Gasoline-Crunch Salsa

mmmmm.... appetizing title, no?


but first..... I hereby announce that my adrenal glands are all tapped out by the recent political events here in the U.S. of A. so instead of posting about my overwhelming joy and disappointment - Obama's victory and Proposition 8's passage respectively - I'm gonna post a recipe.


Now back in the olden days when I lived in California, I used to make my salsa from all fresh ingredients but those days are gone. I've been totally priced out of using all fresh ingredients by the gas crunch so instead I use a combination of canned and fresh.


Here's my cheaper salsa recipe. In a big bowl, combine:


- 3 cans Hatch Brand Tex-Mex Style Diced Tomatoes... if you don't live in the Southwest, you'll need to find another brand that's made from tomatoes and jalapenos if you can because this helps makes up the cheap bulk of the salsa

- 1 can of tomatillos, drained and chopped

- 1 can Hatch Brand fire roasted green chiles, drained and chopped... if you don't live in the Southwest you'll probably have to use Ortega Brand which is much more expensive, drained and chopped...

(If you do live in the Southwest in late summer, it's very cost effective to buy several pounds of green chiles at your local fresh produce stand and get in line to have them fire roasted by the nice man with the giant roaster, then freeze them and have enough for the year.)

- a couple of fresh tomatoes, chopped

- one ear fresh corn, kernels sliced into bowl

- one clove fresh garlic, finely chopped

- lots of fresh cilantro, parsley, chives (I like them better than green onions) and a little bit of sweet marjoram (I like it better than oregano), chopped... I enthusiastically recommend growing your own; it's very easy!

- fresh ground cumin

- chili powder

- fresh lime juice

- fresh lemon juice

- a little salt

- a lot of fresh ground pepper


I haven't given amounts of each ingredient since it's all to taste. Mix it all together and refrigerate for a couple hours, stir again, add some chopped avocado if you can afford it and dive in! I like to make a lot so I can give some away.