SALSA!

We’ve had quite a lot of ripe tomatoes harvested this week, and we haven’t been able to keep up with the harvest just by having fresh tomatoes. So, I decided to make some SALSA! I wanted to make a recipe that included fresh cilantro, but couldn’t get my hands on any. And I haven’t come across any cilantro seed either, so I haven’t been able to grow my own in the garden.

So… when I was at the grocery store I picked up a little packet of dehydrated salsa ingredients (dried peppers, onions, herbs and seasoning) and used the recipe on the back of the packet along with the fresh tomatoes. The recipe couldn’t get any easier … chopped tomatoes, the ingredients of the packet, and 1/2 cup vinegar. (If you don’t have fresh tomatoes on hand, store-bought canned/diced tomatoes can be used.)  I chose to freeze one quart of the salsa to see if we like the result of it being frozen, and then canned the rest of it for longer shelf-life storage.

(Photo from Tattler’s website)
I recently got some reusable canning jar lids by Tattler and thought this would be a great time to try them out. I’ve been using regular metal canning jar lids for our canned goods, but don’t like that metal lids are really just a “one time wonder” when it comes to using them for preserving. (I do reuse the metal lids that are in good condition to cap jars that aren’t being canned/sealed.)

Something else that’s concerning is that I’ve noticed that metal canning lids are not always available in local stores. There always seems to be a few boxes of jars available, but extra lids aren’t always in stock. Last time I bought a box of 12 metal regular sized canning lids (at a big-box store) I paid $1.63, and a box of wide mouth sized lids was $2.27. Investing in some reusable lids seems like a smart thing for me to do.

I like the fact that the Tattler lids are reusable again and again, that they’re made with BPA-free materials, and that they’re made in the US. I also like that they can be used in water-bath canners, pressure canners, and can even be used for vacuum-sealing!

I don’t usually have trouble getting jars to seal, but since this was my first time using the Tattler lids, I kind of expected to have at least one or two seals fail simply due to my inexperience in using them. But I was very pleasantly surprised that every jar sealed up tight as can be! Beautifully! I also used Tattler lids to seal up a couple quart jars of yellow zucchini relish, and they turned out great, too!