Savoring Summer with Salsa

It is not a great year for tomatoes for us. I won't show you what the tomato plants look like now - they have almost no foliage remaining and they definitely gave out on their production weeks ago. But the few we did get went into salsa this week.  This recipe is from the Ball Canning Book. I made the careless mistake of not wearing gloves when I seeded the jalapenos. I won't do that again.

Salsa - makes 5 pint jars
7 cups chopped tomatoes (3.5 lbs.)
2 c. chopped onion
1 c. chopped green pepper
8 jalapeno peppers (or to taste)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 can (5.5 oz.) tomato paste
3/4 c. white vinegar
1/2 c. chopped cilantro
1/2 tsp. cumin
salt to taste

Combine all ingredients in a large sauce pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes. Ladle hot salsa into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch head space. Adjust two-piece lids and process 15 minutes in a boiling water canner.

I had 18 lbs. of tomatoes, adjusted the amounts of the other ingredients accordingly, and made 19 pint jars.

This week at the market we will have carrots, beets, red and green lettuce, kale, chard, gladiolas, flowers and jams.  See you there!

In Full Swing

It's hard to believe that we have been at the market for 16 weeks. The flowers are growing well, although because of so much rain, we have had to stake most of them.  When the ground gets saturated, they become top-heavy and fall over, causing their stems to curl upward.  That alone would not be a problem, but curved stems do not work in flower arrangements!

Our garlic is sold out for this year. 

We have shipped it as far as west as Hawaii and as far east as Cape Cod!

This week we will have cut flowers (cut arrangements and gladiolas by the stem), kale, swiss chard, red and green lettuce, beets, carrots, cherry tomatoes, strawberry and black currant jams.  See you there!

Something New!

This year we are growing gladiolas for the first time.  We will have them at the market this week, selling them by the stem.  The color choices will be yellow, green and pink. We have fond memories of vacations in Chautauqua where gladiolas could be seen on most porches in the summer.

Chautauqua, NY

Gladiolas at Chautauqua

Endeavor Farm gladiolas

The tomatoes are coming along but would prefer more heat and less rain.  When Elizabeth worked on an organic farm on Cape Cod a few summers ago she introduced us to the plastic clips that we now use to support the vines.  The clips allow the vines to continue to grow without restriction. The pickling cucumbers, Brandywines, Super Sweet 100's and Sungolds are coming along.

This week we will have: Flowers (mixed bouquets and gladiolas), beets, green beans, beets, swiss chard, lettuce, basil, kale, fresh garlic and jams.

See you at the market!