SALSA SUNDAY: Making salsa to preserve

The last bounty of the garden -- or the farmers' market -- is in, and you are wondering what to do with big quantities of tomatoes and chiles. Canning them for use through the winter is a good way to go, and while it does involve some work, it isn't as onerous as it might seem at first.

The key is to use the right kinds of jars -- sealable Mason or Ball brand jars -- and to follow sterilization techniques for the jars, their lids and seals and for the equipment to be used in the canning process. Read here for information on the right jars and sterilization techniques. Do NOT attempt this without carrying out the sterilization as instructed.

After sterilizing the jars and equipment, you are ready to make salsa. Make it roughly in these proportions: For every pound of tomatoes, use 4 ounces of jalapeños, 4 ounces of milder chiles such as anaheims, 1/2 cup of onions, 1 clove garlic, 1/4 cup of vinegar, salt and pepper to taste.

Peel tomatoes by scoring an X into the skin at the bottom, then blanch in boiling water for 10 seconds. The skin should come right off when pulled at the scoring. Chop tomatoes and onions, dice garlic. Seed and chop chiles.

Put all ingredients, including vinegar, into a pot and bring to a boil while stirring. Reduce to a simmer for 10 minutes. Spoon salsa into sterilized jars, wipe tops and sides and seal as indicated in sterilization instructions. Put filled and sealed salsa jars in boiling water for 15  minutes.

Your salsa should be preserved and can be stored in a cool, dry spot before use. When opening a jar for use, check for any signs of spoilage and discard if you find any. Refrigerate after opening.

(Photo credit: www.healthygardener.net)

Inspiring women: my Mom and Julia

(Note: Chef Tony Marano assigned students in his Culinary Foundations I class at the California Culinary Academy to write a short essay on our reactions to a book about food and cooking. This is my essay.)

    Food is culture.

   Julia Child’s “My Life in France” bears witness to that, revealing her embrace of the fullness of French cuisine and the way of life it represents.

   She fell in love with French food and cooking and inevitably with the French people and everything about them. She learned their language, allowing her to encounter and befriend them and adopt French life in every sense.

   She appreciated from literally her first meal in France that good food well prepared by long-established and refined custom was the common denominator in French culture.

   Her recounting of those experiences led me to recognize more clearly than ever that what I learned in my Mexican mother’s kitchen wasn’t cooking; it was culture. And when I cook from the repertoire of recipes and techniques that my mom taught me – both by osmosis and direct instruction – I am respecting and renewing my culture.

   Rooted in corn and chiles, ours is a cuisine of robust flavors and smells and of bright and earthy colors. As such, it reflects the robust and colorful culture that is my heritage.

   Julia Child inspires me to continue pursuing knowledge of food and culinary arts as part of my culture – how these foods, in this place, prepared in this way, presented and eaten thusly reveal the ongoing life of a people.

   She ends her story by declaring that “the pleasures of the table, and of life, are infinite – toujours bon apétit!”

   To which I say, ¡Claro que si – que aprovecho!

Inequities at farmers' markets

Had occasion to visit the Ferry Plaza Farmers' Market in San Francisco on Saturday and found significant differences between it and the Fillmore Farmers' Market, which is in my neighborhood.

Many more vendors, including more certified organic vendors, were in evidence at the Ferry Plaza. A lower proportion of the Ferry Plaza's vendors were offering prepared foods.

Prices at the Ferry Plaza market were significantly higher overall. One or two select items were lower in price than at Fillmore, but most were much higher.

(Photo at right: Sample of chile selection at the Ferry Plaza market.)