When Jeff and I first bought our house, we talked about growing a salsa garden in the backyard. Well, we just finished our fifth summer (!) in our little brick bungalow, and we (and by “we” I mean “I”) finally did it: made salsa with ingredients from our own garden. This was our first year for homegrown tomatoes as well as bell peppers. I would like to try growing onions and garlic sometime, but perhaps when we have a bigger yard.
My two tomato plants yielded 6.5 pounds of juicy, roma-style goodness for my salsa making this past weekend. I didn’t follow a specific recipe, but looked at several blogs and recipe sites to cull together the basic proportions with which to start.
Tomatoes and bell peppers from the garden and hot peppers from a farmer's market
Here’s my basic outline:
6.5 lbs. tomatoes
1 cup red bell peppers, chopped
1 1/4 cup green bell peppers, chopped
1 cup onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, chopped
3 whole jalapeños
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
3/4 tsp cumin
1 1/2 cups cilantro or 1 large bunch
1/2 cup lime juice
ground black pepper
First, I blanched the tomatoes and removed the skin since most people I read suggested it. I’m usually a skin-on type of girl, but I didn’t want gross bits of rolled up tomato skin in my salsa.
Next, I quartered the tomatoes and disposed of the seeds and nasty innards (the main reason I despised tomatoes as a child — I have texture issues). I didn’t bother chopping the tomatoes more than that since I was just going to throw them in the blender. The goal was for restaurant-style salsa rather than chunky.
Then I chopped the peppers, onion, and garlic. I did not want to risk getting hot pepper oils on my skin, but didn’t have plastic or rubber gloves. Instead, I improvised with a sandwich baggie.
I blended the tomatoes (on pulse) by themselves first. Jeff came through at this point and said it looked like baby food! I began to doubt my success. Once I had a good tomato puree, I added the spices and chopped veggies and gave it a few quick pulses — just enough to mix all the ingredients together and get a finer dice. Lastly, I mixed in just over half of my chopped cilantro.
I wasn’t sure if I should declare the salsa done at this point, or if I should let it simmer on the stove for awhile. So I decided to experiment and do half and half.
A taste test of the fresh (uncooked) salsa at this juncture revealed it needed time for the flavors to meld. So into the fridge it went. When we later pulled both cooked and uncooked out for their side-by-side comparison, our verdict was unanimous: cooked for the win! Unfortunately, after sitting for awhile, the flavor of the cilantro was greatly diminished. If you like cilantro in your salsa, I recommend adding it right before serving. Personally, I agree with Pioneer Woman: the more cilantro, the better.
Next time, I will add more hot peppers. We like salsa with some kick to it… we usually buy medium from the store. This stuff didn’t have a lot of kick, but it did leave a satisfying after burn. Unfortunately for our heat-loving taste buds, this burn diminished after some fridge time.
This post chronicles another item crossed off The List. Don’t know what I’m talking about? See this post or check out the current list.
First of all, does anyone get the reference that is the title? This has become something of an inside joke between me and a dear friend, but it’s also a general reference that anyone could get. Just wondering.
Moving right along.
I love making lists. Crossing things off my lists gives such a great feeling of satisfaction! Also, I’m forgetful so lists help me save time and brain cells. While I don’t really like the term ‘bucket list’, I do like the general idea: keeping track of measurable life goals, both large and small. The 101 Things in 1,001 Days lists going around are inspirational, but I find myself wanting something more open-ended.
So this is just The List. It’s not even to 100 things yet (my original list-writing goal), but it will grow and change as I grow and change with life. There are, of course, lists on my list. (I’m ashamed to say this makes me kind of giddy.) The granddaddy of them all is my Best of Film list. I’ll do my best to blog items as I check them off, assuming they are actually blog-worthy.
Oh, and if you have any suggestions of things to add, please share. What are some of the things you’ve always wanted to do? Or have already done? Do you have a list like this? As some of my favorite bloggers would say: spill the list-making beans.
Also, I want to clarify that this list is mainly just for fun. The most important goal in my life that all other goals fall under cannot be measured and checked off in this way. And that goal is to glorify God in all I say and I do (of which I fall short many, many times). Earthly accomplishments will all fade away, and I’m not trying to measure up to anything with this list. I just want to live this life—however much time I’m given—to the fullest.
Okay, I’m stepping off my soapbox now. On to the list!
I’m a bit late with today’s senses, but, hey, it’s still Friday!
