I love salsa! Homemade salsa rates right up there for me like chili does because it satisfies on so many levels. I have been known to put salsa on everything from my eggs to a dish of cottage cheese, sometimes grossing others out in the process. Fortunately, I am not a person offended by disgust over my often random food combinations (um, didn’t everyone have a grilled cheese w/ strawberry jam phase? no? hmm…) When tomato season arrives and you can get a bushel of tomatoes at a good price, salsa is something excellent to can and have on hand for later, but this small batch is perfect when time is scarce and you’re just thinking of NOW.

*Notes*

*when working with hot peppers, ALWAYS wear gloves. They burn your skin. Take my word for it. I tell you this because I am one of those people who for some reason never thinks they will be affected by things the way everyone else is. And to really embarrass myself I will further admit that even though I know they will burn me because they have burned me in the past, I still would never get around to getting on those gloves. Imagine that: something burned me- peoplepepperspeoplepeppers…. Something continued to burn me and yet I couldn’t seem to take measures to prevent myself from continuing to be burned. But one day I finally decided to put on some gloves because I realized that if they’d burned me in the past they would burn me again and I’m tired of getting burned, so I finally learned to instill the boundary and wear the damn gloves! Yes, cooking will always show you metaphors for life.

*This particular recipe packs a pretty healthy punch. It didn’t leave my lips throbbing, but it did make my nose run. I like spicy! If you don’t like yours as spicy, use milder levels of peppers. Play around with the recipe and find out what works for you.  Store any leftovers in the fridge.