Fresh Salsa

I love fresh salsa, and it's even better when I use fresh-picked ingredients from my own garden or from local growers at the farmers market. I picked tomatoes from my garden this morning, but since my onions are so small still, I picked up some nice strong white ones at the market along with some big ol' long green chilies. The long green chilies are mild, but thy do have a bit more "zip" than a bell pepper, according to the lady I bought them from.

This is really less of a recipe and more of a guide. If there are certain flavors you like, add more, if there's something you don't care for, add less or omit it. We like our salsa really onion-y, so the recipe as written may be a little onion-heavy for some people. My husband reminded me to add a lot of onion before I started in on this recipe, as we are always fighting to fish out the few and very elusive onions in the salsa at our favorite Mexican restaurant! If you aren't a lime fan, leave it out or add just a little. It's not rocket science--you can mix it up however you like!

As far as the "heat" of the salsa, it's written as mild with the optional addition of hot chilies if desired. If the kids are eating the salsa, I stick to one jalapeno. If it's just me and/or my husband, I would probably add two jalapenos, one cayenne or even a bit of a habanero (as I did to some salsa I canned a couple days ago).


Fresh Salsa

2 cups tomato, chopped
1 cup onion, chopped
1 large long green chili (mild) or medium bell pepper, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 Tbsp fresh cilantro or parsley, chopped
Juice of 1/2 a lime
Optional: Chopped jalapeno or any hot chili to taste
Salt to taste

Directions: Place all ingredients in a bowl and gently stir until combined. Serve immediately or chill before serving.

Cost:

Tomatoes/Garlic/Parsley/Jalapeno: Garden Freebies

Onion (farmers market): $.50 each for large onions, used 1/2 =$.25

Green chili: $.25 each large chili = $.25

Lime: On sale $.69 each, used 1/2 = $.35

Total Cost: $.85