So far the weather has been garden perfect, with peas starting to come in strong due to lots of rain (but not too much) and lots of sun. People are busy preserving peas from dawn to dusk, shelling, blanching, and freezing them for future use. There’s something satisfying about seeing all those bags of peas lined up in deep freezers at the end of the day.

Of course, fresh peas also taste very good, and not every batch of peas makes it to the deep freezer; they end up as a tasty side dish for dinner instead. A favorite way to fix peas in the summer is a fresh pea salad. Peas are blanched as if for freezing, but after an ice water bath, they end up in a bowl with some of our green onions that are also thriving, some diced red pepper and celery, fresh dill, and chopped cheddar cheese, all held together with a bit of mayo. That is summer in a bowl.

With all the vegetables now beginning to come in, it’s also time for our food preservation workshops. We’ve held our freezing workshop, and made freezer peach salsa; unfortunately, only part of the salsa ended up being frozen- the rest ended up being eaten with chips. Fresh salsa from fresh ingredients just begs to be tasted.

Our canning workshop will be in a few days, and we’ll be canning peach salsa and putting it into ½ pint jars so that hopefully everyone will get a sample to take home. It smells so good while cooking, that working over a hot stove on a hot day is worth the effort of slicing, dicing, cooking, and canning is worth the effort to have the salsa bringing a bit of summer to cold winter days.

Here is the peach salsa recipe we are using:

12 C Chopped Peaches (6-16 oz cans if using canned peaches)

1 C Apple Cider Vinegar

2 1/2 C Chopped Red Onion

12 Finely Chopped Jalapenos (or to taste)

2 Chopped Red Bell Pepper

4 Tbsp Honey

Zest & juice of 1 lime

 

Prep all your jars, lids, and other canning items. This includes washing the jars, lids, and rings. Fill your canner with water. Set out a dish towel to set the finished jars on, canning tongs, and a plastic knife for debubbling.

Peel and chop your peaches into 1/4-inch pieces. Add them along with the vinegar to a large stainless-steel pot. Stir to get the peaches coated. This will keep them from browning while you prep the rest of your ingredients.

Dice your red onion. Remove the seeds from the bell pepper and chop. Remove the seeds from the jalapenos and chop finely.

Combine all the ingredients in the pot. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly.

Reduce heat and a low boil, stir frequently for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat.

Ladle the hot peach salsa into your hot jars, leaving 1/2-inch headspace. Wipe the rims with a damp towel. Place your lid and band on and tighten to fingertip tight.

Place your jars in your canner. The water needs to be completely covering the jars by at least an inch. Bring to a boil and process for 15 minutes. Remove the canning lid and wait 5 minutes, then remove the jars and place on a dish towel to cool.

For freezer salsa, complete steps through combining ingredients, but do not cook. Put into freezer bags and seal using vacuum sealer. If you don’t have a vacuum sealer, use double ziplock bags, getting out as much air as possible before sealing. To use, put into warm water to thaw.

Makes 16 half pints

Variations:

  • Add 2c blueberries
  • Use mangos instead of peaches
  • Add 2c blackberries