I’ve been promising for months to share my mom’s salsa story. Not her recipe…but her story. I can’t share her recipe. But the story is kind of a nice one. :)
My mom began making salsa when I was a little girl, tweaking and playing with ingredients from her garden until she figured out a recipe that was just right. We all loved it. Neighbors loved it. Family members loved it. Friends loved it. There was nothing incredibly fancy about Mom’s salsa. It was slightly sweet. Slightly spicy. Just right.
When my brother and I were in college, she would send her home-canned salsa to the dorm with us. It became a hit with our college friends and it wouldn’t last long. :) I’m not sure when Mom’s salsa really began to become a “big thing” locally, but I believe it was around the time I was graduating from college and getting married.
People all over the town where she and my dad lived were requesting that she make them some of her salsa. She began receiving orders. A downtown shop began to request her salsa so that they could sell it to their customers. After a while, she was making so many jars of salsa, she could barely keep up. She knew with the volume of salsa she was making, she needed a licensed kitchen to work in. She was swimming in salsa. :)
Around that time, my uncle and aunt in Chicago who had “connections” set up a meeting with a company who could make and market my mom’s salsa for her. Mom and Dad flew to Chicago, toured the commercial kitchen, made necessary negotiations, signed a bunch of papers…and my mom’s salsa officially became BJ’s Salsa:
(My mom’s name was Bettye Jo…her family and some friends often called her BJ.)
Now my mom didn’t have to break her neck to keep up with the salsa demand! It was being made and shipped out to stores and marketed by others. My mom was so pleased with this success, and well she should be. She’d worked hard for this!
My mom was diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrigs Disease) in the fall of 2002. Salsa sales had begun to slow by then anyway, and all of us were so focused on Mom and her health and keeping her comfortable, salsa was really the last thing on our minds.
After she went to be with Jesus in July of 2004, our family was so thankful to have a few jars of her salsa left. We cherished and hoarded them. We were out of sorts and grieving. We weren’t thinking very logically (or at least I wasn’t), which is why it took over a year for us to talk about or realize that it may still be possible for her salsa to be made and sent to us.
Dad checked into it and sure enough. We could get ourselves some BJ’s Salsa.
We still cherish each jar of my mom’s salsa. But we don’t have to hoard it anymore. And every time I open a new jar, I feel like I’m opening something made by my mom. There is a simple statement on each jar:
“Developed in the kitchen of Bettye Jo Hamm”
It helps me not miss her quite so much. Or maybe it makes me miss her even more.
I use her recipe now (which must be kept a secret) to make salsa with ingredients from my own garden. It’s not quite as good as “Grammy’s salsa” was, but we like it okay. ;)
Now, anytime I talk about using salsa in a recipe, you know that I’m not just using any ol’ salsa. I’m opening a treasure each time I open a jar of salsa. One that came right out of “Bettye Jo’s kitchen”.
{Edited to note: BJ’s Salsa isn’t sold in any stores right now (except for one small shop in my hometown). Thanks for inquiring about it. Maybe we should look into putting it in stores again? Hmm…}
I knew this story, but it made me cry to read it. I’m so glad you can still get her salsa!
thanks for sharing, thats a great story and I am certain your mom would be very pleased with what you doing. You are an inspiration to many.
Hi Tammy,
Thank you for sharing your mother’s beautiful story with us. I, too, understand the agony of loosing loved ones to ALS. Familial ALS runs in a section of my family. Your mother left an amazing legacy behind through her family and salsa. I am sorry for your sadness; yet, like you, am longing for my eternal home where there will be no death, neither sorrow, nor crying.
~Rachel
I am so sorry, Laura. That is what I get for flipping through websites. I did not mean to come accross as inconsiderate. :(
Precious!! Thanks so much for sharing such a sweet, personal story.
No problem at all…I completely understand! :)
I’m sad to hear that this is something you’ve had to deal with in your family more than once. It’s a terrible disease. :( You’re right, we do long for our eternal home. Thank God for HOPE!
I knew, of course, that I would be crying while reading this post. I, too, know the story, but am thankful to hear it again. Tucked away somewhere, I have an empty salsa jar, one with a green and white BJ’s label, that I just can’t seem to let go. It helps remind me of Bettye Jo’s true legacy–her love for others and her love for the Lord.
What a sweet, special memory you have. Thank you for sharing it, Laura.
Aww, this is such a great story, great legacy. I’m glad you shared this with us. Your mom must have been a very special person. Thank God for great moms, and especially glad you’ll see her again someday. :)
Made me tear up, what a precious story.
I love this story. What an awesome gift to be able to have a part of your mom still with you.
Now why did you have to share that wonderful story? I am all hormonal and crying….in a good way. God bless you.
What a precious story!
what a wonderful story!
What a beautiful story and tribute to your mother! Now I want to try some BJ’s salsa! Can you buy this in New York? ;o)
Where can we buy your Mom’s Salsa? I’ve tried an online search but came up with nothing.
beautiful story. your mom must have been a very special lady and i’m glad she gave you to us. i too would like to know where to purchase her special salsa. (googling was a disaster!)
