Fresh Salsa

1 pint of fresh salsa, YUM!

This is a recipe from www.pickyourown.org.  I have streamlined the recipe here because the formatting for this one at their website was a mess (the recipes for the larger canning batch are great though..they have a pdf if you want to save the file. )  This is a great recipe and very flexible.  Good to know so you can have sugar-free salsa or fresh salsa on demand.  If you want to lower the carb count just omit the tomato paste which is what I do because I prefer it that way.  If you don't COOK it , its like pico de gallo.  I often have these ingredients in my fridge or freezer so it is easy to make a batch if I'm out.  I enjoy eating a bowl of this with the cheese 'crackers' recipe I have posted.

  How to make 1 pint of salsa

Use an electric chopper OR dice the seasonings fairly fine, about 1/8
inch cubes.

2 lbs tomatoes (about 6 medium)
1/3 cup chopped onions
1/4 teaspoon minced garlic
2 Tablespoons diced mild peppers (green, banana, orange; whatever you have)
2 Tablespoons diced celery (Optional)
1/2 of a diced jalapeño pepper OR 1 teaspoon crushed dried red pepper seeds
1 pinch salt (Optional)
3 oz or 1/2 can (half of a 6 oz) of tomato paste  (Optional) IF you want it thicker.
4 Tablespoons 5% apple cider vinegar  (or 4 Tablespoons of lemon juice or white vinegar
     depending on what flavor you like.  The cider vinegar tastes sorta sweet to me so I use white)
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin (Optional)
1/4 teaspoons of oregano
3 pinches black pepper
2 Tablespoons diced, fresh cilantro


Cut core end of tomatoes off.  Place tomatoes in boiling water for about 2 minutes
until the skin becomes a bit loose.  Plunge the tomatoes into a bowl of cold water and
let sit for a few minutes.   Pull skins off each tomato and then grab the tomato with
end pointing into a bowl or cup...gently squeeze so the juice and seeds come out but
the tomato does not get pulverized.  Then chop tomatoes into chunks about 1/4 inch. 
Put them in a sauce pan.

Mix additional veggies in the pot and bring the sauce to a gentle simmer.
 
Add the seasonings  & vinegar EXCEPT Cilantro and simmer, just to get it hot - unless you like it softer.

Taste it as it cooks. If you like the sauce hotter, add 1 Teaspoon of chili powder.  Stir in cilantro.

Fill a clean glass jar with the salsa.  You can use a clean plastic mayo or plastic canning lid on it.

Store it in the fridge!
Eat within 4-6 weeks.

Young Living LIME essential oil is a wonderful addition to salsa or guacamole! You can get some HERE :)