Salsa (for canning)

This recipe was given to me by a good friend and neighbor and I've been making it every year since. No more Pace in this house! Around here, we call this "the good stuff".

Salsa (for canning)

7 quarts peeled, cored, chopped tomatoes
4 cups seeded, chopped long green chiles
5 cups chopped onion
1/2 cup seeded, finely chopped jalapeno peppers
6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 cups bottled lemon juice
2 Tbsp salt
1 Tbsp black pepper
2 Tbsp ground cumin
3 Tbsp oregano leaves
2 Tbsp fresh cilantro

Procedure (as written): Wash and rinse canning jars; keep hot until ready to use. Prepare lids according to manufacturers directions. Wash and dry peppers. Discard seeds and chop. If you choose to peel chiles, peel using this method to blister skins:

Place chiles in a hot oven (400 F) or broiler for 6-8 minutes until skins blister. (I've also used a medium-hot grill.) After blistering skins, place peppers in a pan and cover with a damp cloth or you may put the still hot peppers in a closed zip-top bag. Cool several minutes then slip off skins.
Hot pack: Combine all ingredients except cumin, oregano and cilantro in a large pan and heat, stirring frequently until mixture boils. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add spices and simmer for another 20 minutes, stirring occasionally (mixture should be thick- if not, cook a little longer). Ladle into hot, clean jars leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Remove air bubbles and wikpe rims of jars with a clean paper towel. Apply canning lids. Put in canner and let water come to a boil in canner. Process for 35 minutes.

**When I make this salsa I make these changes**
I usually leave out the oregano and add an entire bunch of cilantro instead.
I also use lime juice instead of lemon juice
My family likes things spicy so I usually use 3 cups chopped jalapenos (sometimes I throw in a couple habaneros) and 1 1/2 cups chopped chili peppers or bell peppers or any other mild pepper.
Also, I don't peel my tomatoes or peppers. I chop them with my Vita-mix and it gets the pieces small enough that the peels really don't matter. The peels don't change the taste of the salsa anyway, only the looks- which I don't really care about. Feel free to peel if you like spending the extra time!

And a side note... In case you inadvertantly burn your hands with the peppers, use this trick to help ease the pain: Mix 1/2 cup baking soda and 1/4 cup COLD water to make a thick paste. You can spread this on your hands, or do like I do and just stick your entire hand in the bowl. Ahhhhh!

My family (and my neighbors) laugh at me every year because at least once a year I end up carrying a bowl of baking soda around with me ALL day! Last year I was slicing habaneros and those little beasts burned RIGHT THROUGH MY GLOVES! (It was very traumatic. I now pick habaneros with tongs and throw them straight into the food processor!) This year I chopped about 2 dozen mild chile peppers thinking 'hey, they're mild... I don't need gloves.' FYI... even mild chile peppers BURN if you cut enough of them!