Lazy Cherry Tomato Salsa

I knew I'd be having a baby this summer and so didn't go crazy with gardening this year.  I just let the strawberries run wild and added a few other things.  Among those other things were 2 cherry tomato plants, which I thought would be perfect for all the yummy snacking, salads, etc. during the summer.  Guess what?  Those 2 cherry tomato plants turned into a massive cherry tomato bush.  One was the red kind (called 100 something or other because it produces so much) and one was the yellow sunsweet kind (oh SO good!)  And those plants produced massive amounts of tomatoes!  I'm talking buckets and buckets!  I tried putting them in salads, pasta, made bruschetta, and all kinds of things, but I still had too many to know what to do with!  And no one around here needs tomatoes since they all grow plenty themselves.

Then I came across this little gem of a recipe.  There aren't a lot of cherry tomato salsa recipes out there.  I don't know why though--the sweetness of the tomatoes really goes well with the spice of the peppers!  I wasn't planning on canning salsa this year.  You know, baby and all.  But I saw this recipe and how easy it was so I decided to try it.  And I'm so glad I did because it is good!  I was worried it would be too watery--and it is not a super thick salsa--but it all worked out surprisingly well!  I made this batch of 6 pint jars and have enough for another batch!  I think I'll just make some to keep in the fridge this time since we eat so much salsa!

If you find yourself with an abundance of cherry tomatoes and can't eat them fast enough--try this out!  You won't be sorry.

LAZY CHERRY TOMATO SALSA
(found here)
adapted from the recipe for “Spicy Tomato Salsa” in the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving, p. 205.

Makes: 6 pint jars

Ingredients:

12 c. roughly chopped cherry tomatoes, stems removed (it’s fine to do a quick, sloppy job with this chopping, you just want to get an accurate measurement of 12 c. of tomatoes and not 8 c. of tomatoes with a bunch of air pockets) -- One big ice cream bucket of cherry tomatoes = 12 cups
3 c. diced onions
1 c. tightly packed chopped cilantro
15 cloves of roughly chopped garlic
6 fresh cayenne chilis (or whatever you have) (I used jalapenos)
3/4 c. apple cider vinegar
1/4 c. fresh lime juice
1 tbs. sea salt

Prepare boiling water canner, jars and lids.

Combine all the ingredients in a big, heavy bottomed pot.  Cook on medium heat for about 20 minutes, until everything is simmering and tender.  Puree with an immersion blender (or whatever you use to puree things).  Feel free to leave the salsa a little chunky if you like.

Cook for another 20 minutes on medium heat, stirring occasionally,  until it’s slightly thickened. Ladle into hot jars, leaving 1/2″ headspace. Process pint jars--for our altitude I think it ended up being 40-45 min. in my steam canner.

p.s.  I found that one big ice cream bucket (the biggest ice cream bucket I have--I think it's 1 gallon and 1 pint) holds 12 cups cherry tomatoes.