My Magpie Mind: Our Country Life

You may have heard me say before that my only real ambition in life was to be a mother and wife. It is still true today, however, the gig doesn't pay well so I am back to another year of teaching. I do, at least, teach a subject I love. Environmental science ties in nicely with my desire to live sustainably and be the best human being I can be. A new change in the way we are doing things this year is homeschooling. Our 13 year old twin boys are taking a year off to reinforce traditional life skills and fine tune their academics. They are going back to basics, incorporating Bible study, and enjoying some time with their grandparents. We have taught them to can food, clean and sharpen lawnmower blades and tools, chop and stack wood, drive a truck, grow a garden and tend animals, and they are in the process of engineering solar panels. We did all of that this summer! They already could cook, but through 4-H they are becoming "Grill Sergeants" and will someday make their wives very happy with their newly acquired skills. My children's youth is slipping away and I am at work while it slides through my fingers. Regardless, I am trying to enjoy as much of it as I possibly can. I love the country life and I took some pics to document ours.

This morning's breakfast was chocolate waffles with fresh cherries, and western omelets. 90% of this meal was grown and produced by our family!

Want to be more sustainable too? Here is a tutorial on canning salsa. It is a good place to start! We have been canning corn, peaches, and tomatoes for several days but we are switching to salsa in the following photos.

SALSA Ingredients

Tomatoes - about 15 lbs (yes, quite a few - you remove the skins, seeds ( I leave the seeds in because they don't bother us) and a lot of the water, so it takes a lot to start.) You'll need about 3 quarts of prepared chopped tomatoes. This makes about 8 pints of salsa! If you only want to make a single jar, see this page instead!
Salsa mix or your own seasonings. The Ball salsa mix sells for about $2.00 to $4.00 per packet. A packet will make about a 7 pint jars. See step 7 below for seasonings.
2 cups Lemon juice (if you make your own seasoning) or white vinegar (if you use the Ball or Mrs. Wages mixes) Ball is better IMO.
1 bunch cilantro
10 Jalapeno peppers chopped (or as many as you like)
5 onions chopped (or as many as you like)

Equipment

1 Water bath Canner (a huge pot to sanitize the jars after filling (about $30 to $35 - $30 at local "big box" stores. Canners, supplies and kits can be purchased by clicking here if you prefer. Tomatoes are on the border between the high-acid fruits that can be preserved in a boiling-water bath and the low-acid fruits, vegetables and meats that need pressure canning.
Pint (or smaller) canning jars (Ball or Kerr jars can be found at Publix, Kroger, or local "big box" stores - about $8 per dozen jars including the lids and rings).
Lids - thin, flat, round metal lids with a gum binder that seals them against the top of the jar. They may only be used once.
Rings - metal bands that secure the lids to the jars. They may be reused many times.
Jar grabber (to pick up the hot jars)
Lid lifter (has a magnet to pick the lids out of the boiling water where you sanitize them. ($2 at mall kitchen stores and local "big box" stores. I love this do hickey - it is a magnet with a handle.
1 large pot.
Large spoons and ladles
Jar funnel ($3-Grocery stores, like Publix, Kroger and Safeway and local "big box" stores; sometimes even hardware stores)

Step 1 - Selecting the tomatoes and chopping the veggies

It's fun to grow and pick your own and you can obviously get better quality tomatoes. The ones above are the "uglies" from our garden. We slice the prettiest fresh and can the ones on which the bugs and birds munch. All the veggies below are from our garden - they are so much better than anything you can get from the grocery store. If you don't garden visit the farmers market. Chop the peppers, onions, cilantro. etc... and set those aside.

Step 2: Slipping the Skins

Here's a trick you may not know: put the tomatoes, a few at a time in a large pot of boiling water for no more than 1 minute (30 - 45 seconds is usually enough) then plunge them into a waiting bowl of cold water. This makes the skins slide right off of the tomatoes! If you leave the skins in, they become tough and chewy.

Step 3: Remove seeds and Chop Tomatoes

After you have peeled the skins off the tomatoes, cut the tomatoes in half and chop into the size chunks you like best. Remove the seeds and excess water at this point if you like ( I leave the seeds in because we like them and they add fiber). Combine the spice pack, tomatoes, vinegar, and all veggies in a large pot and mix (no need to cook at this point).

You may add whatever you like at this point, here are some ideas:

3 cups chopped onions

6 jalapeño peppers, seeded, finely chopped

4 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 cups lemon or lime juice (if you are using a mix, be sure to follow their recipe; the packet mixes often use vinegar instead of lemon juice)

1 tablespoon salt (optional)

1tablespoon sugar (optional - you use Stevia, my preference (or if you prefer, Splenda) if you are on a sugar-restricted diet, or simply omit the sugar)

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 tablespoon ground cumin (optional)

2 tablespoons oregano leaves or chopped cilantro

If you like the sauce hotter, add 1 teaspoon of chili powder.

Step 4: Sanatize and Heat Jars

The dishwasher is fine for sanatizing the jars; especially if it has a "sanitize" cycle. I get that going while I'm preparing everything else, so it's done by the time I'm ready to fill the jars.
Be sure to let it go through the rinse cycle to get rid of any soap! Lids: Put the lids into a pan of boiling water for at least several minutes. Note: everything gets sanitized in the water bath to prevent spoilage

Step 5: Filling the Jars

Fill pint to within ¼-inch of the top, clean the rim with a moist towel and seat the lid and hand-tighten the ring around them. Be sure the contact surfaces (top of the jar and underside of the ring) are clean to get a good seal!

Step 6: Boil The Jars in a Hot Water Bath

Put them in the canner and keep them covered with at least 1 to 2 inches of water. Keep the water boiling. Process the jars in a boiling-water bath for 20 min. minimum. This is necessary to kill germs.

Step 7 : Cool Down

Lift the jars out of the water and let them cool without touching or bumping them in a draft-free place (usually takes overnight). You can then remove the rings if you like, but if you leave them on, at least loosen them quite a bit, so they don't rust in place due to trapped moisture. Once the jars are cool, you can check that they are sealed verifying that the lid has been sucked down. Just press in the center, gently, with your finger. If it pops up and down (often making a popping sound), it is not sealed. If you put the jar in the refrigerator right away, you can still use it. Some people replace the lid and reprocess the jar. If you heat the contents back up, re-jar them (with a new lid) and the full time in the canner, it's usually ok.

Enjoy your salsa all through the winter! It makes great gifts too!