Dan decided to start a garden this year. Of course, living in Northern Ontario our garden season starts a bit later than most. So we turned out guest room into a greenhouse. He planted a ton of tomato seeds thinking that only a few would sprout.
They all sprouted.
Once we moved them to our outdoor garden, the tomatoes had a mind of their own. Twisting, stretching they took over their area of the garden. Soon we had over 100 unripe tomatoes on the vine. We knew it was just a waiting game until they ripened….all at once.
What else were we supposed to do but make salsa?
Salsa is one of those foods that just screams ‘summer has arrived!‘!
Nothing beats garden fresh tomatoes, the heat of hot peppers, the sweet bite of onions all mixed together.
While its most popular form is an old party stand-by chips and dip, it is so much more versatile than that! Try it in scrambled eggs, mix some into your guacamole for an elevated summer dip, or bake it alongside some chicken.
Most salsa have some form of bell pepper in the mix. Ours doesn’t, only because I’m allergic to them. Feel free to add them to your mix!
Summer Harvest Salsa
(makes 5 x 500mL jars)
Ingredients
- 2-3 cups ripe tomatoes, diced
- 2 ears of corn, kernels removed from cob
- 4-6 ripe mangos (depends on the size available to you), peeled, seeded and diced
- 1 jalapeno pepper, diced (if you like your salsa spicy, add another)
- 1-2 red onions, peeled and diced (we used one very large red onion for this recipe)
- 5-6 cloves of garlic, peeled and diced
- 2 cups fresh coriander/parsley/dillweed, stems removed and chopped
- juice of 1-2 limes
- 2 tsp salt
- 5 widemouth 500mL jars for canning + lids
1. Mix all your ingredients together in a big pot and bring to a simmer. Let simmer for a half hour.
2. While salsa is simmering, wash jars and lids with hot water.
3. When salsa is done simmering, spoon into jars, making sure to leave 1/2 inch of space at the top. We followed this method of canning, but you can always use a hot water bath or a canner if you have one available.
What are some of your favourite homemade canned foods?
-Sarina
The Cornthwaite Corner 
I’ve been wanting to try my hand at gardening lately as well! We just purchased our first home and I guess it just seems like a “home owner” type thing to do! Haha! I’m going to have to try this recipe for my hubby. I can’t do spicy stuff but he LOVESICK spicy and can’t get enough of homemade salsa! Thanks for the recipe!
LikeLike
Hey Jessie! We currently rent (but not for long!!), but Dan transformed a bit of our outside into a garden using pallets…and a lot of tomato hoops! I’d start with herbs first- basil, oregano, chives, green onions. Mint is the easiest to grow- it flourishes so easily!
I kill most plants, so I stick to succulents
LikeLike
Mango salsa is always my favorite when we are out at different restaurants but I have never made my own – excited to try!
LikeLike
I find salsa to be one of the easiest things to make at home…but we never have before! So glad that we did- we have quite a few tomatoes to use up before summer ends
LikeLike