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Jun 23, 2010

Happy Dance Salsa

Mom asked me to post her scrumptious salsa recipe, so here we are! Introducing Happy Dance Salsa!

Mom purchased Organic Brandywine Heirloom Tomatoes from Kelly Carney of North Pulaski Farms after he said they were so good that he had to do a happy dance after each bite. Once her salsa was finished, we took him a sample and got to see his happy dance in person. What a shame we didn't take a video for you, it sure was something! Here is a picture of Kelly’s lovely tomatoes:

Something you need to know is that tomatoes with character usually taste better than standard "cookie cutter" tomatoes. This is one such example:
Now, down to business!
The ingredients of this salsa include, but are not limited to the following:
4 lbs. of tomatoes
4 small onions (or 2 medium sized)
Juice of 2 lemons (about 4 Tbsp.)
6 jalapeƱo peppers
4 banana peppers
3 Tbsps. raw apple cider vinegar
1 Tbsp. Real salt
1 Tsp. Sucanat (whole cane sugar)
4 cloves of crushed garlic
Strip the leaves off 8 stalks of oregano (use leaves, not stalks)
2 heaping tsp. of cumin

(This is oregano from Mom's herb garden, yellow candy onions from Armstead Mtn. Farm, and peppers from Laughing Stock Farm. Mom says both Kellog Valley Farm and The Garden at Becky Lane have very nice garlic bulbs.)

After all these wonderful ingredients have been gathered, pulse the onions and peppers in small batches in a Vitamix or a food processor. Once done, put the stuff in a large pot.
Pulse the tomatoes in small batches and add that to the pot as well reserving about 1/2 cup in the processor. Add the oregano leaves to the reserved tomatoes and puree! Once it's been blended to pulp, add it to the pot too.

Finally, you add the remaining ingredients and let them simmer until the desired consistency is reached. You might want to taste it and adjust the seasoning as needed.

(This is Mom's favorite pot. It is made of soapstone.)
This recipe makes about 2 quarts worth of some fantastic salsa! My brother and I enjoy snacking on it as often as we can, which isn’t often enough! It’s a great dip for chips, and most enjoyable while being pretty easy to make. Mom's salsa is really good, just please don't ask her how to can it! Just read about her canning attempt and you'll know why.

Jessica Lipe, age 16
See what others are doing for Real Food Wednesday.

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