Peach Salsa!

Every summer I get to pretend to be a stay at home mom.  A teacher by trade, I am blessed and so privileged and have earned every second with many sweat drops of blood to have  my summers off.  And I love it.  I love not fixing my hair.  Or worrying about whether my shirt matches my sweat pants.  And ponytails.  I love my ponytails!!! 

But I also love all the deliciousness that comes from summer harvests.  My sweet parents always had a HUGE garden as we were growing up-- and they still do!  You may remember that I have done my best to follow in those rather daunting footsteps if you've followed my ramblings for very long.

Missed that post?  No problem!  Just click right here ---->{here!} 
to read about my past endeavors. 

But this summer has been a little different.  My sweet Samuel has been the gift that kept on giving {again, the back story is --> here ... and --> here } so I was given the opportunity for one more adventure... I had to have reconstructive surgery and abdominal repair, including fixing 5 hernias, at the end of June.  So, yah.  My summer gardening has NOT been what I had originally envisioned.  However!  There is always a silver lining.  And that is why I'm writing this post.

Peach.  Salsa.

We have a fanTAStic Farmer's Market, Ware Neck Produce, that has fanTAStic fruits and veggies.  They had a fanTAStic sale on peaches this week, so if one basket is a good deal, 5 must be even better.  Amiright?!  As I was perusing the various goodies, I noticed that they also had a fanTAStic deal on 7.11 pounds of tomatoes in the bargain bin.  So what's a gal to do?!  After whipping up several (and I mean several) pints of peach jam, and knowing that I didn't want my 7.11 pounds of discount 'maters to go to waste, I decided upon some peach salsa.

After much debating and surfing, I decided upon a recipe from which I would base my peach salsa.  I liked what I saw from this post, but I didn't have everything on the list.  Naturally, I just improvised.  I was VERY pleased with the outcome, and since I did such a "menu modification" (as my sweet hubby calls it), and I didn't want to forget what I had done for future canning adventures-- I give you a perfectly peachy treat.  Without further adieu, here is my oh-so-scrumptious rendition of PEACH SALSA!

This is what you will need:

 

2 tbls. minced garlic

2 capfuls dried oregano

1 capful paprika

1 capful onion powder

1 capful ground cumin 

2 capfuls dried cilantro

1 small can green chilies

2 tbls. diced jalapeno peppers

1 small can tomato paste

Along with:
(not pictured)

5 pounds fresh peaches (peeled and chopped)

8-9 pounds ripe tomatoes (skins removed and diced)

1 package of Mrs. Wages' Mild Salsa Mix

1/4 cup salt

1 cup vinegar

1/2 cup brown sugar

In a rather large stainless steel pot, add your diced peaches.  Add all the dried spices (including the salsa mix pouch).  Then add in all those diced tomatoes.  Mix well and finally add in that little can of tomato paste.  Make sure everything is well incorporated.  Give it a little taste.  If you'd like it a little sweeter, add some more brown sugar!  If you'd like a little more heat, add a few more peppers.  However, I will tell you, that I love me some heat, and this combo here had a nice little zip to it!  (That being said, feel free to leave out the green chiles and/or jalapeno peppers if you're scared you don't care for that much heat.)

Bring mixture to a nice boil and continue to stir.  Allow to simmer for 5 minutes.  You will notice a not so lovely "film" on top of your salsa, so with a spoon, just skim it off.  Trust me.  It's kind of gross.  Just skim it and be done.

Portion salsa into hot, clean jars and after adding hot, clean lids and rings, place in water bath.  Get that water boiling, and once the water is a rolling boil, set your timer for 30 minutes.  Once that time is up, I usually turn off the heat, remove the lid from the pot, and set the timer for another 5 minutes, letting the jars rest in the water bath pot.  After that additional 5 minutes, carefully remove the jars and wait for that glorious *pop* to let you know your salsa is perfectly safe and ready for winter-- if you can wait that long! 

A couple of  notes:  

~If you need a little reminder on how to easily peel those peaches, check out this site.
~If you need a little reminder on how to easily peel those 'maters, you have a couple of different options if you head over to one of my favorite sites (and I always use "option one"!).
~This recipe made all those lovely jars you see pictured above, minus one portion in a jelly jar that I shared with a sweet friend from church.  So, seven quarts and two pints of salsa are waiting to go on my pantry shelf.