I remember a world without tortilla chips and salsa. A world where chips made from corn were called "Fritos" and looked kinda like overgrown toenails:

A world where the only place you would find ground up tomatoes and spice would be on top of spaghetti.

It was a bland world, a safe world. A world where Accent and salt were our spices and we did not know about cilantro.

And then...sometime in the mid-eighties, it happened. I think it probably snuck over the border from the US south, this snack called "chips and salsa". And it took us all by storm - our timid tastebuds were blasted by exotic tastes like chili peppers, jalapeno peppers and cilantro. We discovered that corn can be made into chips shaped like circles or triangles, and that corn can be white, or even blue or red.

Our snacking lives would never be the same.

So now that chips & salsa are fully entrenched in our snacking lives, they have evolved. You can buy premium varieties of tortilla chips - organic, red, blue, white, seasoned...and so on. The same holds true for salsa; there's a dizzying array of choices (not just the traditional mild, medium, hot): fruit salsas, green salsas, corn or bean salsas, wine salsas...and the list goes on.

But in my opinion, one of the best advances in the world of salsas has been the popularity of home-made salsa. I've been making my own salsa for some time now, and I shudder at the thought of eating big-name jarred salsa. My home-made salsa is truly the best I've tasted anywhere (even at Mexican restaurants) and it's soooo easy to make. So I was the teensiest bit skeptical when I downloaded the Cuisinart recipe for Fresh Tomato and Corn Salsa from my first post. But, always game to give new recipes a try, I printed it off this morning. Here's my take!

First off, I usually use canned tomatoes in my salsa (just for ease of use) so it was a nice treat to make a recipe using fresh tomatoes.

Here's a hint for using fresh, raw tomatoes in salsa (or any other recipes...bruschetta comes to mind): stick to plum (otherwise known as roma) tomatoes. They have more flesh, less juice and seeds. Cut them in half and squeeze them over the sink before chopping/processing. This will get out much of the juice (which is acidic and will make your salsa over-watery) as well as a lot of seeds (they're bitter-tasting, so the fewer the better).

Also, I usually use a prepared spice mix in my salsa (Epicure Selections Poco Picante) so digging out the fresh jalapenos and cilantro was fun, too.

Cilantro hint: stick to the leaves, not the stems.

Jalapeno hint: the seeds are much hotter than the flesh, so slice your pepper in half lengthwise and remove the pulp and seeds. Then increase the heat of your salsa by adding back some of the seeds if you like. And above all, remember to WASH YOUR HANDS after cutting and handling hot peppers! Trust me, I rubbed my eyes after cuttng jalapenos, and it's not something you want to try at home!

 

Here are some action shots of this incredibly easy salsa being made. I can't believe that there was a time when I made salsa by hand - i.e. I chopped all the ingredients with a knife! Ahhh!!! Truly the best gift I ever got was when my husband bought me a food processor for our first anniversary. A lot of my friends were shocked that he would buy me a kitchen appliance (a faux pas, in their eyes), but to me it was a sign that he really knew me...I had coveted a food processor for a long time.

So here's what the final product looked like, before we devoured it all :) Can you say WOW? What an amazing treat to have fresh salsa! My kids (who are adventurous and like spicy foods) both liked it and ate several fully loaded chips before heading for the water bottles, and my husband, true to type, ate a bunch, patted his tummy and asked, "is there any more?" The best compliment I could get!

So what about you? Do you make salsa from scratch or eat from the jar? Fresh tomatoes or canned? Any tips and tricks for making or serving salsa? Share below!

I'm also looking for anyone who's made their own tortilla chips...some day I'd like to serve fresh, home-made salsa with home-made chips. Has anyone braved this culinary adventure? Let me know in comments below.