Newer version of Annie's Salsa - BWB only Annie's Salsa 8 cups tomatoes, peeled, chopped and drained 2 1/2 cups chopped onion 1 1/2 cups chopped green pepper 3 to 5 chopped jalapenos (for milder leave out seeds and ribs) 6 cloves minced garlic 2 tsp cumin (optional) 2 tsp pepper 1/8 cup canning salt 1/4 c fresh cilantro (optional) 1/3 c sugar (optional) 1 cup cider vinegar (see note on subbing lemon or lime juice option) 16 oz canned tomato sauce (to adjust density) 8-16 oz canned tomato paste (to adjust density) Mix all ingredients, bring to a boil, boil 10 minutes. Pour into hot jars, process pints for 15 minutes in BWB. Makes 6 pints. _________ A lot of changes have been made to this recipe over the years. Some people like lemon or lime juice in place of some or all of the vinegar, that's fine. (Note from Sheila - I like half lemon half lime.) Some people leave out the cilantro, that's fine too. Do not increase! Some people add more hot peppers or fewer onions, fine as long as you keep the same total measurements. (Note this is what NCHFP does in their new Choice Salsa recipe.) Some people leave out the sugar, that's fine. You can scoop out the goo in the middle of the tomatoes with your thumbs when I'm peeling and chopping for a less seedy version, so it's 8 cups of chopped tomatoes without the seeds and goo. Most who make it regularly as well as Annie recommend using a variety of different slicing tomatoes, not paste types, for best flavor and consistency. (Note: use the tomato sauce and paste to adjust the consistency of the final product to a "sloshy" consistency.) According to Annie "My salsa is not as thick as Heinz catsup but it's thicker than taco sauce. If you don't like it quite as thick or sweet, cut down the amount of paste. I would add some, then taste. Reducing that ingredient shouldn't affect the safety of the recipe. I use equal amounts of sauce and paste. You can pull it off the heat at any point and adjust for flavor. Before I cook it I check for salt, sugar, check the consistency. Add more pepper or cumin if I want. When I first started making this salsa, tomato sauce and paste came in 8 and 16 ounce cans. Like everything else, they've now been downsized, so now I have to use partial cans." Does anybody have good versions of the other recipes that have weird symbols in them for measurements?

Cook's Illustrated just recommended the Thermoworks Thermapen ($96). For other types of thermometers they recommended the Thermoworks Super Fast Waterproof Pocket thermometer- RT 600C ($24); the Cooper-Atkins Oven Thermometer bi-metal coil ($6.00) and the CDN pro Accurate Data Hold Oven Thermometer ($12).

We've been out of town for awhile (October Thanksgiving in Tennessee while our son-in-law is home on leave) and just got back last night, so I'm playing catch-up.... After using agave nectar since 1998, I've now seen enough evidence to make me eliminate it as our primary sweetener and I've switched to low-glycemic palm sugar for more than a year. If I need a liquid syrup-type sweetener, I mix palm sugar with water (2 c. palm sugar to 1 cup water - heat until the sugar has melted) to make "palm syrup" (rather than buy the expensive palm syrup available). I've experimented with Sun Crystals (blend of pure cane sugar and stevia), and calorie-free Truvia as well, but like palm sugar better for taste and use in baking. I was never happy with stevia the first time I did a lot of experimenting with it, but like it better when mixed with sugar in Sun Crystals. "Raw Agave is refined hydrolyzed 70-90% high fructose inulin syrup metabolized directly to fat and triglycerides in your body, triggers obesity, cardio vascular disease and insulin resistance, not GRAS. More unhealthy than HFCS or sugar." But to be fair, we never encountered any of these problems from use of agave nectar ourselves. Probably because ALL sweeteners are used in moderation because we choose low-glycemic foods to begin with. We also consume a large percentage of raw/whole foods, not a lot of refined foods, and maintain a daily fitness program. -Grainlady

All the grandchildren's gifts were hits. My eight and nine year old grandsons favored their Underarmor hoodies and Hershey Park season tickets. My toddler grandson's favorite was the fire truck pedal car that DH got for him and he loved the youth tablet and case. The babies got clothing and money in their bank accounts. My DDs loved the Spode Christmas tree mugs, Penzy spices, Rough Linen tea towels and as always the money gifts. The big miss was an Underarmor hoody I got for DS. It was black with the UA logo outlined in green. I saw the roll of eyes and asked if he liked it. He answered that it's ok but he would never wear it outside of the house. Nothing new with him not liking a gift. Even the rare times he raved about a gift at the time months or several years later I hear how crappy it was. One year we bought him, his s.o. and her daughter the best desk top computer and printer that Circuit City had. It was expensive but it was needed. A few years later he told me it was a pos and he bought something else. Next year he will get a cash gift only. DH gave me a Fitbit. I had planned on purchasing an Apple watch for myself. but I love the Fitbit because he got it for me. He also gave me a Chico's gift certificate that I will put to good use. My all time favorite gifts though this year is a little ceramic heart that my DGs gave me that says "life is sweeter because you're my Nana", and the family photo books from my DDs!