Apple Season

Roasted Green Salsa

Well, this is the time of year when tomatoes are coming ripe in bunches, peppers are ripening (especially chili peppers in our Northern climates, they do come late in the year, don't they!), and even onions (the long-day ones) are ready to harvest ... which all adds up to ... well ... SALSA. At least in my house it does!! Salsa is a great way to use up the bounty of all of these vegetables at once, when you are already swamped with produce. Salsa is also a great idea if you get a bunch of tomatoes (too many for fresh eating) but not quite enough for canning (making sauce, or crushed tomatoes or a canned recipe). If you are freezing salsa, you can use whatever number of tomatoes you happen to have on hand, and tweak the recipe to fit. That's freezing, mind you... if you want to can your salsa, you have to stick to the recipe exactly.

I grew my own Cilantro in the herb garden this year just for salsa. I wanted to try several different varieties this year, fresh versus roasted, different colours of tomatoes, a version with paste tomatoes, canned versus frozen, etc.

Today, I picked quite a few green-when-ripe tomatoes, so I decided to make a green salsa ... roasted green salsa for freezing, to be specific. If you use green tomatoes, green peppers, green chili peppers, and green herbs, it becomes an all-green salsa. There isn't enough acid in this recipe to can it safely, so I froze it in small tupperware containers. It doesn't all HAVE to be green, that just seemed like a fun thing to try. You can use any colour tomato/pepper etc of course, if that is what the garden gives you that day. Without further ado:

Roasted Green Salsa

Ingredients:

8                      Heirloom Tomatoes – green when ripe

2                      Green Peppers – Bell Pepper or Cubanelle

1                      Jalapeno Pepper

1                      Poblano Pepper

1 large             Onion

4 cloves           Garlic

½ Cup             Lime Juice

1 tsp                Sugar

1 tbsp              Chives, fresh and chopped

1 tbsp              Cilantro, fresh and chopped (or dried)

1 tbsp              Parsley, fresh and chopped

1 tsp                Oregano

2 tsp                Cumin

2 tsp                Chili Powder

1 tsp                Salt

Makes: about 6 Cups

                                   

Directions:

Cut the Tomatoes in half. Scoop out seeds.

Cut Peppers in half, remove seeds.

Cut Onion into quarters after removing skin.

Remove skin from Garlic cloves.

Roast all vegetables on a roasting pan (with sides) at 375 degrees for about 30 minutes, until onions turn translucent and peppers are beginning to char a little.

Let cool. Peel tomatoes and Peppers if you wish.

(This is more of a texture issue than anything to do with safety, some people dislike the texture of peels even after processing, and some - like me - don't notice and don't mind. Personal preference here).

Add to the food processor. Also add the Sugar, Lime Juice, Salt, Cumin, Chili Powder, Oregano, Cilantro, Parsley and Chives.

Then use a food processor to chop into a fine, smooth consistency.

It will probably still be fairly juicy, especially if you used tomatoes that weren’t paste types.

Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for around 20-30 minutes, until the salsa reached the desired consistency. Keep in mind that after freezing, and thawing for use, it tends to become more watery, so it is nice to have a thicker salsa to begin with.

Remove from heat and let cool.

Fill freezer-safe Tupperware jars with salsa leaving ½” headspace. Make sure the Salsa has completely cooled, to avoid condensation and ice on top of the salsa. Place lids on and freeze.

Alternatively, you could also measure a cup or two into resealable plastic bags, gently press flat, then freeze for easy and swift defrosting whenever a snack attack occurs. Depending on your freezer space, this might be a space-saving option.

Freeze some ice cube trays as well (for use with eggs in the morning, or other small additions to recipes)

Today's Tomato Harvest

Just a quick peek at the harvest ... these are some of the heirloom tomatoes from today, a small package for my dad.

They are (clockwise from top left): Green Pineapple, Northern Lights (but I think it might have been mixed seed and not true ... either way, it is tasty!), Great White, Eva Purple Ball, and Berkeley Tie Dye Pink.

Spicy Corn Chowder

I love when corn is in season. The flavour of fresh corn is unbeatable. Here's another recipe for your fresh corn ...

Now, this is not meant to be a soup ... this is a chowder ... and a chowder needs a bit of body to it. The fresh Corn is the star here, so we use cornmeal instead of flour to thicken it, and we simmer the corn cobs in the stock to give it an even richer corn flavour. The peppers give a nice smoky, lingering heat to balance the sweet Corn, but nothing overwhelming. The chorizo is also a nice smoky, meaty addition but you could easily omit it to keep the Chowder vegetarian-friendly.

Ingredients:

1                      Onion, chopped

2 stalks            Celery, chopped

1                      Bell Pepper – green or red, chopped

1                      Chipotle Pepper, chopped (or Chipotles in Adobo) – if you like it spicy, increase.

2                      Potatoes, peeled and chopped

4 cloves           Garlic, diced

4 Ears              Corn Kernels (about 3-4 cups)

1 tbsp              Cornmeal

½ lb                 Chorizo sausage

4 Cups             Vegetable Stock

2 Cups             Water

½ Cup             Lime Juice (or the juice of 1 lime)

½ tsp               Salt

½ tsp               Black Pepper

½ tsp               Chipotle Chili Powder (or Ancho Chili Powder, Smoked Chipotle Powder)

1 tsp                Cumin

1 tsp                Coriander

2 Cups             Milk or Light Cream

2 Cups             Cheddar Cheese, grated

2 tbsp             Cilantro, fresh

Directions:

Husk and clean the corn, chopping the kernels off and reserving the cobs.

Dice the Onion, Celery, Garlic, Pepper, and Potato.

Melt down the butter and sauté the Onion and Celery for 5 minutes.

Then, add the Pepper, Chili Pepper and Potato for 5 minutes more.

Finally, add the Garlic for a minute further.

Sprinkle the corn meal over the sautéed vegetables, toss things around for a moment to coat.

Pour in the Vegetable Stock, Water, and Lime Juice.

Scrape all the brown bits off of the bottom of the pot and add the corn cobs (not the corn kernels), Salt, Pepper, Cumin, and Coriander.

Raise this to an active boil. You want to make sure that the corn cobs are reasonably submerged. If you need to, add a bit more water.

During all of this, in another pot, remove the Chorizo from its casings and brown the meat, breaking it up with a spoon, until totally cooked through. Drain off excess grease and set aside.

Once the corn pot reaches an active boil, add the corn kernels to the pot.

Lower the heat, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes.

After 15 minutes, remove the corn cobs and add the Cilantro.

Use a food processor or immersion blender to puree the Chowder.

Drop the heat to low.

Add the Milk and grated Cheddar Cheese. Stir to combine. Add cooked Chorizo.

Cover the pot and leave it on low heat for 5-10 minutes.

For garnish, I used a spoonful of sour cream and some chopped fresh parsley. Tortilla chips would be nice for a crisp contrast, or a fresh salsa would be a different way to go (diced tomato, pepper, corn kernels).

Serves: 4