Summertime Salsa

Susan has blogged before about being the designated veggie tray bringer at parties. I, on the other hand, am usually the one bringing high-fat, high-calorie snacks. Mostly because I haven’t mended my in-my-20s-and-can-eat-whatever-I-want ways (despite the fact that I am in my 30s and definitely need to be watching it a bit more), but also because I often just get lazy.

There’s one party snack, though, that we make in the summer that is delicious, no-fat and perfect for hot days: salsa!

Salsa is the easiest thing to make, it’s good for you, it makes your house smell awesome while you’re making it, and – here’s the best part – you often end up with a huge batch, which allows you to give jars to all your friends and neighbors. Believe me, you WILL be popular.

Summertime Salsa

So here’s how you do it. Go to the farmer’s market and get yourself these items.

Ingredients

• A whole bunch of ripe tomatoes. Buy more than you think you need – you can never have too many fresh tomatoes in the summertime.
• Red onions
• Fresh jalapeno peppers – not the kind in a jar, the fresh, whole kind that you have to chop up.
• Red peppers
• Green bell peppers
• Banana peppers – again, not the kind in the jar but the whole, fresh variety
• Fresh cilantro leaves
• A clove or two of garlic
• A couple of limes for the juice
• Kosher salt

Directions

1. Take your bounty into the kitchen, get out your food processor, and start chopping and combining.
2. Do the tomatoes by hand so they don’t get mushy, but do the rest in the electric chopper.
3. The awesome thing about this recipe is that there really isn’t one. It all depends on what you like. Combine everything, then start adding more of the bits you like until you get the flavor you desire. It’s that easy!

Open a bag of low-fat tortilla chips and dig in. After you’ve devoured half of your batch, put the rest in containers to share with your loved ones or take to your next party.