Today I am…
hearing: the gentle snap of tomato and pepper stems as my fingers pluck them from the plants
seeing: my grandmother’s metal colander full of ripe, red tomatoes
smelling: tomatoes, onion, bell peppers, hot peppers, cilantro, garlic, salt, sugar, cumin, lime
tasting: fresh homemade, homegrown goodness
feeling: lingering heat residue inside my mouth; salt on my lips; satisfied
How about you?
My addiction to NPR first started in March 2009. Well, that’s when I got my first real taste anyway. As a kid I remember listening to Garrison Keillor in the car with my mom. I also remember being infuriated with him. It was probably just The Writer’s Almanac, but for some now unknown reason I couldn’t stand him.
I held on to this amorpheus, groundless dislike for public radio (though mostly for Garrison Keillor) for a long time. This angst was also fueled by the infuriatingly calm voices of the local classical radio station announcers. To me, they sounded just like Garrison Keillor. At some point I started listening to AM talk radio, specifically WGN Radio 720 out of Chicago. (Bob Collins, Spike O’Dell, John Williams, and Steve and Johnnie Putnam were all a big influence on me during my teenage years.) Since moving from my childhood home (and the WGN listening area), I have discovered that not all talk radio is created equal.
When I moved to Cincinnati, I was excited to find another major market AM talk radio station. However, with the exception of morning drive time (which still wasn’t up to par, but was at least listen-able), I was sorely disappointed with the narrow-minded, often one-sided programming I was hearing. Where was the thoughtful reporting, witty commentary, and open-minded discussion I was looking for?
It was across the dial on NPR.
But getting back to March 2009… I was visiting my good friends Katie and Rodney, when Rodney told me about Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me and Car Talk. We listened to an episode of each show via podcast, and I remember laughing my head off, being impressed with the quick thinking and obvious smarts of the hosts, and feeling better informed.
When I got back home I began religiously listening to the Wait, Wait podcast. Eventually I looked up our local NPR station. Today, my car radio is tuned to the local NPR station 99% of the time as is my alarm clock. My iTunes is filled with NPR and APM podcasts. NPR.org is my go to news web site, as well as a source for interesting books, music, and culture.
Hello, my name is Sarah, and I’m addicted to NPR.
Note: As much as I love this sweet little girl, she is not mine. However, I am proud to be one of her honorary “aunts”!
There are so many things to love about fall, but one of my favorite things of the season is pumpkin. It’s hard to top a homemade pumpkin pie or pumpkin roll (except with whipped cream, of course), but pumpkin bread is right up there too. Especially if you put chocolate in it!
The cast of characters (minus the eggs)
Last week I pulled out my trusty King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking cookbook that I love so much, and made a double batch of pumpkin bread: one full-sized loaf and one pan of petite loaves.
It smelled so good in the kitchen that even Mochi-dog thought she’d have a bite. Fortunately I realized what she was up to, and she only ate off one and a half petite loaf tops from the stovetop. I can’t recall her doing anything like that in the last 10 months we’ve had her so that just illustrates my point further: even she can’t resist the pull of pumpkin (or perhaps it was the chocolate?)
Also, my kitchen cabinets are apparently the color of pumpkin bread.
Pumpkin Bread
(from King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking)
Yield: One 9 x 5-inch loaf
Baking temperature: 350°F
Baking time: 1 hour
Pumpkin as an ingredient is a natural for a whole grain loaf. The moisture of the pumpkin is absorbed by the whole grain’s bran, making a moist and tender bread. The more pronounced flavor of the wheat berry combines in harmony with the spices.
2 cups whole wheat flour, traditional or white whole wheat
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 cup (1 stick, 4 ounces) unsalted butter
1 cup packed light or dark brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup canned pumpkin
3/4 cup chopped nuts
3/4 cup raisins, dried cranberries, or chocolate chips
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan.
Whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and spices in a medium bowl.
Cream together the butter and sugars in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, stopping to scrape the sides and bottom of the mixing bowl. Beat in the vanilla and pumpkin. Add the dry ingredients, mixing until evenly moistened. Stir in nuts and raisins, cranberries, or chips.
Pour batter into the prepared pan. Bake until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 1 hour. Remove the bread from the oven and place it on a rack to cool for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, run a table knife around the edges of the pan to make sure the bread isn’t sticking, turn it out of the pan, and place it on the rack to finish cooling completely before slicing.
*****
As for the options listed above, I used traditional whole wheat flour, pecans, and chocolate chips. That’s good stuff right there, let me tell you.
