Pineapple Salsa with Grilled Tuna

Grilling & Summer go Hand-in-Hand. Recently I went on a little bit of a Non-Tomato Salsa kick, making this pineapple salsa as well as some Peach Salsa and a Savory/Sweet Strawberry Salsa. Savory Summer Fruit Salsas go amazingly well with Fresh Grilled Summer Proteins.

This Pineapple Salsa is beyond adaptable! You can serve this over a fish (we did Tuna, but Salmon or other fish would be great) or over some tasty chicken, over pork and even over some fresh steak. In addition to serving over proteins, this salsa is of course perfect with some tortilla chips or on top of your classic tacos!

Happy Summer, Happy Salsa, & get your Eat On!

Peach Salsa

Two of of my favorite things about Summer are all of the Fresh Flavors and eating Warm-From-the-Sun Fresh-Picked-Fruit. This Peach Salsa gives you all of that fresh flavor of the fresh-picked fruit but in a dippable form! Last week I shared my Strawberry Salsa (and stay tuned for Pineapple Salsa) but this salsa here showcases another fruit – the peach! You can very easily enjoy this peach salsa with some tortilla chips or if you ease up on the suggested amount of ‘spice/kick’ in the recipe below then you end up with more of a sweet salsa perfect for with those cinnamon chips.

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No matter how you enjoy your fruit (and the fruits of your labors) this summer, do it deliciously.

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…SPEAKING OF DELICIOUSLY: I am currently entered in the “Live Deliciously” Contest that Cupcake Winery in running on Facebook. Remember a while back I made Red Wine Cupcakes?  Well, even if you don’t, please take a moment to head over to the contest and VOTE

Strawberry Salsa

~ Strawberry Salsa ~

good with tortilla chips or chocolate covered tortilla chips or graham crackers or  sweet chips or apple crisps or spoons

Last week I went Strawberry Picking (one of my favorite “school’s out for summer” activities). I picked about 12 pounds (and am thinking about going back this week for more) of berries. One of the things I knew I wanted to make was a fresh Summer Strawberry Salsa. There are many variations of Strawberry Salsa -varying from sweet to with a bite – I went somewhere in the middle (although the longer you let this sit, the more bite-ierr it gets, I preferred it fresh day #1)

SALSA – canned tomato version

When people ask you what your favorite food is, what answer do you give them? For me I have to always say that it is a tie between Chips & Salsa and Dark Chocolate (I know, its a strange “combination” – but as long as I eat them separately, who is to judge)!

The more I have started to make my own salsa, the less I care for the stuff that you get out of a jar from the store. I love making garden fresh salsa and salsa verde and chunky pico de gallo – but this salsa right here made from canned tomatoes and some fresh ingredients is seriously some of the best salsa that I have tasted AND its easy to make year-round AND its cheap AND in case you didn’t hear me the first time it’s delicious!!!

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[Canned Tomato] Salsa

adapted from The Pioneer Woman – makes about 2 quarts

• 1 can (28 Ounce) Whole Tomatoes With Juice (or diced)
• 2 cans (10 Ounce) Ro*tel Tomatoes (Mexican flavored Tomatoes – pick your flavor)
• 1/4 cup Chopped Onion (1 small onion works)
• 1 – 3 cloves Garlic, Minced (depends on your preference)
• 1 whole Jalapeno, Quartered And Sliced Thin
• 1/4 teaspoon Sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon Salt
• 1 teaspoon Ground Cumin
• 1/2 cup Cilantro (more to taste!)
• 1/2 whole Lime juice (about 1 Tablespoon)

Note: this is a very large batch. Even in my food processor it leaks out a little bit, so I usually make this as a two step process & then mix it together in a large bowl.

Combine onion, jalapeno, garlic, sugar, salt, cumin, & lime juice in a blender or food processor. Mix until a medium/fine chunk. Add the whole/chunk tomatoes and Ro*tel tomatoes as well as the cilantro. Pulse until you get the salsa to the consistency you’d like—I do about 10 to 15 pulses. Test seasonings with a tortilla chip and adjust as needed.

Refrigerate salsa for at least an hour. Serve with tortilla chips or melted cheese nachos or for a healthy alternative (and one of my favorite super-healthy snacks) with some celery.

And I leave you with this, Today’s Question of the Day… how do you like your salsa?

Tomatillo Salsa

Just the other day I was wishing that I had some Tomatillos because I was craving a green salsa! That day just happened to be a Friday and I was getting ready to go over to our CSA. Lo & Behold we got a pound of tomatillos in our pick-up that day. I let out a little cheer and got to researching some recipes so I could make the most of my salsa without screwing it up! This is a mixture of dozens of websites worth of research on Tomatillo Salsa, including Jersey Girl & Tyler Florence.

Now, you may be asking yourself, “Self – what is a tomatillo”.  I’m here to help! Tomatillos are a fruit (related to tomatoes) which grows in a paper-like husk that must be removed (and the fruit washed to remove the film from the husk) before using. They are most often picked and used green (although the husk often has a yellowish-brown color to it and like tomatoes, there are many different varieties with different colored fruits). When used fresh they have a slight lemony/acidic flavor to them so roasting them brings out the flavors and softens the skins, but also breaks them down (making them more soupy – not a problem for a salsa). Growing up working at Quiet Valley, we grew these things – but called them “Ground Cherries”. I do not remember what we used them for but I just recently found out they were the same thing! 

That was your lesson for the day, hope that you feel more educated & learned something new for the day (can we tell its back to school time & I will be once again just a “teacher by day” and only a “chef by night”).

This is awesome on chips, used to kick up your quesadilla, on top of grilled meats, eaten with a spoon, mixed into something to spice it up – just enjoy (we enjoyed it as an appetizer before my dad’s birthday dinner & cake celebration).

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• 1 pound tomatillos [husked & rinsed]
• 1 white onion [peeled, sliced, quartered or whole]
• 4 garlic cloves [in paper]
• 2 – 4  jalapenos OR 1 – 2 habaneros
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon salt (to taste)
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro leaves
• 1/2 lime, juiced
• 1 T sugar (optional)

Pre heat oven to 400 On a baking tray, roast tomatillos, onion, garlic and jalapenos for 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer the roasted vegetables and any juices on the bottom of the tray to a food processor. Add the cumin, salt, cilantro, and lime juice and pulse mixture until well combined but still chunky.

One year ago: Grilled Fresh Veggie Panini 

Oh yeah & have you checked out my ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY post from earlier his week about an AWESOME Chocolate Ice Cream Layer Cake I made to celebrate Dad’s Birthday and my Blog-iversary??

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And I leave you with this… What fruit/vegetable/etc have you seen at the market and have had no idea what to do with. (AND – did you buy it and experiment or just keep walking?)