Peach Salsa

On my way down to American Canyon this weekend, I saw a produce stand advertising peaches for 59 cents a pound. Of course I couldn't pass this up and did a last minute swerve onto the exit ramp. Now I am the proud owner of 45 pounds of peaches. The natural conclusion was that this weekend I made my second try at peach salsa. My first try turned out alright, but it was a bit too sweet for me which isn't suprising since the recipe I based this off of was originally a chutney. This time I added tomatoe, garlic, more onion and halved the total sugar and I think the result was definitly an improvement. While I am still not a huge fan of using sweet salsas as a dip, they are EXCELLENT on salty mexican dishes. Here is the recipe if you would like to give it a try.

3 1/2 cups peaches peeled, pitted and cut into small cubes
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
3/4 cup chopped red onion
3-4 large garlic cloves finely chopped or grated
1 ½ - 2 cups of pureed raw tomatoes (just trim the ends and throw them in the food processor)
1/3 cup cider vinegar
1 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon minced seeded Serrano chile (or sub for your favorite chile)*
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1) Gracefully dump all the above ingredients into a large pot over medium heat.
2) Heat this delicious fragrant (it’s the cumin and vinegar that really make this smell awesome) mixture till it just barely starts to bubble. Keep in at this temperature for 15-20 minutes depending on how ripe your peaches are. If they aren’t very ripe you can extend this time until they are very soft.
3) If you wish to preserve your salsa you can either let it cool then pour it into baggies/tupperware and freeze or you can pour into mason jars and water bath them for 15 minutes. If you haven’t canned anything before, you can find lots of how to pages online. Here's one I found.

*For the peppers you can adjust to personal taste . I’d add it a little bit at a time and then taste it. Remember the pepper is going to taste a lot hotter when your salsa is warm than it will when it cools.