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[Viking <erthnsky AT bellsouth.net>]

When I get into the kitchen, I feel like a mad scientist, trying to
bring something to life. <g>  It's been so hot here, that I haven't done
much outside other than pick veggies, and today was supposed to be salsa
day.  I've had a lot of requests for salsa, and I can't seem to keep up
with the pace.  Yesterday, I pulled another 20 pounds of cherry tomatoes
out of the garden, along with another 2 pounds of tomatillos, some habs,
and other peppers.  Where is all this leading, you ask...
Well, today, I created my own V-8.  I love the stuff, especially the hot
and spicy kind, and it just kinda happened.  I'm not sure I could
recreate the recipe, but here is how I did it...
I was making salsa, and it was kind of runny, so I strained it through a
colander.  I don't waste anything, so I saved the juice, which was
mostly tomato, tomatillo, and a bit of lemon juice, flavored with garlic
and cilantro and salt...all the stuff you put into salsas...and peppers,
too, of course(Habs, Jalepenos, and Anaheims).
So, I am looking at this juice thinking that I could use that for
marinades, when suddenly it occurred to me that it might be good to drink
with a few additions..
I pulled some carrots out of the fridge, some frozen carrots out of the
freezer(I picked a quart bag that looked a bit freezer burned), grabbed
a couple of celery stalks, another couple cloves of garlic, a few more
Anaheims, and then whizzed it around in the food processor and added it
to the salsa juice in a Dutch oven.  I added some Worchestershire sauce,
onion powder, and a bit more garlic powder to the mix.  It still seemed
a bit too orange, so I went out and picked some more cherry tomatoes and
whizzed them around in the food processor and added that.  Right now, I
am cooking it a bit, just a simmer, really, to bring out the juices, but
oh my gosh, it is wonderful stuff, if I say so myself.  I have about 4
quarts of it in a 6 quart Dutch oven, and I swear I could drink it all
right now.....
I just wanted to share this with y'all in case someone else enjoys V-8
as much as I do.  The homemade stuff, as usual, is better than
storebought, and you can season it to suit your own taste.  It still
could be used as a stew base with beef or venison, or even over rice for
you vegetarians out there.  Counting veggies, let's see, tomatoes,
tomatillos, peppers(3 varieties), onions, carrots, celery, garlic,
onion, as well as cilantro and lemon...yup, that's eight, plus
some...so, I'll call this V8+.  I suppose this would also be good for
Bloody Mary's if you were the type to imbibe.
I'm canning it, but I don't expect it to last too long......lol

Bev
--
erthnsky AT bellsouth.net  BevanRon of EarthNSky Farm      NW Georgia USDA Zone 7
34.498N 85.076W