Homemade

It’s that time of year. Tomatoes are in full force. We joined a CSA three years ago and started getting more tomatoes than I knew what to do with. I made a lot of BLT’s and marinara sauce, but my favorite recipe was fresh salsa. This salsa is seriously the best I’ve ever eaten. Just about every fresh ingredient came in our CSA share this week, so it was obviously a sign I needed to make it.

INGREDIENTS:

{For MILD Salsa}:

4 ripe medium-sized tomatoes {cherry tomatoes are fine, too—about 1 cup of uncut cherry tomatoes = 1 medium tomato}
4 cloves of garlic
1/4 cup cilantro
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 ½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 jalapeno pepper {seeded and finely chopped}
1/2 white onion {finely chopped}
1 green bell pepper {seeded and finely chopped}

{For MEDIUM Heat}:

2 teaspoons of black pepper
3/4 white onion
add 1 more jalapeno {seeded and finely chopped}
add 1 Serrano pepper {seeded and finely chopped}

{For HOT Salsa}:

2 1/2 teaspoons of black pepper
1 whole white onion
add 2 more jalapenos {seeded and finely chopped}
add 2-3 Serrano peppers {seeded and finely chopped}

INSTRUCTIONS:

Put tomatoes, garlic, cilantro, cumin, lemon juice, salt, and black pepper in a blender and blend until liquefied.

Finely chop the jalapeno pepper, onion, and green pepper and put in a large bowl. Pour the ingredients from the blender into the bowl and mix thoroughly with a spatula. Makes four cups. TIP: If you’d like it chunkier, skip the blender and dice all ingredients {but who has time for that?}. Use in salads, on your tacos, or just dip for tortilla chips. Enjoy. Love,

Check out more fun recipes and craft ideas at http://www.skiptomylou.org/2015/08/10/made-by-you-monday-250/

Homemade Strawberry Rhubarb Jam

This week we received rhubarb in our CSA basket and strawberries were on sale at Dillons. This was clearly a sign from above that I needed to make one of my favorites:

Homemade Strawberry Rhubarb Jam.

My family can’t get enough of this recipe! I have to keep myself from spooning it straight out of the jar–it’s that good, y’all. Here’s the recipe so you can enjoy this little heavenly spread as well.

*Fills four small (8-ounce) mason jars

INGREDIENTS

1 lb. strawberries
1 c. rhubarb
1 & 1/2 c. sugar
2 & 1/2 tbsp. low sugar pectin (powder, not liquid)
1 & 1/4 c. water
1 & 1/2 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tbsp. chia seeds {optional}

STEPS

Before you begin, make sure thoroughly wash your strawberries and rhubarb and sanitize your mason jars. Click here to see how to sterilize jars.
Cut your strawberries and rhubarb into small pieces.
Mix strawberries, rhubarb, water, and lemon juice into a large pot and bring to a boil on the stove.
Mix together the pectin and sugar into a separate bowl. This helps break up the pectin so that it doesn’t get chunky or gooey in the jam.
Once it’s bowling, stir in the pectin and sugar.
Boil for 8 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Remove from heat and pour into jars using a large canning funnel.
Mix in the chia seeds. These will gel up after being in the liquid to give it a better consistency + it adds some nutrition.

You can keep this in the refrigerator for two weeks, or if you’d like to preserve these for several months, continue with the canning process. My family rips through this jam so quickly, we don’t need to preserve it. This is an awesome tutorial to watch if you want to learn how to can jams. If you need canning equipment, click here to buy a kit online.

I hope you enjoy this jam as much as we do. Have a question or want to share a tip of your own? Leave a comment.

Check out some other awesome recipes at http://www.skiptomylou.org.

Love,