There are certain times when Crock-pots are a Godsend and tomato processing time is one of them. My product default is homemade marinara, but last year I thought I'd try my friend Jean's excellent homemade, slow-cooked salsa. (Love those friends with good recipes to share!) It was a big hit with the family. Even my toddler liked it.

This year's tomato crop is sure to be an overload with seven different large-fruited heirlooms all putting on green fruit, so I see salsa making in my near future. In the spirit of the season, I thought I'd continue with the sharing by posting a variation on Jean's flavorful, salsa.

Mixed, meaty tomatoes for salsa making.

The recipe offers grandmotherly “little bit of this” and “little bit of that” instruction, but it always seems to turn out perfectly. My only twist was cooking it in the Crock-pot. I’d love to have time to mull over a pot for hours—wouldn’t we all (or maybe not..)—but my time is nil. I also lightening up on the cilantro; for me a little goes a long way. 

Jean's Slow-cooked Summer Salsa

Six cups fleshy tomatoes chopped and seeded

Three cups chopped onion

Three cups chopped, mixed peppers (Sweet and/or hot, you choose. I used two cups sweets, one cup semi-hot chili peppers and one habanero.)

½ head garlic coarsely chopped

Three tablespoons cider vinegar

1 teaspoon coriander

Two tablespoons fresh chopped cilantro

Three tablespoons fresh chopped basil

One tablespoon fresh chopped sage

1 teaspoon salt

Add all the ingredients to the crock-pot except for the fresh, green herbs (chop and add these towards the end). Let the salsa slow cook for six to seven hours on low. Add the fresh herbs and cook for an additional hour. There should still be a little standing liquid on the sides of the pot and the vegetables should still be in tact.

After cooking, the unmilled salsa should have some residual liquid left.

Let the salsa cool. Spoon the cooled salsa into a food mill over a large, ceramic bowl. Be sure the mill is on the coarse setting. You don't want total puree.

This supremely useful food mill was a birthday gift from Jean and her husband John.

The finished product is a lovely sight and should be wonderfully flavorful. We ended up tweaking the flavor a bit by adding a pinch more salt and a touch to chili sauce for added heat.

Pretty salsa ready for eating or canning.

This salsa is so much better than what you can buy at the store, and it's really easy.