Replies

For those who like something spicy, here are a couple of recipes from a friend for fresh Salsa:

Kristie’s Salsa

Adjust according to your liking

Roast the tomatoes on the stove top until they are soft, the outside will be charred, you can use any pan but don’t oil it, cast iron works well, medium heat, turn the tomatoes often. While I roast the tomatoes I also roast the Jalapeños and or Serrano chilies. They also will be charred on the outside but not too much, you just want the peel charred. Then you can put some onion in the blender with a clove of garlic, some cilantro and a touch of oregano. Add salt, then put the tomatoes and chilies in the blender and blend away. I like to blend for a minute or two so that all the flavors blend together.

I usually use this amount

2 tomatoes
6 chilies
1/4 regular or small onion yellow or white
1 clove of garlic if it is large
a handful of cilantro, the leaves more than the stems
a pinch of oregano fresh is better but dried works fine
and as much salt as enjoyed (a spoon or two)

another Salsa recipe that is good:

boil the tomatoes with Arbol chiles, these are small red chilies you can buy at any store like Safeway or Winco. They are really hot but really good. The tomatoes and chilies should be soft. You want to add the tomatoes and the chilies to the blender over the onion, garlic and oregano and cilantro, then follow the same directions as above, except add more oregano. When you pour the tomatoes and chilies in the blender you will want to add a small amount of the water, just enough to make is smooth so it pours out of the blender easily. I would use about the same as above 2-3 tomatoes and about 20 arbol chilies.

My husband will like that - making salsa and ‘pico de gallo’ are among his specialties.

Oh! The cilantro reminded me that MomwithHope asked in last week’s thread about coriander seed. My husband says to dry it, and then grind it for use in Indian, Mexican, South Asian recipes. (He also says it’s one of the herbs/spices that come in the little pack with store-bought corned beef.)

Dry it, store it airtight, and don’t grind it until you’re ready to use it in a recipe - it’s one of those things that loses a lot of flavor sitting around as a ground-up powder.