Let's Salsa!

Went out and did some veggie picking this morning...with the goal of making sure I came back with enough tomatoes to make at least cups once seeded, chopped and very-well drained. This sure looks like it'd be enough, right? (No, the squash, yard-long beans and okra didn't go in the salsa)


After all was said and done, including a few tomatoes that could've ripened a bit more, I BARELY had the 10 cups required for the recipe. I was surprised (but grateful!) it didn't call for peeling them as well - that's never any fun. I was actually able to strip the tough skins off've some of them during the seeding and chopping stage, and after seeing the end results, I'm glad I did!


And a few hours after starting the whole process (and taking a lunch break)? Voila....salsa!


This is much chunkier than my Aunt Nadine's recipe - I hope we like it. I did hit it very briefly with the immersion blender, just to get rid of some of the chunk. I LOVE a freshly made chunky raw salsa, but not so sure about the homemade COOKED stuff... Brett said this batch smells too much of cilantro and parsley, but I think he just needs to give it time. He was griping while I boiled the 1 1/2 cups onions, 1 Tbsp garlic, and 1 cup of cider vinegar at the very beginning, and then later when I dumped in the cup of mixed cilantro and parsley, you could REALLY smell it. But once these have sat for at least 3 or 4 weeks, I'm sure the flavors will have mellowed and mingled...