Southwest Salsa

I've FINALLY gotten enough tomatoes from the garden to can a couple of batches of salsa this year! The tomatoes were late to ripen and now the evenings are getting down into the mid-60s and I'm not sure if the rest will ripen or not. I was hoping to be able to can some plain tomatoes and some tomato sauce. Ah, the perils of gardening! :) This recipe is from "The Complete Book of Small-Batch Preserving" and is salsa just the way we like it! I usually double the ingredients to make a little over 5 pints. I leave my veggies kinda chunky too!

4 cups chopped, peeled tomatoes (about 2 lbs)

1 cup chopped onion

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup chopped sweet red pepper

2-4 jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced (depending upon how hot you like it)

1/2 cup red wine vinegar

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

2 tablespoons orange juice

1 tablespoon lime juice

1 teaspoon granulated sugar

1 teaspoon pickling salt

1/4 cup tomato paste (I use more because I like my salsa thicker)

Combine tomatoes, onion, garlic, peppers, vinegar, cilantro, orange juice, lime juice, sugar and salt in a large non-reactive saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat; reduce heat and boil gently, uncovered, for 30 minutes or until mixture is thickened, stirring occasionally. Stir in tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes.

Remove hot jars from water-bath canner and ladle salsa into jars to within 1/2 inch of rim. Process 20 minutes for half-pint and pint jars. Don't forget to adjust processing time depending upon your altitude.

Makes 4 cups.

The cookbook has an interesting little note about cilantro.

"Coriander (also called cilantro) is perhaps the world's most popular herb. It really makes salsa sing. Store fresh coriander with its root ends in water and covered with a plastic bag. Change the water every few days. Wash the coriander and remove the root ends just before using."

The storage tip works like a charm for a lot of fresh herbs with stems.