Let's Salsa!

I love the fresh taste of salsa. Throw in a few peppers and increase the heat to your favorite level, customizing this tasty way to get some veggies in your diet.  I prefer my salsa on the warm side but others in my family like a sweeter version.  Here is my recipe with a few suggestions to adjust the taste to suit your taste-buds.  Another big thank you to local gardeners for the fabulous tomatoes!


What you need:
Tomatoes
Garlic
Jalapeno Peppers
Onion
Cilantro
Lime
Salt (optional)
Sugar (optional)

How to put it together:

Prepare the tomatoes, washing well, removing the tops and any bad spots, then cutting into halves or quarters. Prepare your peppers.  The more seeds and membrane you remove, the sweeter the pepper flavor.  I tend to leave 1/2 for what I consider a medium to mild taste. Peel your garlic, using as much as you prefer.  I used 2 large heads for about 15 cups of salsa. Remove the skin from onions, peel and cut into easily managed pieces.


Fill your food processor with the following proportions: nearly 3/8 full of tomatoes, 1/4 with onions, 1/4 with peppers and 1/8 with cilantro.  Just grab a handful of cilantro tops, twisting the entire clump off the base stems (I discard the stems).  Squeeze in the juice from half a fresh lime. Pulse these items until they reach the consistency you like - chunky to nearly liquid - and taste.  You may want to add a pinch of salt or up to a tablespoon of sugar depending on how you like your salsa. Adjust the veggies to taste also.  Need more heat - add more peppers or leave the membrane and seeds in more.  Reduce the amount of onion you use (or omit the onion totally) to avoid some of the bitter zing they can add, or use a sweeter yellow onion.

I make up lots of this salsa when I have an abundance of tomatoes.  I put a cup or so into a plastic bag, remove as much air as I can and freeze them to enjoy in my recipes, especially my 5 minute taco soup recipe where I substitute this for store-bought, for a really quick meal.