84-Lancaster Fanning, Saturday, September 12, 1998
On Being a
Farm Wife
(and other
hazards)
Joyce Bupp
How many of our grandmoth
ers ever heard of salsa?
Probably not many here in
central Pennsylvania, unless
they were of Mexican or perhaps
Spanish heritage.
And yet, today, salsa is hot,
hot, hot. Sometimes, quite liter
ally hot. Because one of the key
ingredients to this tomato-based
snack dip is hot peppers, or
chilies, as our friends in the
Southwest call them. And hot
peppers are full of the fiery
ingredient used in the pepper
spray directed at rioters and
criminals on the run.
Salsa is one of those foods
that came right into the
American diet along with a vari
ety of others, once primarily eth
nic-associated, that have become
mainstays. Pizza, as another,
comes to mind.
Our kids introduced us to this
low-fat, veggie treat, along with
other Mexican favorites which
younger (and many of us
older) generation has eagerly
embraced) Under their enthusi
asm and guidance, such goodies
as tacos, burntos, and fajitas
have become as familiar on our
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table as more traditional, local
“Pennsylvania Dutch” foods.
Like chicken corn soup,
dumplings, or that New Year
mainstay, pork and sauerkraut.
Actually,’ the kids tcTok to
salsa much better than some
older folks I’ve offered it to
Perhaps the aspect of cold toma
toes just doesn’t appeal to the
more traditional tastebuds of
this region of the country
For a couple of years, our
salsa brand was either generic
or whatever brand happened to
be on sale. Or, for which I had a
cents-off coupon. We
sales/coupomng diehards just
abhor paying full price for stuff
Then I began finding recipes
for salsa scattered throughout
newspaper and magazine recipe
sections And friends talked
about making their own, home
made versions In a take-off of
Goldilocks and her visit with the
bears, some were too hot. Some
were to blah. Some were too
runny.
With an annual windfall of
tomatoes, I debated some years
ago about trying my own hand
at a salsa concoction. But the
recipes invariably called for
stuff that wasn’t on hand when
the urge struck me—or I never
got around to acquiring. Like
cilantro, the herb seasoning
which most salsa recipes
include.
Not to mention another prob
lem. Those hot peppers. Hot
peppers are not something one
wants to handle casually.
Having suffered the conse
quences of burning fingers and a
burning nose which had devel
oped an itch while I was prepar
ing a raw fiery pepper, I learned
the uncomfortable way.
A friend recently made out
worse in an encounter with hot
peppers. Her young son, who
was apparently “helping,” man
aged to get a tad of the potent
pepper ingredient in his eye.
While trying to aid and comfort
him, she likewise got peppered.
Last summer, I finally satis
fied the urge to try my hand at
making salsa. That was after
finding those “add vinegar and
this packet of season” salsa
mixes at the supermarket. Not
being big on the extra hot stuff,
we lean toward the mild ver
sions. Two batches held us for
most of the winter; I carefully
spooned the last over burritos in
early summer. And then we
remained salsa-less for a while.
Last week, some of the toma
to abundance was transformed
into the first of this year’s batch
es of salsa. Getting ready to
store the jars on the basement
shelves, I stumbled onto three
jars from last year, hiding in a
spot where they’d been missed.
We have the salsa. Now all
we need is a little organization.
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An artisans’ village with juried craftsmen, historical reenact
ments, Pennsylvania German food, farming demonstrations,
music, lectures, storytelling and Revolutionary War living histo
ry highlight the fifth annual Heemet Fescht on Sept. 19 and 20 at
Kutztown University. Hours for the event are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Heemet Fescht (Haymet Fesht) which means “home festival” is
sponsored by the Kutztown University Pennsylvania German
Cultural Heritage Center. A voluntary $2 contribution per person
will be accepted. Parking is free. It will be held on the Heritage
Center grounds, off Luckenbill Road, located diagonally across
from the Kutztown Airport on Old Route 222. For more informa
tion, call (610) 683-1330.
Fibromyalgia Support
ROTHSVILLE (Lancaster
Co.) The Fibromyalgia
Support Group sponsored by the
Arthritis Foundation will meet
the second Monday evening,
September 14, from 7:00 p.m. to
8:30 p.m., at Rothsville Medical
Center on the second floor con
ference room. There will be a
showing of a video f ape. Spouses
are encouraged to attend.
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can be directed to Connie
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