Finish fall canning with salsa

There are about five buffalo on the east side of Highway 395 just north of Stephanie before the bridge. Be careful when you go to look at them, I have had to pull over on the shoulder because I keep finding myself weaving trying to spot them. At first I thought they were mounds of dirt, but I noticed there is a new taller fence in the field. I wasn't sure why until I saw the tall creatures standing up one time.

Craft idea

I saw in the Pinon Hills newsletter a great craft idea for a rainy or snowy day when you children may be getting restless. "Mom, I bored," or "I already did that," my daughter is fond of saying. Grab a few lunch bags out of the pantry and cut them to different heights. Then have your child decorate them like buildings, maybe like the bank, a gas station, a grocery store and a motorcycle shop. Then have them cut out newspaper or construction paper in strips to make the streets and glue them all together to make a small town. How about coloring them like the houses close to you and making your neighborhood. Or maybe even a NASCAR racetrack and decorate the bags like the pit stop area. Sounds like a fun project, bring on the rain.

Gardening is done now

My garden has come to an end, except for the grapes which I have too many of and my neighbors are tired of them also. Want any? Call me and stop by. I have pulled all the tomatoes and peppers and have started the last of my fall canning.

Here is my salsa recipe:

10 cups of peeled, cored, seeded and chopped tomatoes (I like big mama romas best)

5 cups seeded and chopped Anaheim chilies

5 cups chopped yellow onions (5 large ones)

1 pound of any type hot pepper (jalapeno)

1 cup cider vinegar

4 cloves of minced garlic

3 teaspoons of salt

Optional: 1 - 32 oz. bag of frozen cut corn or 2 - 15 oz. cans of black beans well drained, some Mexican oregano, cilantro and or hot sauce to taste.

This year I made a batch with corn, one with black beans, one mild batch and one pretty spicy batch. It is fun to experiment with the different flavors. I also used some yellow tomatoes to add event more color.

I cook all the ingredients up to a slow boil for 10 minutes. In my family, there are always plenty of volunteers to sample my concoction every few minutes to make sure it passes the test. Then it's ready for a water bath in hot canning jars for 30 minutes. Call me if you need additional directions. Have fun.

Lisa Welch is a Johnson Lane resident and can be reached at 267-9350.