Salsa like Woah!

I have already admitted my obsession and enjoyment of watching reality tv and also that I drink a pot of coffee every day, but these are certainly not my only obsessed fixations. My other guilty pleasure is salsa (sometimes called hot sauce, but there is a difference)! I eat salsa with most of my food. In fact, I'm a firm believer that some food just tastes better with it. I dip my sandwich in salsa, I dip vegetables in salsa, I put salsa on my eggs, I dip rice cakes in salsa, I add salsa to salads, and of course...chips and salsa are an all time favorite. For me, salsa is not just a condiment. It's a food group.

Although all salsa is delicious to me, I'm very picky about the taste. Most jarred salsa from the store just doesn't do it for me. All restraunt salsa are amazing. But there has been one type of salsa that has had me hooked for several months...freshly made tomato salsa!

Market Street makes the best fresh tomato salsa. I used to buy two containers of it almost $5.00 each. I could eat on one container in one to two days. It was costing me too much money to keep buying their salsa especially when I was determined that I could make my own.

So, for the past two weeks I have made three batches of homemade fresh tomato salsa trying to mimic the ever so wonderful salsa from Market Street. Each batch was made differently from the other and unfortunately the first two tasted not very well...not necessarily horrible, but not even close to Market Street's.

Batch #1 was way too spicy. I made it with 4 jalepenos and did not de-seed any of them. Needless to say, the next morning upon having made this salsa and eaten a good deal of it, I woke up with a tummy ache that had me on the pot for at least 30 minutes. (Sorry for the t.m.i). It was also way too chunky.

So I went on and made batch #2. It was even worse than the first one. It was not chunky what so ever, in fact it was more of a liquid than a sauce. It also didn't have a tomato salsa taste and tasted more like an onion than anything else. It was really awful.

Today, I made batch #3. It was easier than the first two (too much chopping). Now, this batch of salsa was perfect! Not exactly like Market Street's but it is still very good. It's my own and I finally found the perfect blend of ingredients that makes this salsa fresh, delicious, and has the perfect amount of flavors. So, for all you salsa lovers out there, here is my recipe for fresh salsa. Even if you're not addicted to salsa (like me), this salsa might have you steps from rehab...no, I'm kidding, but I hope it's as perfect to you as it is to me.

1 can of cut tomatoes with green chilis
1/4 c of white onion, chopped
1 fresh tomato on the vine, chopped
1 Jalepeno pepper, seeds removed
1 Tbs of black pepper
1/4 tsp of minced garlic
2 Tbs of lime juice

Drain can of tomatoes and chilis. Put in a strainer and rinse until all juices run clear. Place in blender. Add chopped fresh tomato on top of tomatoes and chilis in blender. Blend tomato mixture. Add chopped onion, Jalepeno, black pepper, lime juice, and garlic. Blend all ingredients together. I like my salsa smooth. Not too chunky but not liquidy, somewhere in between. Pour into plastic container and enjoy! Note: due to spices in salsa, your plastic container can absorb the flavors leaving a spicy taste in it. I use the same container over and over.