Recipe: Fresh Garden Salsa

I was talking to my friend Teresa yesterday about the salsa I made and she asked for the recipe. Since I was going to be making another batch, I figured I'd take a photo and then offer up the recipe.

The basic recipe comes from a small book in the Learn How Now! series titled Super Salsas. I was looking for a good, basic recipe, and of all the recipes I looked at in my various recipe books, none seemed quite what I was looking for. They always seemed to have at least one ingredient that just didn't seem to belong. Their recipe is called "One Basic Recipe = Infinite Variations." I'll give you the recipe below, but true to form, I adapted it, so I'll offer my adapted recipe below theirs.

ONE BASIC RECIPE = INFINITE VARIATIONS

4 medium tomatoes
1 tsp. garlic
1/2 c. red or white onion
2 roasted jalapenos
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
3 Tbsp. fresh cilantro, chopped
1/4 tsp. salt

1. Dice tomatoes, mince garlic, and chop onions.
2. Wearing gloves, seed and chop roasted jalapenos.
3. In a large glass bowl, mix all ingredients.
4. Refrigerate for 30 minutes before serving.

Here's my adapted version:

FRESH GARDEN SALSA

4 medium tomatoes
1 heaping teaspoon minced garlic (I get mine at the dollar store; it's the minced garlic in its own juice, not the dried minced garlic)
1/2 c. chopped green onion
Old El Paso or other brand chopped jalapenos to taste
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
3 Tbsp. fresh cilantro, chopped
1/4 tsp. sea salt

(This makes enough salsa for 2-4 people who are healthy salsa eaters. I triple the batch so I can freeze some for later use. I'm not sure how the frozen salsa will turn out--it's an experiment.)

1. Core, blanch, and peel tomatoes. (I used several varieties of tomatoes for the triple batch I made: Brandywine, Plum, Yellow, Valencia, and Best Boy. Any tomatoes will do if they are fresh; if you are trying to make this salsa in the winter when the only tomatoes available are from the grocery store, I recommend experimenting with canned diced tomatoes.)
2. Dice tomatoes and dump into a glass bowl.
3. Add minced garlic, chopped green onion, jalapenos, lime juice (by the way, for the triple batch I only increased the lime juice to about 2/3 of a cup), cilantro, and sea salt.
4. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving.

If you can't eat jalapenos (I love jalapenos, but they do not seem terribly fond of me), try using chopped green chiles instead.

WARNING: If you are going to touch jalapenos, whether you will be roasting them or using the pickled ones, WEAR GLOVES. Jalapeno oils tend to stay on the skin even after repeated washings, and I can tell you from experience that jalapeno juice in the eye is NOT a good feeling. I have found, though, that if I get some jalapeno juice on my hands, the Veggie Wash that I use works very well at removing the oils!

Experiment with the recipe and have fun! The salsa is very fresh tasting--better than anything you'll find in a restaurant.

Recipe: Pan-Fried Zucchini

I settled on fried zucchini for dinner. I was a little hasty in my preparation, so some aren't evenly browned and a few of them got a little dark, but all in all, they tasted terrific! The bonus is, I only used two of the smaller zucchini, so I still have six good-sized zucchini for other zucchini dishes.

The recipe is simple:

Kris's Pan-Fried Zucchini

2 medium zucchini, end-trimmed and washed
2 large eggs
1/8 c. milk
Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
salt to taste
coarsely ground pepper to taste

First, wash and slice the zukes about 1/4" thick (too thick and they take too long to cook through; too thin and you won't have much substance to bite into and they'll get overcooked quickly). I use Veggie Wash.

Next, break the eggs into a small bowl and combine them with the milk. Beat well.

In a separate bowl, pour a generous amount of Italian seasoned breadcrumbs (you may use regular breadcrumbs and then add Italian seasonings to your heart's content, or--and I recommend this move--use the Italian seasoned breadcrumbs and add your favorite seasonings to strengthen the flavor). Add enough salt and ground pepper to taste. If you prefer, you may salt and pepper each side of the zucchini slices while they are cooking in the pan.

Heat a frying pan with enough extra virgin olive oil (I prefer cold-pressed) to just cover the bottom of the pan. Once the pan is ready, dip each slice of zucchini into the egg/milk mixture and then coat in the breadcrumb mixture. Place in the pan. Fry gently over medium-low heat until one side is brown and crispy; then, flip with a spatula to fry the other side. Remove to a paper-towel-covered plate when both sides are lightly browned and crisp.

Be careful not to let the egg get too gloppy (that's the technical culinary term, I'm certain)--you'll get lumpy zucchini that browns unevenly--see the picture for evidence. You may have to occasionally clean out the eggy bread crumbs and replenish the bowl with fresh bread crumbs.

Serve with ranch dressing, a sour cream/cucumber dip, honey mustard, or whatever your favorite zucchini dipping sauce is. Experiment!

Make sure to add the leftover bread crumbs to your compost pile; any remaining egg should be discarded. Rinse out your egg shells and add that to your compost pile or, if you have hermit crabs like I do, throw them in the tank. It took my crabs approximately two minutes to find them and begin munching on them. (It's a great source of calcium for them.)