Salsa

The first person to ever teach me to make salsa was Xochi's Granny. I love her and Grampy. I couldn't figure out why in the world they wanted to stay in a hotel when they came to visit instead of at Melville Manor with us. I love how on Sunday they said, "It's so cute how every one walks to church carrying their little satchels." Granny gave really good hugs. Soft hugs that made you just want to stay there for a while. I'm honored that I got to spend time in the kitchen with her. Even if it was the M2 kitchen with really really really dirty floors.

Since then, I've turned into a bit of a salsa snob. Once I figured out how easy it is to make delicious salsa, I couldn't bring myself to snack on the store brands any more. So here's all you need to know about salsa: it contains 6 ingredients: tomatoes, onions, cilantro, lime, salt, and some type of pepper. Once you start making salsa, you can adjust it how you like. Here's a recipe to start from:

Ingredients
1/4 of a red onion, chopped
2 T cilantro, chopped
1 t salt
1-2 limes
1 jalapeno pepper, chopped
1 can diced tomatoes

Instructions
Pulse the first 5 ingredients in a small food processor (or just blend in a blender, or if you like salsa chunky, you can just chop all of the ingredients). Add tomatoes and pulse until salsa reaches the desired consistency.

I usually use a chipotle pepper (you can find them canned in the grocery store, packed in adobo sauce) in place of a jalapeno pepper. I also sometimes use one minced garlic clove in the salsa.

If you want to make pico de gallo, you use the same recipe, but use fresh chopped tomatoes instead.