This post was written by my foodie sister Robin, who is now sharing all of her favorite recipes and kitchen tips regularly on the new “Make It and Love It – in the KITCHEN” portion of this blog. Try a few of her recipes…your belly will thank you! -Ashley
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Hey guys…..it’s Robin again! And I’m so excited that it’s officially SUMMER!
One of the best parts about summertime is the fresh fruit and vegetables that are available. Don’t get me wrong, you can get them almost all year round but when produce is in season locally, you just can’t beat the taste. And when juicy red tomatoes are ready to come off the vine, one of the first things I like to make is a FRESH SALSA!
But not only do I love making regular tomato salsa…..but a yummy WATERMELON variation as well!!!
I will always and forever love my standard Tomato Salsa (aka: Pico De Gallo for some folks….but this stuff has a lot more to it than your standard Pico) with a bowl of fresh tortilla chips…..Mmmmm!
But let me tell you something about watermelon — it makes a fantastic summertime salsa! It’s a bit more mellow (and isn’t really a chip digging salsa) but boy does it marry well with a nice grilled fillet of fish or chicken. It’s a MUST try, my friends! YUM!
Both salsas are amazing…..especially this time of year. So, gather up some fresh produce and get chopping!
SHOPPING LIST (for the regular salsa):
SHOPPING LIST (for the watermelon salsa):
Here are the ingredients you’ll need for the regular salsa…
Oh and if you can get your hands on it, this is great to use instead of the salt. It adds a bit of a different flavor with a smidgen of heat. Just eliminate the salt in the recipe and add 1 tsp of this Tony Chachere’s creole seasoning (on their official website, you can find that it is pronounced sash-er-ee….. or you can call it the “cha-cha seasoning” or whatever. I’ve been mispronouncing it too).
For the watermelon salsa, the ingredients will be mostly the same as the image above, except you won’t need the black pepper, jalepeño pepper, and garlic. But you will need the star of the show — WATERMELON!!!
Okay, let’s get things started. Tomatoes right off the vine are fabulous. The taste is unbeatable. If I can’t get any, I buy Roma tomatoes since they are cheaper PLUS they have more taste to them than the regular tomatoes at the store. An advantage to using the Roma variety is that it is easier to remove the seeds. Usually Roma tomatoes come with either two or three seed chambers. I usually use my fingers to dig them out but you can probably use a small spoon as well.
To make the regular salsa, chop the rest of vegetables and add the salt (I used the creole seasoning instead of regular salt here) and black pepper……and toss in a bowl.
OR, if you’re making the watermelon salsa, add you melon, veggies, and salt to a bowl.
Mix everything up and then add the fresh lime juice (lemons will work as well). Now, just do me a favor and use fresh limes (or lemons). The bottled stuff isn’t even worth it…..BUY FRESH!!! :)
Mix again–
And that’s it. Time to dig in with a good tortilla chip. Or add to tacos. Or nachos. Or ANYTHING! :)
Or spread that watermelon salsa on a good piece of meat. (I just used just salt, pepper, and garlic powder to flavor this fish and the watermelon salsa on it was heavenly.) Trust me, it’s delicious!
And enjoy!
-Robin
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Tomato Salsa — Recipe Card
makes about 4 1/4 cups
Add all the chopped vegetables together with the salt and ground pepper. Mix well adding the lime juice. Enjoy!
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[print_this]
Watermelon Salsa — Recipe Card
makes about 2 3/4 cups
Add all the chopped vegetables together with the salt. Mix well adding the lime juice. Enjoy!
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