...Salsa

One of the best things about fresh produce is all the delicious things you can make with them. In the Flanderson house we are sadly finishing up our tomato season and thinking of different ways to use our last run of these delicious fruits and peppers.

At the very very top of my list for this would be delicious homemade salsa. The "Janelle" version is more of a smooth salsa rather than chunky and in our home we eat it with chips, Carnitas, breakfast tacos, and can be served hot or cold, a perfect food for snacking or as an addition to a meal. If you bring this salsa to a party, people are generally pretty happy with you, and will probably ask you to stay. Just don't forget the chips.

The thing is I am not going to give you a recipe....

So then what is the point of this section right? I say that I am not going to give you the recipe because I don't really have one! I watched my grandmother and my mom make this at home and it would just get inhaled by our family. Eventually I just learned to "wing it" based on sight alone and I really enjoy making this for people. Here I will give you the ingredients, the process, etc. but I will not be able to give you measurements at all due to it constantly changing based on the produce I am using. I hope you play with it see what works for you and let me know if what you think.

Below would be the basic ingredients I use for mine:

6-8 Tomatoes (I usually prefer vine or Roma)

1 Onion (We did a few tests on this and decided we liked sweet yellow best, but red works well too)

3-6 Garlic Cloves (This is my addition to the inherited version, and the count is about preference)

Cilantro (Sorry to my friends that hate this flavor but without it, I got more of a marinara feeling sauce)

Olive Oil (Just a light base on the pan)

Spicy peppers (I prefer Serranos due to its smooth flavor but have also made a Habenero peach batch)

Spices- Salt, Chili Pepper, Cumin, Paprika (Again do this to taste and preference)

Prep-

1) Cut tomatoes, and slice garlic to go into lightly oiled pan. A slightly deeper one would be ideal to get the juices to settle and stew but it does not necessarily have to be a super deep soup or pasta pot. (note: I prefer to slice rather than use a garlic press, as it conserves move flavor and juices). Cook until the tomatoes are starting become soft, and some still have form.

2) Skewer peppers and grill until the skin starts to char and the body is tender.

3) Rough cut raw onions, and cilantro put in metal bowl.Throw in grilled peppers with the stems cut off.

4) Add stewed tomatoes, and garlic to metal bowl.

5) Seasonings go in to your taste. Note** you can also add after you blend if you need more salt etc.**

6) Ladle mix into blender/food processor and go for it until smooth. Leave as much of the excess tomato water in the original bowl as you do not want you salsa to be too watery.

7) Keep blending until everything is mixed and set in different covered metal bowl over night. I like to do this so all the flavors combine together.

**Note** Make sure you have a bag of corn chips on hand so you can taste and test for flavors and well "quality control".

8) Store in mason jars for longevity or consume immediately. I have done both!

Hope you have fun and potentially can use this for your own end of year produce. Have also roasted the tomatoes with peaches and peppers for a different method, Turned out amazing as well!