Salsa!

Monday I made two batches of our famous salsa using tomatoes given to us by the Characters. We finally retired our old food processor that literally fell into two pieces as I was holding it. I am glad William went by and picked up a "new and improved model" on the way home. ( BTW, how can something be New AND Improved? If it's new there's never been anything like it, and if it's improved, there has to have been something that can be improved!! )
When I chopped the jalapenoes, which is the first step, I thought I was going to have to go put on a gas mask to finish the process! They were so strong that the membranes of my eyes and throat were definitely affected. I started coughing and tearing up, and was having trouble approaching the container to remove some of the peppers before continuing. I was finally able to get past the overwhelming burning and add the rest of the ingredients. It came out tasting sooo delicious! Home grown tomatoes definitely made a difference. I am not bragging when I say it rivals any good Mexican restaurant salsa. Much better than "store boughten" jarred sauce. We got the recipe with some horrible, hand powered chopper we bought several years ago. It was almost impossible to turn the handle while trying to keep the container flat on the counter, and it was very difficult to keep control. We ended up throwing out the chopper, but realized we had found a gem when we tasted the salsa we created by using the recipe in the instruction booklet.

We were intending to take part of the first batch to Brother Derek's (our pastor) family. Before we got out of the driveway, Bailey noticed that the salsa had spilled out of its container and (thankfully!) into the plastic bag. It was sad to lose half the batch like that, but I made another batch after delivering salsa and chips to the Johnson's. Here's the recipe for those who want it.



1-3 jalapenos
1 bunch fresh cilantro
3 medium tomatoes (either home grown, or "on the vine" from the store)
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
1 medium onion
1 red or orange bell pepper
1 clove garlic, pressed
1T olive oil
1 T apple cider vinegar
1/2 t cumin
1/2 t oregano
1-1/2 t salt
juice of 1/2 lemon or lime

use food processor to chop jalapenoes. remove majority of them from container to add back in at end.
wash all vegetables well, especially cilantro. cut stems off cilantro and discard. put tops in bowl of processor and pulse to chop. add in can of tomatoes next, pulse lightly. then add in pieces of onion and bell pepper. next add pieces of fresh tomatoes. pulse after each addition. finally, add garlic, liquids and all spices. again, pulse to mix thoroughly. after salsa is thoroughly blended together, taste to see if you need to add salt, or more of the jalapenoes. Make sure if it needs salt to add the salt before adding additional peppers. the salt will bring out the heat of the peppers. William likes this with Doritos scoops, but I prefer the flat santitas or tostitos bite size chips. Enjoy!