorism.

Ephraim Malt Shop

Work today took me down into central Utah. On the way back, stopped at The Malt Shop in Ephraim. It's a great, classic diner.

Ordered a quarter pound hamburger, curly fries, & a small vanilla shake.

Ice cream when I'm traveling is always a dangerous proposition because of my lactose intolerance. But I decided to chance it. I mean, how often do you get the chance to eat at a bonifide malt shop?

The shake was above the rim, so thick that I could not suck it through the straw for about 20 minutes.