Tomato Pepper Salsa…A Must Try!

A little over a week ago I visited the Red Deer Farmer’s Market.  My husband and I took our daughter and were more or less just looking for something to do on a nice and sunny Saturday morning.  We were just about to exit the market and stumbled upon this booth where they were selling fresh picked peppers (jalapeno, bell peppers, Thai peppers, and so many others).  We are big fans of fresh mexican fare (which is extremely hard to come by around here), so we looked into purchasing some peppers to add to our home cooked mexican dinner we had planned for the week.

When we were browsing the peppers a little closer, we realized the vendor had variety bags of peppers that you could purchase for $5 and his own personal salsa recipe was inside for your convenience.  What a great idea!  So, we jumped on it and bought a bag for $5.  A week went by and I finally got around to making the salsa.  It made 12 cups!  So, we shared with a couple of friends and so far, it’s gotten rave reviews.  The man at the market definitely knows his salsa!  This recipe is a perfect sweet and spicy blend.  It’s DELICIOUS!

I shared a batch, kept a batch in the fridge AND froze a batch.  Highly recommend all you local folks visit him at the Red Deer Farmer’s Market (unfortunately, I didn’t catch his business name).  Here is the recipe for your enjoyment:

Tomato Pepper Salsa

8-10 C Peeled, chopped Roma Tomatoes

5 Sweet bell peppers; He recommends 2 green, 1 red, 1 orange, 1 yellow

2 C chopped onions

1C chopped Jalapeno peppers (approx 8)

WEAR GLOVES TO CHOP HOT PEPPERS!!

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 C vinegar

1 5.5 oz can tomato paste

2 T sugar

1 T salt

2 t paprika

1 t dried oregano

Put all ingredients into a large saucepan.  Bring to a boil, stir often.  Reduce heat to medium low.  Simmer for 1-2 hours, stirring often, until thick enough to coat spoon.  Fill and seal in sterilized jars.  Process in boiling water bath for 20 minutes.  Single batch makes approx. 12 cups.