Salsa and Pickled Banana Peppers

Keeping it real: notice the messy counter and toaster oven behind the canning jars.

It smells like a Mexican restaurant in here, today. I tried out this recipe for salsa and this one for pickled banana peppers. Since we have some very particular people who live in this house (Hubby and oldest son), I decided to try the salsa recipe out in a small batch, only make half a recipe. Well, it passed the taste test for #1 son and knowing dh's tastes like I do, I am sure it will pass there as well. I made the recipe as written (a new thing for me - I usually alter everything, lol) except that I ran everything through the food processor for a less chunky salsa (as requested by #1 son).

I cannot believe how easy it was to make. I've avoided making salsa for years thinking it would be difficult and not come out tasting very good. Boy was I ever wrong. Next market, I plan to get enough produce to make a full batch and can it. If I can do this 6 times this summer, that would give us enough salsa (one pint per week) to last us through next summer, when the tomatoes show up at the market again. We use at least that much salsa, since chips and salsa are our salty snack of choice and we use salsa in cooking sometimes, too. Will I make that much salsa? I doubt it - but I'm sure going to try. Now to learn how to make the chips, lol.

The pickled banana peppers will be a lot easier to make a year's worth, since dh is the only one who eats them. I think one pint per month will be plenty, and since I already have two, the rest could be done in one canning session. Let's just hope the farmer's have enough peppers.

One thing I did not try yet, is the link Paula recommended for lacto-fermented salsa. I have a question for you, Paula. Is the whey called for in the recipe just regular whey, like what I strain out of our yogurt or is it something else? I want to try this, too and hope to do that as soon as possible.

Okay, so what else are you all preserving that I should try?