Packin' It Away

The awesome supply of fresh garden produce is fantastic, but a little much for the three of us.

So far, we have:
- Blanched and frozen some zucchini.
- Grated and frozen carrots and zucchini (yummy warm cakes and muffins on a cold winter day, here we come!).
- Whipped up pesto sauce with our flavorful, fresh basil and froze for later use.
- Eaten a bunch of meals with fresh ingredients.
- Canned salsa.

I'm spent. And it really hasn't even started yet!

Chopping all of this was the hardest part.

Have you ever made salsa to can? I definitely prefer fresh salsa, but home-canned stuff is good enough during the out-of-season winter months.

As part of my job, I teach how to safely can foods at home. It's really quite the science, but thankfully scientists have already taken the guess work out of it, and all we need to do is follow what they have to say.

Check out the latest 2009 edition of The USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning, or homefoodpreservation.com, or freshpreserving.com for the best and 100% accurate canning information.

Salsa is tricky because it combines border-line low-acid foods (tomatoes) with even lower-acid foods (peppers and onions). Low-acid foods have potential to grow botulism, which can be deadly (yikes!).

I could go on and on and on, but the bottom line is I (and any food safety and canning specialist) would never recommend to can any recipe unless it comes from a safe source (see links above; also check with your local cooperative extension service).

I processed them outside on the camp chef to keep the heat outside.

I used this awesome, easy-to-multiply generic salsa recipe. I'll add cilantro, maybe beans, etc., to it when I open it after storage.