Tried and True - Salsa

Not so humid today -  I am so grateful.  Consider making some fresh salsa today.  It won't even heat up your kitchen.  This dish requires no cooking (unless you use fresh corn and then you do need to cook it a few minutes before you cut the kernels off the cob.)

I spent a lovely three hours yesterday at the Ridgedale Library drop site for Featherstone Farm.  It was great to meet some shareholders in person and chat a bit.  I always learn a lot when I have these opportunities for face time.  Blogs and the internet can be wonderful, but there is no substitute for direct human contact.  One of my take home messages was that many of you find this blog useful, which makes me very happy.   It totally makes my day when somebody tells me they cooked eggplant for the first time and they liked it and my recipe worked for them.

I don't know about you, but I still haven't given up on the idea of helping to make the world a better place.  It is kind of a Lutheran curse.  There are a countless ways to make a difference and I have tried a lot of them - peace marching,  serving in elected office, reading to a child, listening to a friend, cleaning a bathroom.  Increasing the vegetable literacy rate is right up there.  Maybe as important as reforming our health insurance system.  Really.  If more people spent more time growing, cooking or eating real, healthy food together maybe we wouldn't be spending almost 18% of our GNP on medical care.   So it is an honor to be of assistance to you -  the vanguard of cooks who have the audacity to cook real food in their own kitchens, day in and day out.

Okay it is a lot of hand chopping but worth it.

Okay - enough soap box.  You are waiting to learn about salsa.  I brought some salsa with me to Ridgedale for sampling.  It was pretty popular, unless people were just being nice.  I actually measured the ingredients when I made it, so I could tell you how I did it.  Here is my mise en place set up for today's recipe. (note - I doubled it - so the amounts look pretty big)

I usually work without a net and make salsa without a recipe.  I am guided by five one syllable salsa concepts - spice, heat, acid, base and bite (this makes an acronym - SHABB.)  Here are some examples of each component:
1. Spice - salt, sugar or honey, fresh cilantro, basil, cumin or mint
2.  Heat - chopped hot peppers such as jalapeno, serrano, or chipotle (smoked jalapenos).  There are many varieties of hot peppers that can be used in salsa - either in fresh, roasted, dried or smoked form.)
With peppers, use caution.  The heat is in the seeds.  De-seed, mince flesh (not words), and don't add seeds unless you want more heat.  Some peppers are so hot you need to be careful about handling them.  Some people even use gloves.  For sure don't touch your eyes if you have been cutting up hot peppers.
3.  Acid - I like red wine vinegar for salsa.  Fresh lemon or lime juice or other types of vinegars are great too.  You might consider rice vinegar if you want a milder effect and if you are going for an Asian taste.
4.  Base - This is where fresh fruits and vegetables come in.  You can use tomatoes, tomatillos, corn, mango, melon, cucumber, sweet peppers or beans (the dried kind, not green beans).
5.  Bite -  This category covers onions, garlic or scallions - it is always nice to have some member of the allium family in your salsa.  Red onions are especially good with some salsas.  Sweet onions are great with mangos, pineapple or melons.

Once you have made salsa several times using a recipe, you will understand more about how the SHABB principles operate.  You will develop your own tastes and preferences.  You will be able to experiment and take advantage of whatever is fresh and in season and maybe work without a net, like me - at least when it comes to salsa.

Height of summer salsa
There are many ways to use this salsa other than with chips.  Don't hold back - it is full of nutrition and very low in calories.  Eat it within a week or freeze.  Best eaten fresh.
Serve as an accompaniment to quesadillas (grilled tortilla sandwiches made with cheese, meat or beans).
Make huevos rancheros - warmed corn tortillas, fried eggs, maybe some refried beans, salsa.  Sour cream is pretty great too if you can do the calories.

Serve plain in a little dish -  as a side salad with grilled meats or vegetables.
Make a taco salad - toss salsa together with tortilla chips, lettuce, a little extra meat or beans.  Serve in bowls garnished with a little crema - Mexican style sour cream.  Creme fraiche or even plain yogurt would work too.

