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ENLARGE
Paulette Zwirn
Loaded wheelbarrows are rolling out of the garden now, and the canning and preserving season is moving along at a frantic pace.
Seems such a short time ago we were lamenting the weather and praying for warm days and nights to get our fruits and produce ripened before the inevitable rains came again. Keeping up with the daily watering, picking and preserving is now my major challenge.
Salsa is a favorite destination for those tomatoes in many kitchens around the county, and here’s a very safe, simple way to preserve it in the freezer. No danger of botulism when freezing it, so you may feel free to adjust the proportions of any of the ingredients to suit your taste. Be sure not to skip the important step of heating the mixture. This is blanching, a requirement for stopping or slowing the enzymatic action and keeping the vegetables palatable.
Method for Freezer Salsa: Place 7 quarts chopped tomatoes in a large heavy pot: turn heat on very low. Add 7 medium-sized dry onions, chopped; 8 yellow sweet peppers, 7 bell peppers (or 15 chile peppers, mix and match) 8 jalapeno peppers, all seeded and diced.
Add 1 1/2 cups cider vinegar, 1/4 cup bottled lemon juice, 1/3 cup sugar, 4 tablespoons salt, 1/2 teaspoon oregano, 1 teaspoon cumin, 12 cloves crushed garlic (or 3 tablespoons garlic powder). Bring mixture to a boil, simmer just until heated through. Let cool. Add 2 bunches chopped cilantro. Bag and freeze.
I suggest you make one batch and try it for taste, then make additions, substitutions, deletions as you wish. My own family prefers the hot peppers doubled, more garlic, less sugar, and three bunches of cilantro.
There are salsa booklets with approved recipes available at the OSU Extension office if you need to can your mixture. Remember, you must follow instructions and use exact proportions when canning salsas, as all these vegetables are very low acid and potentially dangerous.
Drying: These are so good that I make them by the gallon. Slice tomatoes about 1/4 inch thick, single layer onto dryer mesh. Sprinkle lightly with onion and garlic powders, then with dried basil and dried oregano. Dry at 145 degrees for 5 to 9 hours until they are leathery and slightly brittle. Cool. Store in airtight container.
Italian Salata (from Dave Pedotti, Sutherlin): Using a flat plate or serving platter, layer on sliced fresh garden tomatoes. Add a layer of red (or sweet white) onion rings, a layer of bell pepper rings. Scatter on a handful of feta cheese chunks. Drizzle with equal portions olive oil (or canola) and balsamic vinegar. Sprinkle lightly with dry Montreal steak seasoning or a twist of salt and cracked pepper.
Still have tomatoes? Wash, dry, bag, freeze. During winter when chili and soup pots are bubbling, throw in the summer tomatoes. When they hit the boiling liquid, the skins roll off and rise to the surface for skimming. Break up tomatoes with a wooden spoon.
Fry the last green stragglers while studying seed catalogs and dreaming of next year.
Seems such a short time ago we were lamenting the weather and praying for warm days and nights to get our fruits and produce ripened before the inevitable rains came again. Keeping up with the daily watering, picking and preserving is now my major challenge.
Salsa is a favorite destination for those tomatoes in many kitchens around the county, and here’s a very safe, simple way to preserve it in the freezer. No danger of botulism when freezing it, so you may feel free to adjust the proportions of any of the ingredients to suit your taste. Be sure not to skip the important step of heating the mixture. This is blanching, a requirement for stopping or slowing the enzymatic action and keeping the vegetables palatable.
Method for Freezer Salsa: Place 7 quarts chopped tomatoes in a large heavy pot: turn heat on very low. Add 7 medium-sized dry onions, chopped; 8 yellow sweet peppers, 7 bell peppers (or 15 chile peppers, mix and match) 8 jalapeno peppers, all seeded and diced.
Add 1 1/2 cups cider vinegar, 1/4 cup bottled lemon juice, 1/3 cup sugar, 4 tablespoons salt, 1/2 teaspoon oregano, 1 teaspoon cumin, 12 cloves crushed garlic (or 3 tablespoons garlic powder). Bring mixture to a boil, simmer just until heated through. Let cool. Add 2 bunches chopped cilantro. Bag and freeze.
I suggest you make one batch and try it for taste, then make additions, substitutions, deletions as you wish. My own family prefers the hot peppers doubled, more garlic, less sugar, and three bunches of cilantro.
There are salsa booklets with approved recipes available at the OSU Extension office if you need to can your mixture. Remember, you must follow instructions and use exact proportions when canning salsas, as all these vegetables are very low acid and potentially dangerous.
Drying: These are so good that I make them by the gallon. Slice tomatoes about 1/4 inch thick, single layer onto dryer mesh. Sprinkle lightly with onion and garlic powders, then with dried basil and dried oregano. Dry at 145 degrees for 5 to 9 hours until they are leathery and slightly brittle. Cool. Store in airtight container.
Italian Salata (from Dave Pedotti, Sutherlin): Using a flat plate or serving platter, layer on sliced fresh garden tomatoes. Add a layer of red (or sweet white) onion rings, a layer of bell pepper rings. Scatter on a handful of feta cheese chunks. Drizzle with equal portions olive oil (or canola) and balsamic vinegar. Sprinkle lightly with dry Montreal steak seasoning or a twist of salt and cracked pepper.
Still have tomatoes? Wash, dry, bag, freeze. During winter when chili and soup pots are bubbling, throw in the summer tomatoes. When they hit the boiling liquid, the skins roll off and rise to the surface for skimming. Break up tomatoes with a wooden spoon.
Fry the last green stragglers while studying seed catalogs and dreaming of next year.
Paulette Zwirn is a longtime Douglas County resident and a Family Food Educator volunteer for Oregon State University Extension Service.
