Timeout for tomatoes . . . .

Six puny little Early Girl bush tomato plants, purchased and planted in the garden mid June, produced sixty-plus pounds of tomatoes!  We gave them away to neighbors and family, fed them to the chickens, and were finally faced with picking the remaining ripe ones from the vines pending a cold snap. We stored them in the basement and for a couple weeks, the question of “what are we going to do with all these tomatoes?” made the rounds daily.  Finally there was no turning back.  We hauled them to the kitchen and declared they were not going to leave until SOMETHING had been done to them.

got peppers, got onions, got cilantro . . . .

After chopping for what seemed like an eternity, I decided making salsa would be lots more fun if some unsuspecting victims could be convinced to join in the fun.  A salsa party would definitely be worth trying.  Four people could cut the chopping time considerably: one to peel and chop onions; one to seed and chop jalapeno peppers; one to seed and chop anaheim peppers; and one to snip the cilantro leaves.

Tomato prep . . . . how many more pounds?

Dipping the tomatoes into boiling water and then peeling the skins is truly tedious and should require another three prep cooks plus one additional to flush out the seeds and pulp.  Two more cooks can begin to assemble the remaining ingredients (one to read the recipe and one to locate the right size pan, et al). Throw it all together and begin simmering. Let’s see, we’re approaching a dozen guests if we assign two mixologists to brew up and begin serving the margaritas.  Everyone else can bring on the chips and ready their instruments for the mariachi band!

A few jars for the pantry . . . .

A hot water bath preserves the jars of chunky salsa which now sit on a shelf in the basement and will be opened for another salsa party!  Ole’