How to Make a Delicious Salsa

Let me begin by stating that I hate beans. It doesn't matter how you serve them to me, I just can't stand them, until my sister-in-law introduced me to her Redneck Salsa. I didn't seem to hesitate the first time I was introduced to this recipe at a family gathering and have since then taken several bowls of it into my office only to watch it disappear well before lunchtime. I never would have expected to eat anything that contained any sort of bean in it since I can tell right off the bat if there is beans in my chili or beans at the bottom of my Mexican meal. Here is a delicious way to sneak some beans into someones diet. If I can eat beans this way, I think anybody could, unless of course you're allergic. If you are allergic to beans, then try my recipe for the traditional salsa. You don't want to be a party while your face turns bright red and your tongue swells. I think that would definitely be the end of the party.

I did change my sister-in-law's recipe a little bit. That's what I do. I take something I like to eat that I learned from someone else and make it my own by adding, changing or subtracting an ingredient. The ingredients you will need to make the Redneck Salsa are a can of Black Eyed Peas, a can of Petite Diced Tomatoes, 8 oz of Italian salad dressing (I have tried all sorts, but the best one to use is Wishbone Italian), one can of shoe-peg or yellow and white sweet corn. What you want to do is drain the black-eyed peas, the can of corn and mix all together in a bowl with the diced tomatoes. I then add a lot of chopped scallion and celery and add the 8oz of Italian dressing. Let this sit in the refrigerator for about an hour before serving so all the flavors meld together. Stir it up and serve with tortilla chips. The best chips to have with this slightly watery salsa is the Tostito's Scoops. What I do so as to not become one of the annoying double-dippers is that I will put a bunch of these chips on my plate and use a spoon to fill each one with the salsa. Amazingly I am getting the benefits of eating beans without really tasting them. The benefits include a good source of potassium, iron and fiber. Black-eyed peas are low in fat and salt and contain no cholesterol.

The other salsa I make and which my co-workers also very much enjoy when I bring it in, is just a simple traditional fresh homemade salsa. I start by pulling out my electric chopper. I used to do this all by hand until one day my parents had to come rescue me. For some reason, after making loads of salsa for my family, I guess the acid in the tomatoes finally got to me. My hands had turned bright red, and I mean bright red, and starting burning and itching like crazy. After dousing my hands in everything from Bactine to Benedryl it still took several hours for the sensation to go away. That was the last time I diced massive amounts of tomatoes by hand. Anyways, you want to chop the tomatoes until all large chunks are gone and throw it into a bowl. Again, I do not measure, which in some recipes has been a really bad idea, but when it comes to salsa, its all about the personal taste you're looking for. I then chop some green pepper (about half a pepper per every four or five tomatoes, a whole sweet yellow onion, one jalapeno pepper, one Hungarian wax pepper and usually a finger hot pepper. When it comes to heat, I will use at least two varieties of hot peppers, depending on what's available at the supermarket. Just be careful when adding the peppers and do it in moderation, otherwise you could end up with fried taste buds for a week. I mix all this together in a bowl and add, as I stir, a small can of tomato sauce just to help thicken the salsa because the juice from the tomatoes will make it a little watery. Lastly, I chopped fresh cilantro, lots of it, and it has to be fresh. No substitutions will work for the cilantro as far as I'm concerned. The extra special kick I add to my salsa is tomatillos. I have found these little wonders at Publix and Sweetbay and specialty markets. Though normally used to make a salsa verde (green sauce) I really like the added tartness in my traditional salsa. Just chop as you would the tomatoes and add to your salsa.