Salsa

My year has been really busy and I really slacked on making food. I am so many food failures, more than I ever have had. I tried making corn tortillas and it was a huger flop...the corn tortillas kept on sticking to the press. I used plastic wrap, plastic baggies and wax. Maybe another time I will try.

Yesterday my mother-in-law and I made salsa. Well we cut and chopped everything and put it together. I started the canning process and my MIL and husband completed it. I was needed by my newborn. It sure took a lot of time to make just 5 pints of salsa. Next time I will certainly double the recipe.

The salsa is a medium-hot variety...on the hot side but not too hot to handle. Here is the recipe, it is tasty.

8 cups tomatoes, peeled, chopped and drained
2 1/2 cups chopped onions
1 1/2 cups chopped green peppers
1 cup jalepeno peppers (remove seeds for less heat)
6 T. minced garlic
2 tsp. cumin
2 tsp. pepper
1/8 cup canning salt
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup vinegar
1 15oz can tomato sauce
1 12oz can tomato paste

Mix all ingredients together. Food process if desired. Bring to a low boil for 10 min. Cook in a pressure canner and follow manufacter's directions.

Freshly baked Bread

The last couple of weeks I have tried a couple of different basic bread recipes. I found a recipe I found works for our family as it makes 4 loaves at once time and the dough is manageable for me to work with. My first batch I made I used 3/4 all purpose flour and 1/4 whole wheat flour. The second batch I used "bread flour" which is about 75% more expensive. The third batch I used 100% all purpose flour. The fist batch was heavy but tasted the best. The second batch had the best texture. The 3rd batch looked the best overall, sliced easily but the taste was just not the best.

I am going to try using 75% bread flour and 25% whole wheat flour to come up with what I think will be the best flavored bread at home with a nice texture.

I have been contemplating purchasing a grinder to make my own wheat flour at home. I attend a conference each May where the grinder is at a discount and I would not have to pay shipping. Most likely I will be waiting until May. Until then, grocerystore flour will have to do.

Rice Milk

For the last 3 years I have been purchasing Rice milk, usually by the case of 12 at least 2-3 times a month. That is about $45 a month. I tired a couple of recipes for rice milk but they were watery and the kids did not like it. I can buy a 50lb bag at Costco for about $10 that will last all year long.

Today, for the first time I made a great rice milk recipe and the children like it. This is an extremely flexible recipe and you just have to taste and go and add the desired water to make the right consistency, enough sugar and vanilla to taste.

Step 1. Cook rice as you normally would. (I love my $15 rice cooker I bought from Walgreens 1 part rice to 2 parts water, press the button and it will let you know when it is done).

Step 2. Scroop rice into a high speed blender with at least twice as much water for 5 minutes. Add approximately twice as much water or until desired thickness is reached.

Step 3. Flavor rice milk-Add desired sweetner, vanilla, cinnamon to create a taste you will enjoy.

Step 4: After 30 minutes or so pour rice milk slowly into another pitcher, there will be a slight amount of sediment on the bottom.

My measurements 2 cups cooked rice "smoothy", filled 2 qt pitcher with water and blended. Add 1/3 cup white sugar and 2 shakes of vanilla powder (alcohol free vanilla, basically pureed vanilla beans).

Enjoy!