Friday Foods: Salsa

I don't post as much as I should, but I was thinking of creating a new feature on the blog called Friday Foods. I can post step-by-step directions for foods that I made that week. 

The first food that I've been making quite often is salsa. Dave and I have been looking for salsas that we like, but haven't found any yet. They sell the Doritos salsa and... that's about it! There's nothing fresh and exciting about that. So, I've been making my own salsa lately! It takes about 10 minutes and is yummy and healthy and pretty easy! I got the recipe from ThePioneerWoman. The only problem is she uses some ingredients that we can't get here. So, I've tweaked it a bit to make my own that is British-grocery-store-friendly! 

Into the food processor, throw some canned tomatoes. I use one can of chopped tomatoes. I'm sure the whole ones would be fine. Just make sure they don't have Italian spices.... that would mix things up! (and not in a good way!)

Into this, I added some applesauce (home-made! I had heard that some Mexican places add some... who knows?! Maybe..). I just had a little bit left, so I added all I had - maybe a large spoonful, or two?

The green bits are "green chillies" as they're known here. Really, I have no clue. They might be jalapenos, or they might be some other type of chili pepper. They sell peppers in the bag above. They are sold by color and heat. So, these are green chilies with medium heat. I think most of the time they're jalapenos, but sometimes they're shorter and pointier, so I'm not sure what they are. Anyways, I take one of these (or more!) Dice it, add a little to begin with and then I can add more if its not spicy enough for me. I've learned this the hard way.

I also have these. I add one or two of them to add some flavor. 

Add some garlic. Or lots. I tend to err on the side of a lot. Like 4-5 cloves.

Then some of this:

A handful of cilantro (or coriander, if you're British). I use a whole, small onion. You could put a half of a large one in (or if you like onions, use a whole one!).

I forgot to add some lemon juice (or lime juice, I'm sure would work!) Fresh-squeezed juice is the best!

Also a necessity is sugar and salt. I add little bits at a time... probably close to 1T of sugar and maybe about the same of salt. Blend well!

Overall, this is really easy, and tastes amazing. Its pretty healthy and disappears in a day or two. Its our little piece of Mexico in Britain.