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Two Spruce Farm 

CSA Pick Up: Week Thirteen
9/3/2013

Pick Up Site 1: Cobblestone Valley Farm
 6609 New York State Bicycle Route 11, Homer • Friday 4-6pm
Pick Up Site 2: Northland Sheep Dairy
 3501 Hoxie Gorge Freetown Rd, Marathon • Thursday 4-6pm

Howdy! Week thirteen, we've really entered the home stretch now. And with the beginning of September and the weather recently turning a bit cooler, it's feeling like that time of year. A real shift between seasons and activities and goings ons! I've had preserving food on my mind recently and for me, tomatoes are priority number one! If you're unfamiliar with canning or would like to get back into it, I've found Food in Jars to be a good online resource. This is an area where I've found books to be more useful than the internet for canning know-how, however. The Ball Blue Book is a go-to, all-purpose resource, and the Joy of Cooking also has a section devoted to canning among many, many others. And if you have any basic questions, I can probably point you in the right direction. Bulk tomatoes are available to you at a price of $1/lb. If you'd like some, please email me! I recently made almost 40 pints of Roasted Everything Salsa to get me through the winter!

I also thought I'd take the time to let you know my plans for the future. I appreciate so much that you've all been my first ever CSA customers and I've learned so much this year! At the beginning of October, I'll be moving on to Evening Song Farm in central Vermont with my girlfriend, Megan. There, we'll be living with friends who own the farm, growing winter greens in high tunnels, helping to manage the root cellar for winter farmer's markets, and doing some carpentry and forestry work! We're both really excited to be moving on to such a great place with great people but of course, it's sad to leave Northland, the people and connections that I've met and made here, and the horses!

Please select your vegetables here and don't forget to email me for bulk tomatoes!

Roasted Everything Salsa

(I made two double batches to get my nearly 40 pints--with canning, I often like to go for as big of a batch of something as I have pots and processing space for!)

Ingredients

•8 lbs. (approx. 32-40) roma/plum tomatoes

•2 lbs. peppers (approx. 12 Anaheims plus 4 jalapenos is a good combo of flavor & heat, weigh and adjust quantity to equal 2 lbs.)

•4 medium onions

•8 garlic cloves

•1 cup fresh cilantro leaves

•1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano (or regular oregano)

•2 tablespoons ground cumin

•2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons kosher salt

•2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons ground black pepper

•1 cup bottled lime juice (for canning safety, don't use fresh)

•1 cup cider vinegar (or substitute additional bottled lime/lemon juice for vinegar)

•1 cup water

•crushed red pepper flakes, optional (add to taste for a hotter salsa)

Directions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Core and cut tomatoes in half. On large baking sheets, place tomatoes cut side down, peppers, quartered onions, & garlic cloves. Roast in preheated oven 30 min., removing garlic after 15 min. Skin of tomatoes and peppers should be blistered and partially blackened. Cover pan for 10 minutes; steam will make peeling skin easier. Remove tomato skins. * Wearing plastic gloves, remove skin, seeds and stems from peppers (or leave seeds if you want hotter salsa). In batches, place onions, garlic, cilantro, peppers & tomatoes in food processor and chop to desired consistency; transfer to 5 quart pan. Add lime juice, vinegar, water, cumin, oregano, salt, & pepper. If any juices remain in roasting pan, add those, too. Stir together. Add crushed red pepper flakes to taste, if more heat is desired.

*Note: If you prefer, you may leave the skin on the roasted tomatoes. Be sure to puree them in a blender or food processor before the other ingredients in order to finely chop the skin.

FOR WATER PROCESS CANNING: Bring salsa to boil on stove top; reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes. Add to hot sterilized jars leaving 1/2" of headspace, and water process in water canner 15 minutes for half pints, 20 minutes for pints. Turn off heat, and leave jars in hot water for 5 minutes. Remove from canner and let rest undisturbed for 12-24 hours.