Summer Means Salsa

On the way home from town, we stopped in Deming, NM at our favorite vegetable stand.  Diaz Farms sells pretty great produce and we can't drive through without stopping to see what they have.  This time, their boxes were overflowing with the ingredients for salsa.  We got enough for a big batch and ripe melons.  Added to the week's harvest of our own tomato patch, we'll have plenty.  Living in a hot desert does have merits now and then.

Green chiles, tomatoes, jalepenos, yellow-hots, onion and cilantro, beautiful to look at and yummy to eat.

Saturday, while waiting for sections of my painting to dry I'd run to the kitchen to work on cooking projects.  Back and forth all morning, handling things that are red.  Red paint, red tomatoes, I like red!  I may get this painting finished yet.  You are probably rolling your eyes because this one has dragged on for so long.  Me too.

Another blossom done this morning...  Slowly.

Both my husband and I grew up in the Southwest, so our days wouldn't be complete without chile.  We usually buy 3 or 4- 40# sacks in the fall and roast and freeze it for the coming year.  Most south-westerners wait eagerly for green chile season and the Webbs' are no exception.  Down to two bags of it in the freezer, we were getting worried.  It is addictive.

We like the flavor of fire-roasted veggies, so part of the ingredients are slow-cooked in a medium-hot oven. 

This year our goal is to bottle 150-ish quarts of salsa; the pantry is getting low.  Today's batch, however is fresh for eating and sharing.  We are going to a Pioneer Day celebration and chips and salsa will be a good accompaniment for BBQ and beans.  No matter that it is jalepeno-hot, it'll get eaten.

Roasted peppers, tomatoes, onions and garlic- ready to add to the batch.

I often sense that making things with my hands, no matter if it is on the sewing machine, in the kitchen or at my easel- is a way of giving of myself.  When you create with love, or a desire to give something of yourself, I think a bit of that is conveyed to those who receive your creations.  I hope that someone who looks at my paintings can feel a bit of my spirit there and those who eat the food I've made for them get a little extra something from it. (..besides fat)  Maybe my idea is a bit too touchy/feely, but there it is.  That's how I feel.

All the ingredients added, including lime juice and plenty of salt.  

If you were here, we'd sit down with a bowl of salsa, some chips and have a good visit.  Laughing together makes life worthwhile.

A jar for the Webbs' and a jar for the party.  My fingers and mouth are on fire, got to remember not to rub my eyes!  

Thanks for stopping by!  Alice