Thank you for sharing such a sweet story. What a lovely little piece of herself your mom has left for you all!
Thank you for sharing your sweet story. The timing was really perfect. My grandmother went to be with Granddad and Jesus yesterday afternoon. She was a fantastic person and an incredible baker. I have one of her apple pies in my freezer that she gave me a few weeks ago. It’ll be a while before I can enjoy it, but when I do, it’ll be a beautiful day of love and remembrance.
I have been reading your blog for sometime now and today I felt instantly closer to you! My mom was burdened with the horrible monster of ALS – December 2006 to October 2009. I like you, miss my mom terrible but so thankful that they have moved on and are in a far better place and am thankful we have such wonderful memories to sustain us! Hugs to you, thank you for sharing!
What a sweet story!! Thanks for sharing!
What a beautiful tribute. Thank you for sharing your sweet story.
Oh, I am crying like a baby now. Thank you for sharing this. Have you thought of re-maketing your mom’s salsa? My in-laws have a bbq sauce that they market themselves and it just barley breaks even each year but to them it is not about the invetment and I feel it would be that way for your family also. Just a thought.
Echoing others who have said this is a precious story.
I’m with Christy Martin on “Where can we buy your mom’s salsa?”
Thanks for sharing the story of your mother’s salsa. I have shared with you in the past that my mother also died from ALS just one year before your mother. My mother’s greatest legacy was her faith in and love for the Lord, but she was an amazing cook as well and her recipes and memories of her delicious food are a great legacy as well. It is such a blessing that we can have these reminders of our beautiful mothers, Laura!
Some enchiladas with BJ’s Salsa sounds pretty good to me right now! :)
Sweet story!!! I wonder if it is sold in GA????
I often feel love from family and friends when they cook or bake for me – I am sure you feel that over and over!
So sweet! Thank you for sharing her story. What a precious gift to have!
I just loved this personal story. Thank you for all you do! Your mom would be so proud of you!
I can relate. My Nana was an amazing woman of 10 children who was always in the kitchen baking something with fresh ingredients from her garden. One of everyone’s favorites was her strawberry rhubarb pie. After she passed away we knew there were a couple left in the freezer. What a bitter-sweet pie.
And mom lives on!! Go mom Go!!
I can relate. My Nana was an amazing woman of 10 children who was always in the kitchen baking something with fresh ingredients from her garden. One of everyone’s favorites was her strawberry rhubarb pie. After she passed away we knew there were a couple left in the freezer. What a bitter-sweet pie.
And mom lives on!! Go mom Go!!
I have been hoarding my last few jars, too. We broke it out and had some w/ B’s parents last month. YUM!
BTW, I totally think you should think about selling it again…maybe adding it to your online store. =)
Totally thinking about it now, after reading responses to this post. I really was just writing this post because it’s a sweet story and because people often as for my salsa recipe, which I can’t share. I’ll have to talk to Dad about this to see what he thinks. Hey – will we see you next weekend?!!??! :)
YES! We will be there Monday. Ran into Michele at the animal park yesterday…can’t wait to see all of you in a couple weeks!!
oops, meant to make that a reply to your reply…LOL
Can’t wait!
I Live in Charleston,S.C. can you tell me were it’s sold
found to
Wow. What a legacy for your family. What a neat tangible thing the Lord has given you to reach back and “touch” your mom again. To remember, taste, be proud, feel the love, all over again. It made me cry! I too have a salsa recipe I’ve made for 25 years that a friend gave me and everyone loves it. It looks very much like your jars when it’s canned. Maybe someday it will have these kind of memories associated with it too. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for sharing this cherished memory with us. How neat to see BJ’s legacy and passion for good food honored in her daughter’s same gift for cultivating great recipes and great relationships at the same time.
Thank you for sharing such a special and personal story with us all. I’m so sorry that you lost your mother to ALS. That’s wonderful that you have a special recipe of your mother’s to treasure while keeping her memory in your hearts. My mother was diagnosed with ALS in June 2009, and is currently fighting the losing battle with that terrible disease. Little by little, I’ve been trying to collect recipes of hers that I don’t want to see disappear. She was a fantastic gourmet cook and baker, and I think that making these recipes for my family will add to the warm memories we all will have of her!
Truly wonderful story Laura :)
I agree w/ Sally – you should sell the salsa on your website! I know I’d *love* to have some more :)
YES Please! :) Love this story!
We remember the Salsa so well no other taste any better. We still wish we could get BJ’s Salsa :) Putting it back out on the shelves would be a good idea. She sure loved making it.
What a wonderful story to share with us all! And, seems your Mom will certainly live on through her Salsa!
I can personally attest to that salsa. I remember it heaping up on BJ’s pans on her stove. I think of her every time I get out a new jar of it. Miss her so much. Love you