Can we just stop time for a minute? I love this time of year. All I want to do is eat. I love the delicious foods coming out of my garden. I love the Farmer’s Market. I can’t seem to get enough corn on the cob, blackberries, raspberries, peaches, apples and tomatoes. Oh the tomatoes… they are my favorite. Yesterday my husband came home for lunch and we had fat slices of tomato on Italian Bread with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, a little salt and pepper, and a large leaf of basil. It was so simple and so good.
Then there is salsa. I have run out of my Roma’s and jalepenos making salsa. I want to can salsa (still looking for the perfect canning recipe) but I may need to buy enough tomatoes and peppers to finish the job. In the mean time, I am making and eating as much salsa as I can. Everyone in the family loves it.
You’ve got to have jalepenos. And I prefer a paste tomato… not so runny. You can use slicing tomatoes, but I recommend slicing them in half, and squeezing out the juice and seeds first.
Here’s my recipe:
Fresh Garden Salsa
- 1 ½ cups diced Roma tomatoes
- ¼ cup diced yellow onion
- 2 cloves garlic finely minced
- Juice of one fresh lime
- 1 Tbsp. finely diced jalepeno (seeded for milder flavor)
- 2 Tbsp. chopped cilantro
- ¼ tsp. red hot sauce
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Optional: chopped yellow, red or green pepper
Mix all the ingredients together and refrigerate for 30 minutes to an hour before serving to let the flavors mesh together. You can also add a little cumin to taste.
Serve with tortilla chips or on Carnitas Dulces or cheese chips…
One last quick tip: I have started putting on a glove when I chop a lot of jalepeno, serrano, and especially habanero peppers. I have rubbed my eye hours after cutting and washing my hands and felt the burn. So I throw on a glove, lunch lady style, and save myself some pain.
Calli, this is Sharon from American Quilting. Do you remember me? I have Roma tomatoes and several different peppers growing out of my ears. You would be welcome to lots and lots. Email me back or I’ll maybe try to call you.
This recipe sounds delicious. I’m going to make some of this garden salsa. Thank you for sharing.
I too am looking for the perfect salsa recipe for canning. If you find one, please do share! The Southwest Salsa recipe in “The Complete Book of Small-Batch Preserving: Over 300 Recipes to Use Year-Round” by Ellie Topp is really taste, but unfortunately only makes a small batch (hence the name of the book). Is it ever ok to double or triple canning recipes???
Hi Val, I can’t see any reason why doubling or tripling a salsa would be a problem. I never double jams or jellies because using pectin is so exacting. But with salsa it shouldn’t cause any problems to increase. The only thing to be careful of when making salsas is to make sure to use a recipe considered safe for canning. Safe recipes have a tested amount of acid, from vinegar, lemon or lime juice. Then you can increase as long as the proportions in the recipe stay the same. The book you have sounds like it should have canning safe recipes. I would love to see the recipe if you have a chance, send it to callimakesdo@gmail.com cheers, Calli
This looks great. I have been looking for something just like this and can’t wait to try it. My husband makes a green salsa that is extremely hot… I like mine tomato-y!
Thanks
I am new to your blog so catching up on old posts. Summer-fresh salsa is an absolute favorite at our house! Tomatoes, white onion, cilantro, jalapeno and salt are sometimes as simple as we make it. My husband will take a tub of it to work with tortilla chips and that’s lunch. Sometimes I add black beans, corn, and avocado and it’s really a meal.
I am so happy I stumbled across your blog! I have quickly become a faithful reader. Particularly as we are expecting our first child in March, all of the kid activities are really awesome to read about. Thank you!