Mama's Garden Salsa

Fall is here! And, our last home garden harvest is nearly ripe for collection. My tabletop produce basket is already overflowing with tomatoes of all varieties and shapes, jalapeños too small to stuff but packed with “punches of flavor,” and diverse pickings of peppers.

Fresh, homegrown ingredients are the best to maximize natural flavors!

Walking by my table and seeing these ingredients, I kept thinking these fresh, homegrown ingredients would make a great salsa. So, I tried my hand at becoming the “sommelier” of salsa, and let me tell you, it was delicious!!! It was so successful I have made it 4 more times by family request - each time maximizing the unique flavors of the particular harvest.

I wrote up a good, general recipe to guide your journey to salsa making. You can do it! Hope you enjoy!!

Ingredients

• 1/2 sweet onion
• 3 cups of tomatoes (Roma is best but cherry and others work great, too)
• 1/2 a bunch of cilantro
• 1/2 lime
• 1/2 lime zest
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/8-1/4 teaspoon salt
• Jalapeño to taste (I like 1 large or 4 small, but play around based on your tastes!)

Directions

Step 1

Grab a medium bowl, set it right by your cutting board. Toss each ingredients in this bowl after dicing.

Step 2

Dice 1/2 an onion into small pieces.

Step 3

Dice 3 cups of tomatoes.

Step 4

Dice 1/2 a bunch of cilantro (watch your fingers - seriously).

Step 5

Zest 1/2 a lime into the bowl.

Step 6

Squeeze 1/2 Lime into the bowl.

Step 7

Sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin into the bowl.

Step 8

Sprinkle 1/8-1/4 teaspoon salt into the bowl (start small and add more, if needed).

Step 9

Finely dice Jalapeño (I like 1 large or 4 small), toss in the bowl. We LOVE heat, so more the better!

Mama’s Notes

• Roma tomatoes are great for salsa, because they have less water. If you use other tomatoes like certain heirlooms, you will end up with more liquid in your salsa, especially as it sits. So, watch the salt based on the amount of liquid in the bowl.
• If you need more citrus, try zesting an additional 1/2 of the lime before squeezing more juice.