Salsa!

 Salsa! Last week I made some. I had about 20 tomatoes that finally ripened from my summer 'topsy turvy' and I figured I could make like 5-10 jars of salsa out of them. I imagined myself handing out salsa to friends and family at Christmas time.

That was really dumb.

I'll show I you just how much i got out of my 20 tomatoes.

Even so, you should still make salsa.

My ripe tomatoes 

Banana, cherry, and jalapeño peppers (wash)

I def didn't use all these peppers. I think I used 2 jals, 2 bananas, and 1 cherry. But I did used 2 cloves of garlic and a big handful of cilantro 

Awesome trick to take the skin off a tomato: Boil a few tomatoes at a time for 1-2 min max

Have a big bowl of ice water on hand.... 

Plop hot tomatoes down into ice water for a minute or so to cool

Then use fingernail to peel skin off tomato. It comes off super easily! 

See?

Skins vs. Naked Toms? I don't know..

Squish as much of the seeds out of the tomato as possible. Use a bowl and gently press down on toms using 3 fingers 

There might be a little bit of seeds left but that's ok. You want the 'meaty' part of the tomato to be left 

While working, set tomatoes in a colander to allow any excess juices to pour out

Cut up tomatoes into half inch dices. Do you see why my idea of making tons of salsa was really dumb? This is all I was left with!!

Okay so this is a bit of a skip. What I did was I got a big pot, stuck my small fist full of tomato dices in the pot, along with a big jar of crushed tomatoes. If you are making this, I would recommend just buying a large jar of diced tomatoes (or crushed if you prefer a more liquid salsa). Then I added: half an onion, handful of cilantro, 2 jalapeños diced (without seeds), 2 banana peppers, 1 cherry pepper (all diced), teaspoon of sugar, a teaspoon of lime juice and salt and pepper to taste. Simmer on low, and add additional ingredients to fit your taste.

Here's the recipe:

-1 large can of crushed/diced tomatoes

-2 diced jalapeños (without seeds unless you want it nice and spicy)

-2 diced banana peppers (same as above)

-1 cherry pepper (same)

-2 cloves of diced garlic

-a fist full of roughly chopped cilantro

-1 teaspoon of lime juice

-teaspoon of sugar

-salt and pepper to taste

Place all ingredients in a large pot over low heat and mix. Add additional ingredients as you see fit.

Note: Really, you can used whatever peppers to have on hand. If you want to kick it up even more, add cayenne pepper and/or red pepper flakes. 

Soooo, now you have your salsa, what can you do with it besides open up a bag of tortilla chips? Here's a super easy and quick use for your delish condiment.....

Baked Chicken and Salsa

Ingredients:

-2-4 chicken breasts (depending on your family size)

-salsa

-mexican cheese 

-taco/fajita seasoning 

-pepper 

-olive oil

Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pound out your chicken breasts a bit. Brush some EVOO on your chicken breasts and then sprinkle taco/fajita seasoning and pepper. Place chicken in an 8x8 baking dish and pour salsa over it (enough to cover chicken). Then sprinkle with cheese. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until chicken is thoroughly cooked.

This pairs well with corn! I made this the other night when I was in a hurry because of class and Shawn wasn't home. It was super easy and fast, super low calorie and super delish! 

More blogs to come!!

Mango Brûlée

Rarely does Shawn ask me to make something specific.

This was one of those rare occasions.

 If you know Shawn, he LOVES mango.

Ever since our honeymoon in Punta Cana, where he ate mango every chance he got. While mango back here in the US doesn't compare to that of the tropics, it's still a yummy treat when you pick the right one!

So when Shawn came home asking for me to make this super easy mango creme brûlée, I was all about it. Any excuse to use my torch.

Wash a ripe mango (one that will depress slightly to the touch)

Using a good pairing knife, cut circularly around the side of the seed..

This is an example of a mango that is too ripe! But I had another one that was just perfect 

The sides of mango

Sprinkle with sugar...

create a thin layer of sugar across the mango

Torch the sugar until slightly brown. If you don't have a torch turn your broiler on high and broil for 5-10 min

Eat!

Results? Well, I need to try this one again. I used mangos that were room temp, but I think next time I would make sure they are cold. I think that would increase the crystallization of the sugar. It's definitely worth a try though, being that it is such a quick and delish dessert option.

Oh, and FYI, mangos are related to the poison ivy family. So if you are highly allergic to poison ivy, be careful to avoid contact with the outer skin. Shawn gets this gross herpes lips whenever he does. I'm not allergic though. :)

Drying Herbs

This year I grew basil, parsley, and rosemary.

I wouldn't say that I have a green thumb, but something I did this year went right. I ended up with tons of rosemary, parsley and basil. 

I decided to attempt and air dry my rosemary and parsley. FYI, you shouldn't air dry basil, it has a high moisture content and typically will get moldy and yucky. See my blog about freezing basil for more info on that. 

You'll need your herbs, string, paper bags, and a stapler (not pictured)

Wash herbs and pat dry really well (remember, moisture=mold)

Make like a bouquet with your herbs, pinch the ends and tie string tightly around them

Label your bags...

I used a staple to attach bag. You might have another method

Hang in a cool, dry, out of the way spot

Oh, and I didn't realize you're also supposed to poke holes in the bag. So be sure to do that!

I'll check them in a few weeks to see how they are doing. If there is any mold, unfortunately I'll have to throw them out.  Hopefully this works! I'll let you know!!

**Update: Here's a link after they are all dried: http://getmeamenu.blogspot.com/2011/11/drying-herbs-part-2.html