Ingredients - mix all together in a large bowl.  I find that no salt is necessary in this recipe. It has a hint of natural sweetness - I think from the sweet corn.
4 cups diced fresh tomatoes (do this by hand.  Put the cut tomatoes in a strainer or colander to drain for about half an hour - while you are preparing the other ingredients.  Drink the tomato water or save for soup.  If you have tomatillos - you can substitute for up to half the tomatoes.
1 t. minced fresh garlic
3/4 cup chopped onion (I did this in the food processor to save time - don't over process - you want pieces not mush)
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro (you can add this to the onion and process together) (Note on cilantro.  This is the herb that looks a little like parsley but tastes a lot different.  Most people love it or hate it.  I highly recommend using it in salsa if you can find it.  Over time you will come to appreciate its virtues and it will add flair and authenticity to your salsa.  If you decide you really do hate it, that it ok.  Use some cumin or parsley in your salsa.) 
1/2 cup chopped cucumber (peeled and seeded)
1 cup black beans, canned or home cooked
1 1/2 cups cooked corn kernels (fresh, frozen or canned.  Fresh is best)
2 T. finely minced jalapeno peppers (2 regular sized peppers)
1/4 cup red wine vinegar (If you have fresh lime or lemon juice you can use half juice and half vinegar)  Add a bit more vinegar if you think the salsa needs it.


FOOD PRESERVATION NEWS FLASH - due to popular demand, I will begin a conversation next week about canning tomatoes.  And if you don't live too far from Winona and want to brush up on your canning chops - sign up for this class.  I did and I will tell you all about it.
University of MN Extension, Winona will host a food preservation class on Tuesday, Aug. 24, 2-5 pm at the Extension office, lower level Winona County Government Building, 202 W Third Street. General class for the beginner and expert on safe preservation procedures, whether you can, freeze, dry, pickle, jelly, etc. Cost is $10. For market gardeners and small farm owners, a free marketing class with Extension Educator Kari Foord will follow at 5:30-7 p.m.  Pre-register for either or both classes by Aug. 20. Call (507) 457-6440. Enrollment limited to 30. Bring your pressure canner gauge if you want it tested. 

Inspiration - Week #11

In this week's grande box:  sweet corn, tomatoes (yellow pear, red cherry, big and small slicers,  Roma type), zucchini, cucumber (slicers), bok choy, honeydew melon, cilantro, eggplant, leaf lettuce

Corn and tomato season is truly upon us. Embrace it.  I hope you and yours lap up every little drop of red and golden juice and flesh and swallow every toothsome corn kernel.  Compost the cobs and any tomato skins and seeds that you don't eat.  Help build soil somewhere.  It is always a good idea.

I am again recommending BLT's and corn as a menu idea.  Just like last week.  I hope that is not a problem for you.  I personally think that meal repetition is acceptable.  It is comforting.  It is relaxing.  And tell the truth now - how many times has your family had pizza three or four or more weeks in a row?  Or macaroni and cheese?  Or hamburgers or hot dogs?  Or carry out roasted or fried chicken?  And nobody minds.  In fact, most people like to eat the same things over and over. When it comes to food,  most of us are definitely creatures of habit. (Why do you think Saturday morning TV is so full of food commercials aimed at children?)

LEFTOVERS - a challenge
Have you noticed the trend of increasing numbers of retail stores that specialize in "gently used, previously owned, repurposed, reconditioned, vintage (that means old), or recycled" clothing, furniture or household goods?  Buying new is so 20th century.

So why can't we get more excited about cooking our food twice?   The word "leftover" has such a bad connotation.  I think this needs to change.  Until I coin a better word I think I will try "repurposed".  As in "We had some great fried rice last night with some repurposed chicken that we roasted three days ago."

This is all about attitude.   Do not furtively or apologetically heat up leftovers.  Repurpose them.  Think of the leftovers as a platform upon which you will build a whole new taste sensation!  With food just sitting around your kitchen!  You are an artiste!  An innovator!  An imagineer!

If I can do it so can you.  Remember the recipe for roasted cherry tomatoes from last week's Inspiration post?  Well, we still had about a cup of roasted garlic and tomatoes in the refrigerator last night and I needed a meal for three.  So  I repurposed the tomatoes and garlic.  I added about a cup of fresh chopped tomatoes (which also happened to be "leftovers"), a tablespoon or so of olive oil, 1/2 cup thinly sliced fresh basil and a small amount of salami, sliced into thin strips.  Stirred it all together and voila -- enough pasta sauce for three servings.  We each had a cup of gazpacho for a starter, a simple ear of boiled corn and then the pasta with roasted cherry tomato sauce.    I saved the corn boiling water for cooking the spaghetti, so that was repurposed too. 

