Salsa Recipe and General Stuff

Since several people have asked about my salsa from the previous post, I thought I'd just post the recipe here and on my recipe blog. Hope everyone that makes it enjoys it.

DIANE'S SALSA

14 cups chopped ripe tomatoes
1 cup chopped onion
¾ cup chopped bell pepper
¾ cup chopped jalapenos or other hot peppers
3 cloves minced garlic
2 cups white vinegar
¼ cup sugar
1 tbsp. canning and pickling salt
1-2 small cans tomato paste, to your taste

*NOTE* You can adjust the amounts of the hot peppers, garlic and onion, more or less to your taste. I usually add a little more salt to mine, too. Taste for salt and sugar, then adjust if necessary before you jar it and seal it.

Combine all ingredients in a 5 quart or larger Dutch oven or other large pot. Bring to a boil then turn down and simmer for 20 minutes, uncovered, stirring occasionally. Add 1 can of tomato paste and stir to distribute evenly. If not thick enough for your taste, add remaining can of tomato paste and combine thoroughly. Taste for salt and sugar and add more if necessary. Bring back to a boil, then place in clean pint canning jars and top with new lids and seal. Immediately turn jars bottom side up on the lids as you seal them. Leave for 10 minutes then turn jars right side up. It's not necessary to process salsa in a hot water bath canner, but you may if you wish. Process pints for 10 minutes. It's not recommended that you put this in quart jars. Yields 8-10 pints.

**I learned the trick of turning all my jars upside down that are not processed in a canner from a County Extension Cookbook I have. If there is any bacteria on the lids the hot product kills it when you turn it upside down.
Now, I'd tell you all about the exciting things happening in my life right now, but there ain't any, folks. Of course, there's exciting-meaning FUN, you know, the good exciting, and then there's EXCITING, meaning to cause alarm or unusual attention. I'm glad to report there's been none of the alarming kind of excitement around here lately, but neither has there been too much of the fun kind of excitement, either. That's fine with me. I'll take boring over the bad kind of excitement any ol' day. Of course I don't always get to choose how and when the excitement happens around here, so I try to take it day by day. Not that I have any choice in that, either.

Summer is still hot and humid and miserable here in Arkansas. Meow in Australia is still having frost in the mornings toward the end of her winter. I'd sure like to swap her about 30 degrees of our heat for 30 degrees of cool on this end. Fall and winter can't get here soon enough for me. The words "fat girl", "hot" and "sweaty" should never, EVER, be used in the same sentence. If by some cosmic design they do come in conjunction together, they shall very soon thereafter be followed by such terms as, "uncomfortable","stifling", "the heat of a thousand fiery suns", "irritable", "murderous", and it goes downhill from there. Can I get an "Amen, Sister!!?"

Having exhausted that subject, moving on....I've been seeing on several of the Mommy blogs I frequent that some of you are excited (there's that word again!) about school starting back soon in some regions. Some purport to be excited about buying new school supplies and such as that, but I suspect there might be just a little hysterical giddiness about the little darlin's getting back in the routine of, a-hem, BEING AT SCHOOL AT LEAST 7 OR 8 HOURS OF THE DAY. Not that we don't love them or anything like that, but time apart can be good for a relationship, right? Work with me here, people. Even some of the homeschooling Moms have been talking about the specialness (like that word? I just made it up) of having new pencils and crayons and blank paper. A new start for a new school year. All kidding aside, I remember those days fondly from my school days, and then from Jessica's childhood.

As I read some of those accounts of new school supplies and new teachers, new schools and new beginnings, it occurred to me that this is a new beginning for me, too. For the first time in 13 years I won't be going school supply shopping this month. It almost passed without me even noticing it until I read those blogs. In less than 2 weeks Jessica will start to college and for the first time in over a decade I won't be stretching and bending at Walmart, looking for 7 different colored pronged, pocketed folders and binders. No new pens and red markers, no new pencils and calculators. No dealing with the principal and teachers for various reasons. From now on, my little girl will have to fight her own battles with her teachers and professors. Buy her own college supplies. She'll have to learn to make her money stretch or do without some luxuries like, you know, food, clothes, shampoo, soap.....silly stuff like that. I have an intuition that a lot of growing up is about to commence very shortly for Miss Jessica Rose Jennings, along with a lot of other college freshmen all around this world. It's gonna be hard not to see her as often when she starts college, but I did most of my wailing and gnashing of teeth over her growing up and away when she graduated high school in May. She "moved out" last month to share an apartment in the city 6 miles up the road where she'll go to college. She's spent almost as many days and nights here at home since she "moved out" as she stayed in her apartment. Which is fine, because I do miss her and get hungry to see her when I haven't seen her for an hour or so. I'm really not that bad, but I do miss her and want to talk to her or see every few days or so. I think when she first moved out and I called her every other day or so if she didn't call me or come home in the meantime, that she thought I was checking up on her and trying to be controlling, but I honestly wasn't and I'm not. I just need to hear my kid's voice or see her every so often for my own peace of mind. The Mama in me is always on duty. Any of my family will tell you that I am NOT a worrier for the most part. If you tell me something so I can help you worry about it-- Sorry, you're out of luck. And I'm not really worried about Jessica, I just miss her. There's a difference. I hope she learns that soon.

You may have noticed that I have some new buttons in my sidebar. If you haven't already, please click on the button and meet Miss Emma Grace and read about her. I was touched by her story and I think you will be, too. If you're a praying person, I know her Mom appreciates your prayers for Emma Grace and her family.

Amy Wilhoite is a young married lady who is struggling valiantly with leukemia. I've mentioned her several times on my blog and she and her family also would be most appreciative for your prayers.

It's almost 2 am and I still have to proofread this and publish it, assuming Demon Blogger is cooperative, so I'll close this by wishing everyone a great rest of the week. May God bless you and meet all your needs, my friends and family.