Friday, July 18, 2008

Just Stuff

Sam made another trip to visit his son and daughter. We woke to beautiful temperatures for mid-July - 72 degrees. Sam said he had to stop when he got to town to put his jacket on. LOL I don't know what the correct name for these lilies is but aren't they gorgeous? I know, the photo doesn't do justice...
So let's get closer...And look what's about to open up!
Mama came over and we made salsa...and what a story we have about this! I have a recipe from a dear lady who is now dead. I've made this specific recipe before, but I'm sure it was back in the 70's, so here we go...I wondered why it called for 8 cups of sugar for only 1 gallon of tomatoes. So, I put 1/4 cup of sugar in it. As we tasted and grimaced, we realized why...it had 6 cups of vinegar! Mama peeled more tomatoes, I opened three cans of diced tomatoes, 1 can of Rotel tomatoes, and three cans of tomato sauce. We added more sugar, but not the 8 cups the recipe called for. I sent Mama on home to rest and continued to cook until Sam came in and gave it a taste test...it passed, so I jarred it. I was seriously considering tossing it...what a waste that would have been.17 1/2 pints later! We won't have to make more salsa for another three or four years! It IS pretty though, isn't it?! In case you are wondering why my mother comes to my house for canning - I have all the canning implements. AND, my mother has been waiting on the gas pipes in her home to be replaced for several months now...no cooking at her house until that happens. Unfortunately, it will probably take the onset of cold weather before the guy remembers that she's sitting in the cold...even though she calls him on a regular basis. She trusts him...so she will wait...as long as her patience holds out.