See how this works?    I just know you have a cup or two of this or that sitting in your refrigerator - waiting for you to breathe new life into it.  Sometimes you don't need to change the dish itself.  You just need a different context.  Maybe a frittata?  And don't forget soup -- many foods can be repurposed that way.  Wine, broth, perhaps a blender?  Add a little grated cheese and homemade croutons and no one will even know they are eating (sshhhh) leftovers.

Menu ideas for this week (items marked with an asterisk have recipes below)

BLT's Again.   BLT; corn on the cob; cucumber salad.  Since you have fabulous slicing tomatoes AND leaf lettuce in your box - then by all means eat some more BLT's.  You could even get creative.  How about a CLT?  (cheese, lettuce, tomato)  Or a HLT? (hummus, lettuce and tomato)  Or even a TLT?  (turkey, lettuce and tomato)  Or a CBLT?  (Canadian bacon, lettuce and tomato)  Maybe add some fresh dill or cilantro to plain mayonnaise.   Or add a generous dollop of caramelized onions.   Try different kinds of breads.  Toasted, of course.

Summer veggie cooperation.  Cold cucumber yogurt soup (make a double batch - enough for two meals); Mediterranean style vegetable medley* on rice or polenta; sliced honeydew melon.  (If you make rice - make a double recipe so you can reheat it for stir fry another night)

Stir fry of the week.  Chicken (or other favorite protein) and Bok Choy Stir Fry with rice  (Note - To prepare the bok choy, first wash and shake dry - separate leaves to get at any dirt hiding on the lower inside stalks.  Separate stalks and cut diagonally into 1/4 inch slices.  Slice the leaves into strips.  Add the stalks first.  Add the leaves near the end of cooking time - they will cook quickly.  That great big bunch of bok choy in your box will cook right down - don't be afraid to use it all.  Use plenty of fresh ginger and garlic in the stir fry.  Good quality soy sauce and a bit of toasted sesame oil will add good flavor.  I will be talking more about soy sauce tomorrow and about bok choy on Friday.)

If you end up with more cooked bok choy than you can eat - Repurpose it!!  Add some chicken broth and cooked rice or wheat noodles, some chili paste and lime and maybe some fresh bean sprouts and basil or mint and you will have a whole new meal.

Ole.  Refried bean and cheese burritos or tacos or enchiladas,  fresh corn-tomato salsa*; sliced honeydew melon

Kabob Night.  Marinate some cubes of meat in a little oil, garlic and vinegar and lemon juice - overnight or a few hours at room temperature.  Thread on skewers with 2 or 3 inch chunks of corn on the cob, chunks of zucchini and cherry or pear tomatoes.  Chunks of onion are good too. Grill until done over medium coals or flame.  Serve with cold cucumber yogurt soup and rice, barley or bulgar (wheat) pilaf.

RECIPES

Mediterranean style vegetable medley - serves about 6, with rice.  Proportions of vegetables may be varied according to taste or availability.
Ingredients
2 - 3 cups tomatoes, 1-2 cups zucchini squash, 1 cup onion, 1- 2 cups eggplant, 2-3 t. minced fresh garlic, 2 cups cooked or canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed, parsley, salt and pepper to taste.  (add fresh basil or a spoonful or two of basil pesto if you have it.  If not, some dried Greek oregano would be good.)

Chop fresh vegetables into uniform medium sized chunks (no need to peel). Saute onion, eggplant, squash and garlic in about 1/4 cup olive oil until softened.  Add tomatoes and chickpeas.  Simmer covered in oven (350 degrees) or on top of stove until vegetables are very tender - about 1 hour. Add fresh parsley, salt and pepper to taste.   Can be served hot or at room temperature.  Even better served next day. Garnish with feta cheese if desired.

Fresh corn tomato salsa
Ingredients (amount and size of each to be decided by cook - according to taste and availability)
Chopped fresh tomatoes (squeeze out most of juice and seeds - save for soup)
Chopped onion
Chopped cucumber, peeled and seeded (optional)
Chopped fresh cilantro - about 1/2 cup per 2 cups vegetables
Finely minced jalapeno pepper - more or less depending on desired heat intensity)
Corn kernels (Boil or steam ears of corn, cut off kernels when corn is cool)
Fresh minced garlic (about 1 t. per two cups of vegetables)
Red wine vinegar, lime juice or lemon juice - about 1/4 cup per two cups of vegetables
Salt to taste