Couldn't Let it Go

I was standing at the kitchen counter, chopping red bell peppers, when I started to think about how these vegetables under my knife would provide flavor and sustenance months from now. That is always how canning goes, but at that moment it really stood out to me. I have canned pints of salsa every summer for the last several years. This year I have completed only a few canning projects, done at a slower pace than in years past, in between feeding Amos, while he is napping, or when Ray is home. It seemed like a big undertaking this summer, but I was determined not to miss gathering tomatoes, peppers, cilantro, onions, garlic, and a few jalapenos from the farmers market and (hopefully) making our years supply of salsa.

The salsa I made last year lasted until sometime in June. I didn't think I had enough tomatoes or time but over the weekend I was able to can 20 pints which should last us until next summer arrives.





I stood and chopped; stirred and tasted. I thought ahead to opening a jar in January as I often do when preserving the summer. I wanted to be able to look back on a cold winter day, or a blustery spring day and see the colorful, beautiful work that was hot and steamy and a little bit tiring, but so worth it.





We will open these jars when we want salsa, without thinking of the moment in time when they were made. When I stood at the counter chopping, when Ray took Amos for a drive and watched him while I ladled the salsa into the jars, when it was the hottest week of the summer but I couldn't let it go by without making salsa.

 

The recipe is pretty much the same one I posted years ago.