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It’s Salsa Season!

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By Guest Blogger – Beth Cooper

Now that the weather is starting to warm up I have begun think about planting our garden.  And when I say “planting our garden,” I mean “my husband planting our garden.”  That’s his thing.  He does the garden in the back yard; I do the flowers in the front yard.  Our daughters love to help him and he loves to teach them all about gardening, although I suspect he could get it done quicker without them.  My favorite thing about our small backyard garden is of course the fresh vegetables that it produces. 

salsa

Mainly the tomatoes.  I love fresh tomatoes and I love to make homemade salsa with them.  Like, every day.  I want to make salsa every day because I could eat the whole bowl every day.  It’s that good. 

Of course, I don’t actually make it or eat it every single day, but I want to.  I am a self-proclaimed salsa addict.  Of course our garden isn’t even planted yet, but the warm weather has kicked my salsa cravings into overdrive so I have been buying fresh produce at the market and starting my “salsa season” off early.

I have tried lots of lots of different salsas over the years.  There’s not too many that I don’t like but I do have two favorites that I like to make at home.  They are both super easy to make.  I would recommend using a food processor.  If you don’t have one and think that you would like to make salsa on a regular basis, I recommend buying one.  I recently had to replace mine with a new one and I spent about $40. 

I would be lost without one plus my wrists would probably hurt from all the cutting and dicing by hand.  At the rate that I make salsa, I would probably end up with Carpal Tunnel.  Ha!  I’m all for comfort, so I use the food processor.  My four-year-old loves to stick the onions and the tomatoes down the chute, so really all I have to do is push a button. 🙂

little girl with food processor

This first recipe is my favorite.  It was given to me several years ago by a friend and has always been a big hit at backyard barbeques.

SALSA #1 – You will need:

  • 4 medium tomatoes
  • 3 sprigs of cilantro (although I like to use 12-15 sprigs because I love cilantro)
  • ½ large onion
  • 2 poblano peppers (1 can green chiles can be substituted  or 2 anaheim peppers)
  • 1 Jalapeno pepper
  • 1 ½ Tbsp. lime juice
  • 1 tsp. ground pepper
  • ½ tsp. salt
  • ½ tsp. garlic powder

First, seed all peppers.  Throw all of your ingredients in your food processor and chop until it as chunky as you like it.  I prefer mine to be very finely chopped.  You may want to put the onions in first and chop them into a fine consistency before adding everything else to prevent your tomatoes getting too juicy.  Let it chill in the refrigerator for a while and then serve.  It is really good!  I would consider this a “mild” salsa but honestly, sometimes I end up with hotter peppers than the time before so it is a bit of a gamble on how hot it will turn out.  My family doesn’t like it too hot, so if it turns out a bit on the warm side, I just add more tomatoes.

Like I said, this is my favorite homemade salsa but it is not my husband’s favorite.  He doesn’t love cilantro as much as I do, so he prefers this next recipe.  I guess you can call it a recipe.  It is so simple that I always feel embarrassed when asked what I did to make it… and I get asked every time I take it somewhere.  I will admit that it is so easy and so well liked that I regularly take it to get-togethers and potlucks.  As a busy mom of three I am not ashamed to say that I (gulp!) used a mix!  And that this darn mix is just as addicting as the first recipe that requires buying more ingredients.

So here it is:  It is made by Concord Farms and I usually find it in the produce section of my grocery store.  I use the food processor with this recipe as well.

Salsa seasoning

SALSA #2 – You will need:

  • 4-6 tomatoes
  • 1 small onion
  • 1 package of Concord Farms salsa mix
tomatoes with salsa

Finely chop the onion in the food processor and then add the tomatoes until it is the consistency that you desire.  Stir in 1 package of the mix.  This recipe can be made hotter by using two packets and it is also easily doubled.  Chill in the fridge for a bit; then serve on chips.  Dee-lish!!  And if anyone asks for your recipe, just tell them that you got it off the Internet!  You don’t have to tell them it’s a mix!  🙂

Salsa on a tortilla chip

Whichever recipe you decide to try, I think you will love it! But be warned, it is addicting…

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