Easy Homemade Salsa

I know I’ve been terrible about blogging with any kind of consistency this past year, but please believe it isn’t out of a lack of desire. I’ve kept cooking and photographing, and so I have a huge pile of recipes to post here, and I’m going to try to get to all of them over the next several months (probably with a break when Baby H arrives). As you know, I fell off the wagon for a bit, while I was planning our wedding, and then again during pregnancy because all I could seem to manage most of the time was work and sleep. Now, we’re less than six weeks away from Baby H’s due date and camping out in Eli’s parents’ very nicely finished basement. The owner of the condo we were renting died a couple of months ago, and his children promptly sold it, and we couldn’t find a new place to live fast enough.

We’ve certainly been through plenty since we got engaged last April.

So here I am, with mountains of baby stuff piled everywhere in our bedroom because there’s nowhere else to put it, trying to wrap my brain around all these transitions, and wishing I could feel some semblance of normalcy.
Then the other day, my cousin Suzanne sent me a message on Facebook. It said, “I made your peanut butter frosting today. It was the bomb! I miss your blog.” I wrote her back and said, “I miss my blog, too!” And suddenly it just seemed clear: blogging would be a good way to return to routine and rhythm, at least to some extent. I certainly have plenty of material.

Side note: my photography needs improvement, and I’m hoping to take a workshop sometime in the next year that will help me work on that. I have this gorgeous Nikon DSLR camera that Eli bought me before we went to Kenya, and I want to start doing it justice. Please bear with me as the mediocre photos keep coming for a while.

The next morning, which was Memorial Day, I went upstairs to my mother-in-law’s kitchen to make salsa, pico de gallo (yes, there’s definitely a difference between salsa and pico de gallo), Mexican Layer Dip, and guacamole for a barbecue that afternoon (the other three recipes are coming, I promise). I took my camera with me and spent the next few hours happily photographing the results of my labors. My ankles swelled from standing in the kitchen for so long, but I was happy.

Anyway, since summer is just about here, it seems like a perfect time to introduce you to homemade salsa. I remember when I first started seeing fresh (meaning not in a jar) salsa in the grocery store years ago. Since then, I’ve been a faithful connoisseur of Jack’s Special But as part of my ongoing desire to go homemade if something is worth the effort, I’ve started making my own. I did a little research, and Ree Drummond, The Pioneer Woman, has a near-perfect recipe. I’ve adjusted it to suit my own taste (and Eli’s), and I encourage you to do the same until you come up with a flavor balance that seems right to you. If you’re not really a cilantro lover, cut back on the amount or leave it out altogether. If you like things runny-nose hot, add a second jalapeno. Or…well, you get the idea.

This calls for canned tomatoes, so it’s not technically “fresh,” but the upside is that it only takes about 10 minutes to make. I’m sure you could scald fresh tomatoes to remove their skins and use them in the same quantity if you want to go to that level of effort, but since it’s not yet tomato season here in Michigan, I decided to stick to canned tomatoes. They tend to taste far better than the mealy things available in the stores right now.

Will keep in the refrigerator for several days.

Easy Homemade Salsa

14 ounces canned whole tomatoes
10 ounces diced tomatoes with green chiles
1/4 cup sweet (not hot) yellow onion, chopped
Juice of two limes

1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped (optional)

handful fresh cilantro, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons sugar

Dump the can of whole tomatoes into the bowl of your food processor. If you like a thicker salsa, you can drain the juice first. Note: if you don’t have a food processor, a blender will work just as well.

Add the diced tomatoes with green chiles and the chopped onion…

…and the jalapeno. If you like things on the mild side, discard the jalapeno’s membrane and seeds, as those are the hot parts. As you can see, I left them in. I’d say the result was a medium heat level.

Now add the lime juice, garlic, cumin, sugar, and salt.

Top it all off with a handful of fresh cilantro, most of the stems removed.

Now give it a whirl until everything is chopped as fine as you like it. If you like it chunkier, process it less. If you like it smooth, go longer. Adjust the salt and sugar to taste if needed.

Serve with tortilla chips, or as a condiment for whatever fabulous Mexican dish you’ve made.

For a printable copy of this recipe, click here.