How About a Little Salsa?

Well, it’s gotten a bit colder here…and to be honest, I’m ready for Spring! It’s always nice to see the fresh green leaves on trees and plants along with the flowers with their bright, happy colors…which reminds me…

Last year, we went on a lovely cruise to the Western Caribbean, and along the way we stopped in Cozumel. While we were there we visited a really yummy restaurant for lunch. They had the freshest, most delicious salsa I had ever tasted. It was like being at someone’s casa and they made it right there and served it up with chips.

I was determined to figure out what was in it and replicate it at home…I figured it couldn’t be too hard, because this was FRESH. I mean, there were no mystery ingredients…nothing I couldn’t identify. No weird spices or oils or tomato puree…it was just vegetables staring me in the face. Lovely, fragrant, VIBRANT food. Grown from the earth.

So here’s what I came up with at home, and I think it’s pretty close. It takes some time chopping the veggies, but let me tell you…it is SOOOOO worth the effort. You will love yourself for making it, and you’ll love your fellow man/woman after eating it. The world will just be right.

Ingredients:

8 fresh ripe tomatoes, seeded and diced (I cut the tomato in half and then gently squeeze the seeds/juice into the trash or sink with disposal, or you can use a spoon)
1 large white onion
1 yellow bell pepper, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 orange bell pepper, diced
1 jalapeno pepper, super small dice (You’ll want it really small to get it well-dispersed. I don’t like huge chunks of hot pepper in my mouth…I like a more subtle appearance. Make sure all seeds and ribs are scraped out first…remember not to rub eyes or nose or any other body parts without washing your hands after handling jalapenos!)
3 cloves garlic, minced (more or less according to your taste)
1 handful cilantro, chopped
~1 Tbsp. lime juice
Salt to taste

Put all veggies, cilantro and lime juice into a large bowl and toss together. Add salt to taste.

You can also do this in the food processor, but it will change the consistency quite a bit…I tried it once and it turned out like this:

The chop was not uniform by any means, and I had to do it in portions…kind of a pain. Personally, I prefer the chunkiness of doing it by hand. We use it for lots of things, like quesadillas:

Or with homemade spinach and cheese enchiladas:

And of course it’s good just with chips…or you can be like me and eat it by the spoonful! It’s that good!

You can adjust the quantities of the ingredients however you like to fit your taste. This recipe makes quite a bit, so you’ll have plenty for a party or to snack on for a couple of days.

I’ve linked up with Somewhat Simple, Fingerprints on the Fridge, and Serenity Now. Lots of great ideas!