kindergardens - week 18 {salsa!!}

It's salsa week at our house!

Anyone want to come over for tacos?

Kiddo helped pick the peppers (and broke a jalapeno in the process, and I, dumb mom, didn't even think about it until after he had thrown a tantrum all over the lawn while I was trying to talk to the neighbor and we got back inside - lecturing the whole way about rudeness - and he said something about his hands and his lips feeling hot, and it finally dawned on me that he had jalapeno juice ALL OVER!  No wonder he was upset).

He was going to help me pick the Roma tomatoes, too, but he got distracted by the grape tomatoes, which were much easier to pick (they weren't hiding in the depths of the plants like the Romas were), and he got to eat them right away.  I can hardly blame him.  Yum!

I must confess that salsa hasn't been as much fun this year.  Due to our lack of rain all summer, our tomatoes are tiny.  It's kind of hard to tell the difference between the grapes and Romas, the Romas are SO SMALL.  There was a lot more work involved than in the past to get them ready to go in the pot.

(yes, believe it or not, at least some of those are Roma tomatoes!)

Hubby and I chopped and chopped, and then threw everything into the pot, where it simmered all day long.  I wish I could take a pic of the smell.  Mmmm-mmmm good. 

I was disappointed that we only had enough tomatoes for a small pot, and that was after picking them for a week.  But my sister-in-law called the other day and said she had a bucket full of tomatoes that she couldn't use, so this weekend the plan is to make a BIG batch.  While I was making this batch, Kiddo told me he wanted to help (after the salsa was already simmering on the stove).  I told him he could help stir, but there wasn't much else to do right then.  "No," he said, "I don't find stirring things very exciting."  Well then.  Maybe I'll get him chopping some onions or peppers this weekend.  Chopping is more exciting than stirring, right?

Besides salsa, we have been grilling veggies, making homemade onion rings, slapping veggies on burgers, making zucchini bread/cake/muffins, and feasting on veggie pizza.  I'm going to be sad when winter rolls around.

The birds have been busy feasting this week as well - I found this buffet they had set up in the sunflowers.  Lean over the edge, grab a seed or two, then eat it right there on the back of the sunflower!

The goldfinches are also snacking on our coneflowers.

I have staked out the dining room window, trying to get a picture where I can actually see his face, but so far he and his friends have not obliged.  And of course, the one time I did find a cooperative finch, my camera was at the other end of the house. 

UPDATE:  My stalking paid off...I got him!

Today I am making stepping stones with Kiddo for his flower garden.  I can't wait to see how they turn out!

For other posts about our "kindergarden" experience this summer, feel free to check out the kindergarden archive in the sidebar.

Find out what's going on in other kindergardens over at The Inadvertent Farmer!

UPDATE #2:  Salsa Recipe

3 quarts tomatoes, peeled and chopped.  We usually use Roma - more meat, less juice and seeds - but any kind will do.  We are using regular slicing tomatoes this weekend, I will probably get rid of some of the seeds just to make it less runny.
2-3 large bell peppers, chopped
2-3 jalapeno peppers, chopped
2-3 med. onions, chopped
2 tsp garlic
1 c. white vinegar
1 tsp whole oregano
3 T. salt
cayenne pepper to taste (1 T for hot, less for milder.  We use between 1 and 1-1/2 tsp.)

Mix tomatoes and peppers in large pot (one recipe will just barely fit in a 4-qt dutch oven, which is what I used this week).  Simmer until reduced to 2 quarts (this takes a while).  Stir in remaining ingredients.  Put 1 tsp vinegar in bottom of each jar.  Fill with salsa and process 30 minutes (water bath).

Helpful hint:  to peel tomatoes quickly, cut a cross in the skin of the tomato on the bottom.  Submerge in boiling water for a few seconds, then remove and submerge in cold water.  Peel should slide off easily with finger pressure.  If it doesn't, just drop it back in the boiling water for a few more seconds.