Time to spice things up...

Sweet things are good but I love spicy things too.  One of my favorites is salsa.  Just warning you… once you have homemade salsa there is no going back to store bought.  That being said… proceed with this recipe at your own risk.  J

Let’s start with your grocery list:

• 2 x 28 oz Cans of Crushed Tomatoes
• 1  x 28 oz Can of Whole Tomatoes
• 4 Anaheim Peppers
• 3 Jalapeño Peppers
• 2 White Onions
• 2 Bunches of Fresh Cilantro
• Salt

Start by dumping crushed tomatoes into a BIG bowl.  Next drain the can of whole tomatoes and pulse it in a blender for a few second and add it to the bowl.  You are probably asking yourself why doesn’t she just buy 3 cans of crushed tomatoes.  Don’t feel bad, I often ask myself the same thing.  All I can say is they add a different color/texture and now that I’ve done it my OCD forces me do it every time so… don’t ask just do it.  LOL 

Lay your peppers out on a cookie sheet and put them under the broiler.  You will need to keep an eye on them and keep turning them over to try and brown/blacken them all the way around the peppers.  I use tongs to roll them around.  Once they are nice and colored pull them out of the oven and drop them into the plastic bag they came in.  Wrap the bag up so the steam doesn’t escape and place on the counter.

Now time to chop your onion and add it to the bowl.  You might want to grab some Kleenex before you get to work.  I find the finer you can chop them up the better but that’s just a personal preference.  I tried using a food processor one time because I was feeling lazy but I didn’t like the taste as well it made them to onioney juicy.  Spell check (and I’m sure my English major bestee, Joey) is so hating that word but that’s the best way I can describe it. J  Now at this point if your husband or child walks in, sees you crying and asks what’s wrong… ladies take advantage of this opportunity.  Here are some suggestions “I just love you so much”, “I’m just sad you don’t help with the laundry”, I was just thinking about that new (add item here) I want so bad it hurts.” This usually only works the first few times you make salsa so whatever you say… make it good. J

I’m not going to lie the Cilantro step is really a pain in the butt but it wouldn’t be the same without it so you do what you gotta do.  First cut off the ends of both bunches and rinse well.  Roll it up in a towel and try to get as much of the water off as you can.  You could do this ahead of time and lay it out to dry but I’m never that organized. Now take your cilantro into the living room, get comfortable and put on a good show. Guess what?  You get to take all those little leaves off the stems because the stems are going in the garbage. Here’s a tip… take a stem, pull the bottom two leaves down and off the stem and then pinch off the top ones. Two shows, 36 commercials and one bathroom break later when you are done, back to the kitchen you go. You can either hand chop your cilantro or you can run it through a food processor.  I use the little food processor that attaches to my blender.  When you are done… yep it goes in the bowl too.

Take your peppers out of the bag and put them on a cutting board.  Cut off the top and bottom of each pepper and peel the skins off.  Now you again can either hand chop the peppers or throw them in a food processor.  Side Note:  You do not take the seeds out… the whole pepper minus the ends and skin goes into the bowl. 

Last step…. Stir everything up and then add some salt.  I don’t measure but it’s a good amount maybe about 2 tablespoons?  Add some, mix it up and taste it.  Be careful though because you can always add more but can’t take it away.  You will have lots of salsa.  I usually have enough to fill three containers.  Since it’s fresh it doesn’t last as long as store bought salsa so be sure to eat it up.  I usually make salsa on Sundays and then if there is any left it gets tossed on Saturday. 

“Life's better with butter” but there are times you need to spice things up. Dear Lord thank you for the variety of flavors you put in our life be it food, people, sights or sounds.  You always know just what we need and when we need it.