PAPA JAY…THE SALSA KING
You know that we love and encourage independent & passionate people from all walks of life who create their own sauces...they ALWAYS share! As Pepperheads are adopted in many communities, we get so many stories and we love to share these.
Jay Hitchen is the program director of CHAT and MY96 when he’s not playing in the kitchen. As jay wrote when he sent this in; “It’s a little longer tale than I planned on telling D’Arcy, but here it is warts and all.”
There is a little plot of land behind my back fence in Medicine Hat that is actually billed as an environmental reserve. All it is , is loam and sagebrush stretching out across the coulees all the way to Saskatchewan. Well, the first 10 feet behind my house has been a garden even before we moved in 15 years ago. My wife used to do all the gardening and I was too busy to be bothered. I grew up in a fairly agricultural home with lots of home gardening, but never really tried any on my own until that fateful summer when I got the yard irrigated. Now I had a purpose and a means to go there.
At first, my wife gave me a little side garden (2’ x 25’) and I put in a few tomatoes and peppers in there. They flourished and we enjoyed the fresh fruit. Peppers were used as condiments, tomatoes on sandwiches and the like. The Next year, I wanted more space, so I had to dig up some lawn on the side of the house and build 4’ x 8’ beds. Lots of tomatoes, peppers and onions now. What to do with them all? A friend of mine gave me a beginners recipe for salsa and I thought what the hey, I’ve got the ingredients let’s try it. I made about 12 litres that year. It was fun and delicious even though it was pretty runny.
The next year my wife lands a new job which sees her give up the garden. Now I moved into the coulee just full of blazing sunshine and loads of garden space. In all I planted about 60 tomato plants and close to the same in peppers, as well as six rows of onions, four of garlic, and still more room for my wife’s flowers. That year, I buy a new freezer and refine the recipe even more. I develop my creep ingredient, which is the cornerstone to what I love about salsa. It can’t jump out and attack you. It’s just better to slowly creep up on you and before you know it, you’re shoveling the stuff in your mouth and wiping the sweat off your brow.
I started exploring different varieties of tomatoes and peppers over the past 8 years and have settled on a few favorites. By far my most favorite salsa tomato is the Mama Mia. A very large plum tomato that helps keep my tendonitis in check. I don’t play favorites though, I throw in every tomato I grow into a salsa batch. Peppers are as many as I can find, with over 12 verities this year. Habaneros are always a hit and miss here. Even though Medicine Hat is virtually a desert and blessed with a wonderful growing season, it is unpredictable and the habs just seem finicky. Hungarian Hot Wax, or Hot Banana Peppers do well, as do Jalapeno, For fun I throw in some Garden Salsa, Thai Dragon, Portuguese Hot, Tequila (which weren’t even hot), Diablo, Serrano and whatever else I can get my hands on. I used to start from seed, but it wasn’t able to keep up with the growth of my garden. My peak year and the finality of my own stupidity saw me with about 120 tomato plants and over 200 pepper plants. I was constructing chicken wire barriers to keep out the coulee wildlife, which had discovered a plentiful banquet in my garden. 
Not only were the deer feeding off all the fresh greenery, but a swarm of voles had discovered my fruit and were really enjoying the hot peppers, which they would eat in half and then move on to another plant. Despite all the battles with wildlife, the garden still produces an amazing 500 pounds of tomatoes. I bought another freezer and processed 150 litres of salsa that year.
I never leave town without a few jars of salsa in my suitcase and have developed a network of fans in the music industry who thrive off the occasional jar sent their way at Christmas. Artists from Paul Brant to Diamond Rio have all partaken. Diamond Rio actually called from Ontario and requested an emergency shipment be couriered to them while out to them while they were out on tour, as they had run out. Music industry pundits from Don Helton (the Nashville columnist for R&R Magazine) to Deane Cameron (President of EMI Music Canada) and half the Sony / BMG staff count themselves as fans as well. I’m constantly offered money and always have the same reply…no. I’ve never sold a jar and the only way you get it is to #1 – Be a fan of hot food and #2 – You gotta know know me and want a jar. #3 – Return the jar. (that hardly ever happens)
All this causes me to sit back and analyze what I’m doing. Obviously I’ve gone crazy with lust for hot food and the need to share it. I keep pouring money into a venture that generates no revenue, and ties me up for hours at a time. After the prep work, it takes me about 12 hours to process 30 litres of salsa, which means I spent over 60 hours just making salsa last year. When I’m asked how long it takes, I tell everyone I start in February and the last batch comes off the stove by mid-December. It is a whole process really. This past year I’ve reduced my garden and stopped feeding the deer. Now the coulee only grows onions and tomatoes.