Fresh Salsa

My dad has a little garden patch up by my parents’ garage. It’s small but sunny and this summer it produced a great crop of green beans and tomatoes. The green peppers were flavorful as well, but not nearly as abundant as the other veggies. I love fresh green beans, but I have never liked fresh tomatoes. Give me tomato sauce or stewed tomatoes and I’m a happy foodie, but fresh just doesn’t cut it. That’s why I didn’t expect to be able to help my Dad, who is the only one in the house who enjoys fresh tomatoes, use up the produce with any Try It Tuesday recipes… at least until he asked me on Sunday, “Do you ever do anything like salsa for Try It Tuesday?”

Have I done anything like it? No. Did I love the idea? Yes! I always enjoy salsa. Besides, after the horrible heat and humidity we’ve had in Pennsylvania this summer, a no-cook recipe sounded brilliant.

After taking our dog for our morning walk on Monday, my son and I picked all of the ripe cherry tomatoes. It was good practice with colors for Vincent: “Only get the red! Nope, that one is orange. That tomato is green.” He had fun and he proudly pointed out the tomatoes he picked to Aba (his word for grandma).

I spent quite a bit of time looking at different recipes for homemade salsa, but in the end, the fact that I only had one tomato bush to pick veggies from left me with fewer tomatoes than called for in the recipes. Therefore, I pulled inspiration from a number of sources and here’s my recipe. It makes enough salsa for 1-2 people to have a nice snack.

Ingredients

10-15 cherry tomatoes, seeded and chopped

1 tablespoon onion, finely chopped

1 jalapeño pepper, ribs and seeds removed (reserve to add for hotness to taste)

1 clove garlic, minced

Juice of ½ lime

¼ teaspoon salt

Chopped cilantro to taste

Directions

Stir together all ingredients. Add jalapeño seeds and cilantro to taste.

 

Of course, I had to taste my creation immediately. I have to say, I’ve never had salsa with a hint of lime before and I loved the subtle freshness it added. It was also particularly enjoyable to have such fresh veggies in the salsa. I did have to add some jalapeño seeds, but they didn’t seem to add much hotness. The raw garlic, while tasty, left me with some slightly stinky breath, so I put the salsa in the fridge in the hopes that the acid in the lime juice would “cook” the garlic a bit. I might switch to garlic powder next time. While it was more work than opening a jar of salsa, the taste was worth it.

If anyone has any good salsa recipes or tips, I’d love to hear about them!

La Salade Niҫoise: A Salad for Solidarity

As someone who spent four years in a small city in France, speaking the language, enjoying all that the culture has to offer, I was horrified when I learned that the country had once again been the target of terrible violence. When I saw this post by a French blogger yesterday, I knew I had found my Try It Tuesday recipe because despite all the time I’ve spent in France and studying the language, I’ve never actually had a salad Niҫoise. More importantly however, it’s a small way in which I can show my solidarity with Nice and all of France as their people grieve.

I will admit that I did not use anchovies in my salad Niҫoise. I do not like sardines and I assumed that anchovies would have a similar taste and texture. I also added a dash of white vinegar to the salad, but otherwise respected the recipe. This salad is a perfect example of what makes French cuisine stand above all others. Despite what many Americans imagine about French food, it’s the simplicity of the ingredients, chosen for their freshness and combined in just the right way that make the dishes taste so fantastic. I enjoyed every bite of my salad Niҫoise. It was light, but satisfying thanks to the olives and hard-boiled eggs. The only thing missing was some crusty French bread, which is hard to come by in small-town America. I did, however, finish the meal with a piece of high quality chocolate. Mmmmm…

I highly encourage you to give the salad Niҫoise a try this week and stand with Nice.

Je suis quelqu’un qui a passé quatre ans dans une petite ville en France. Tous les jours, je parlais la langue et me baignais dans tout ce que la culture française offre. J’étais, donc, navrée d’apprendre que le pays a été, une fois de plus, le cible d’une violence terrible. Quand j’ai vu ce poste par un bloggeur français hier, j’ai su que j’ai trouvé ma recette pour Try It Tuesday parce que je n’ai jamais mangé une salade Niçoise en mes quatres années en France. Mais plus important, c’est un petit geste de solidarité avec Nice et toute la France qui fait le deuil.

J’admets de ne pas avoir utilisé d’anchois quand j’ai préparé ma salade Niçoise. Je n’aime pas les sardines et j’imagine que les anchois ont un gout et un texture similaire. J’ai aussi ajouté un peu de vinaigre blanc à la salade, mais autrement, j’ai essayé de suivre la recette. Cette salade est un exemple parfait de ce qui fait que la cuisine française soit si respectée partout dans le monde. En dépit de ce qu’imaginent les américains, c’est la simplicité des ingrédients, choisis pour la fraicheur et combinés de manière juste et équilibré qui donne aux plats français un gout si fantastique. J’ai aimé chaque bouché de ma salade Niçoise. C’était léger mais satisfaisant grâce aux olives et œufs durs. La seule chose qui me manquait était le pain croustillant français, mais il est difficile d’en trouver dans les petits villages aux Etats-Unis. Cependant, j’ai terminé le repas avec quelques bouchés d’un bon chocolat. Miam, miam !