Salsa!

For those of  you with gardens, you know what it means when August arrives. Tons of tomatoes and peppers. What to do with all those tomatoes and peppers? Why, salsa, of course!

Salsa is my most favorite condiment. It packs some serious flavor, with tons of nutritional content. I eat it on eggs, enchiladas, baked potatoes, in my rice, omelets, salads, chicken, the list just goes on and on!




What you need:

• Tomatoes – whole and peeled
• Tomatoes – diced
• Onions – Vidalia or other sweet onion
• Peppers – green, red, banana, mucho nacho, jalapeno, cayenne, the choice is yours!
• Fresh cilantro
• Limes (for juice)
• Garlic – fresh (I was out of fresh and used powder, it’s still really good!)

What you do:

The first thing you  need to do is peel your tomatoes. Now, this is easy with the right approach. Put on a pot to boil, dunk  your tomatoes in there for about 30-40 seconds, and then immediately immerse in ice water. Let them sit in the water for about 1-2 minutes, and when you pull them out, the peels will slide right off. Just so you know, this works great for peaches, nectarines, and plums too.

After you have your peeled tomatoes, dice the rest. I used early girl for my peels and then diced a ton of cherry tomatoes, because they were really coming in and we just couldn't keep up with eating them. You can choose what tomatoes you use. You can even used canned tomatoes from the grocery if you like.

Now, chop your onion and put it in your food processor. Add in the peppers and garlic. Blend up just a bit. Add in your tomatoes, both the whole and diced, your cilantro and lime juice. Give it a whirl around for about a minute and viola! You have salsa. Wasn't that easy?

If you prefer the taste and texture of store bought, with the "tomato puree" feel and look to it, you can add in a can or two of tomato paste, which will thicken and give it that store bought feel.

If you wanted to, after you were done with this, you could put it on the stove to cook for a bit, add in a cup of lemon juice and hot pack your salsa into half pint or pint jars. All you need to can it is a water bath, as it's on the cusp of the acidic foods spectrum. It only takes 15 minutes (20 minutes for altitudes 1000ft to 6000ft) in a water bath canner and you'll have canned salsa all year round! If you don't want to can it, you can keep it in a jar in your fridge for about a month or six weeks.