Holy Hot Tamales, Pardner! This Salsa is Homemade!

Fresh tomatoes, onions and other colorful fruits and veggies will make
your homemade salsa fun and can add variety to your menu.

Fresh salsa is delicious, and pretty darn easy to make from scratch.

Homemade salsa was a regular weekend treat back on the ranch when my young'uns were growing up. But now that the kids are growed I haven’t made Salsa in a few years. However, when my husband wanted to buy Sam’s “fresh salsa”, I offered to make my own. Let’s face it, my friend. Real Homemade Anything is so much tastier than Commercial “Homemade” Whatever.

Well, I chopped and blended and stirred, clicked my cowgirl boots and turned around three times.

For some reason, however, I couldn’t remember all the ingredients I used to include, to save my life. So I'm sorry to say, the first night with the homemade salsa, Bill and I were most disappointed in the flavor. It was mediocre at best - downright boring at worst. We decided to let the ingredients meld overnight while I let my brain search in its memory for the missing secret ingredients.

Homemade Salsa is healthy and delicious, and a great way to get a few
veggies down into your family's hungry little tummies.
Besides the usual fried corn chips, you can serve salsa on baked chips,
pita chips, crackers, or cut up celery and other veggies,
and place them next to it as a dinner time salad substitute.

Last night, after tasting the incomplete salsa, the missing Secret Ingredients came to me, like tumbleweed across the desert on a windy day: Chili Powder, Cumin and other typical Mexican spices! Basic Salsa 101! Easy as pie. Easier, even. Just shake a little in.

Whoooowee!

That did the trick. I’m not gonna tell you “exact” measurements, because I usually cook things like this by tasting and adding and tasting again. Besides, I really think that sort of thing should be left up to each cook’s individual taste. If you don't usually cook that way, I want to encourage you to try it. Develop your own palate. Trust your instincts!

Real Homemade Salsa  

1 large can crushed tomatoes (I use organic) OR if you have 6 or more large fresh tomatoes on hand, peel and blend them until they are just to the “crushed” consistency.

1 or 2 large Jalapeno peppers, seeded - depending on the “heat“ you prefer (or if you like seriously HOT salsa, Habaneros are screamin‘ hot. You won‘t need more than one or two, added to the Jalapenos.)

1 or 2 large sweet peppers, like an Anaheim Pepper, Poblano or Banana. Red or Yellow Bells are delicious, too. Any pepper that adds the pepper flavor without the heat is good.

1 medium Onion - I prefer sweet onions, like Vidalia or Texas Sweet, but my son likes plain ol' yellow onions which have a bit of a bite. It's up to you.

1 or 2 large Garlic Cloves, crushed or very finely minced (I used 1 very big one)

Cilantro, chopped (I tore off a small handful from the top of the bunch)

Juice and pulp from 2 juicy Limes (may want to add more later)

2 Tbsp Cider Vinegar (sometimes, I use Balsamic. Again, you may add more later. Taste it, first.)

1 tsp Sea Salt or Kosher Salt

Black Pepper - Fresh ground, only! Lots of it!

1 Tbsp of Chili Powder (for starters - I used quite a bit - probably 2+ Tbsp.)

1 tsp of Cumin (for starters - I probably used 1 heaping tsp)

Fresh herbs: if you have them: Lemon Thyme (strip leaves off stems) and Garlic Chives (Chopped - use flower heads, too, if they’re ready) Salad Burnet

Directions:

Put the crushed tomatoes in a medium mixing bowl. Chop the other ingredients. (Sweet peppers, cilantro and onions can be chunky. I process hot peppers and garlic to a fine consistency - I first cut them into chunks small enough to toss in a food processor and then process until finely chopped. ) Add powdered ingredients, mix well, and add more to taste.

Note: Use disposable gloves to cut and chop peppers.

Otherwise, the oils can be really difficult to get off your hands and out from under your nails, and you can burn your eyes and mouth, or even your kid's eyes. Or your dog's eyes... To be truthful, I didn’t use gloves this time, because I couldn’t find them (we just moved), but I was careful not to touch the inside of the peppers when slicing them for the food processor. But if I had been chopping them by hand, or using the super-duper-hot peppers, I would surely have bought some disposable gloves when I purchased the ingredients at the grocery store earlier. By the way, if the pepper is so hot that you start gasping for breath as I was this time, you know it’s really hot. Be extra careful, little buddy!

Note - To sort of "stir things up" a bit, try one or all of the following:

For a protein boost, you can add beans (black, pinto or kidney beans are some great choices), or Avocado (if you're going to eat it within a couple of days). You can also add corn, for color as well as variety.

Note: When preparing small leaved herbs with stiff stems such as Lemon Thyme or Salad Burnet:

Hold the stem at the growing tip, and run thumb and forefinger down stem to remove stems.

Note: Always use fresh ground pepper, Sea Salt or Kosher Salt, and fresh Garlic and onions.

 

Okee-dokee, now!

I 'recon it's time to mozy on, so...Happy trails to you, Pardner... Until we meet again.

May the Good Lord hold you and yours safely in his hands, and may He shower your household with healthy cows in the pasture, and not too many bunnies in your lettuce patch.

Cowgirl Deb, also known 'round these parts as Honey B.

*She picks up her Chihuahua, hops on her faithful steed and together they ride off into the sunset. ...By the way, she's ain't no cowgirl from Texas or New Mexico. She's just a small town southern girl sportin' a fancy WalMart farmer's hat. Her faithful steed - a Subaru that goes by the name of Bullet. *