The Best Tex-Mex Salsa!!

The best salsa recipe,
BUT FIRST: an update on my tomato plants

This year my tomato plants went CRAZY. They grew like a weed; a very tasty, fruitful weed that we actually want to grow therefore NOT a weed.

In part I would like to give credit to my own efforts in growing these tomatoes. I researched the best way to plant the tomatoes, which involved sideways planting and filling the hole with nutritional items for better growing.

I also have spent the last few months pruning suckers off these plants to enable a more focused growth on the fruit. The suckers behave like stems and will create a more tangled web of a tomato plant if you let them all go!

I'd like to make a plug about a little gardening insight here. The hardest part about gardening is pruning. A master gardener knows good and bad growth; he/she knows when a limb, branch or even fruit could cause more harm than good. In a sense, I see this in God's intervention in my life. He knows the best way to guide and prune me. Even if at times I don't understand because I feel like I had potential to grow fruit; He knows what is best for me, His little plant in His garden.

Just recently I started rooting these suckers to plant as their own plant. We'll see how this goes; a bit late in the season so this experiment might have to be postponed until next spring! 

 

 

One of my suckers is even putting out fruit, how fun!

Well, meanwhile in the #RosenbaumGarden my tomato plants are GINORMOUS!
Even Ol' Roc' can't believe his eyes!

They tower over me!

But more importantly, these plants are loaded with fruit!

And my grape tomato plant is also going nuts!

Unfortunately I have to pick the tomatoes off the vine as soon as they blush.
This is normal windowsill decor, right?

I'm having a bit of a critter issue; if I don't remove them right when they blush they are pretty much goners. :(

Here's to hoping I can keep these critters away. Though I'm pretty sure I'm dealing with a variety of pests. I think expecting a portion of the crop to be sacrificed back to nature is the best way to not be as disappointed when it does happen. I am growing an organic garden; I have to expect other visitors to my garden!

Okay enough about the plants, let's talk SALSA!

Once 10-12 nicely sized tomatoes have ripened, it's time to make some good ol' Tex-Mex Salsa! Use closer to 12 tomatoes if the tomatoes are smaller, 10 if they are larger.

Gather your ingredients.

 Then it's time to core the tomatoes.

 


Time for our #1 Tip for the BEST SALSA EVER. Here in Texas we like salsa like we like our summers...HOT! Salsa hotness can be achieved by adjusting the amount of jalapenos, whole or cored. However, we've found the best smoky flavor comes from GRILLING the tomatoes and peppers for about 15 minutes! Yum!!

 

After [my wonderful Grillmaster of a husband is done] grilling, I use a blender to process and combine all ingredients. 

This recipe fills an entire blender and lasts about a week in my house! What can I say, we basically drink salsa out of a straw here; it's a household staple.

My next experiment will be learning to can so we can save some of this homegrown & homemade salsa for the winter, or maybe Christmas gifts! Canning tips anyone?

Here's the official recipe!

Good luck in your tomato growing and salsa making!!

~RR

"He makes grass grow for the cattle, and plants for people to cultivate-- bringing forth food from the earth..." -Palms 104:14