I was cleaning up in the kitchen before someone was coming over yesterday and noticed I had several things that were a little past their prime. The Mr, God love him, wanted to try to be a 'tomato person' so he got grape tomatoes for his salads. That lasted a day. I bought jalapenos at Trader Joe's with the intention of making a rainbow salad this week that never got made. I had a shallot left over from the past week and a red pepper that was starting to shrivel a bit. These things would've normally gotten chucked in the trash but I made 'em my treasure.
I cut everything up and grabbed some cilantro and basil from my container garden.
Got out my handy dandy food processor and chucked everything inside and added a squirt of lime or lemon juice.
Pulsey-pulse-pulse and voila...pico de gallo!
Pulsey-pulse-pulse some more and blam...non-chunky salsa for the people like me who loathe chunky salsa.
Add some pineapple chunks from one of the six, yes, SIX pineapples I bought when they were on sale for a buck a piece and you have some awesome sweet and spicy salsa!
Some yummy homemade salsa on my no salt chips or on a potato or tacos or enchiladas. The possibilities are endless baby. All of that schtuff was going to go in the trash but now I've got a great low cal better than anything preserved in my fridge salsa that'll get me through the weekend.
Have you "saved" any foods lately? What did you makeover from potential trash to culinary treasure?
On a side note, Happy 50th Birthday to my childhood crush Nick Rhodes of Duran Duran!
As you were...
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Mmmmm, salsa... I love taking tid bits of stuff and turning them into something yummy! Nick is Rhodes is so pretty = ) Every Friday at work, we play 80's music, and what's an 80's Friday without some Duran Duran?!? Perfect post to start my day, thanks! Have a good one!!
ReplyDeleteMe too! :)
DeleteYes he is. I used to smooch his picture before school every day from grade 2-5. I've got 2nd row seats to a DD concert this summer on a road trip. Can't wait!
Oh, my, Duran Duran!! Takes me back! :-) Salsa looks great--I would have had to do without the jalapeno, I'm such a wimp. Great save!
ReplyDeleteYou know you've got Rio in your head now!
DeleteYeah the jalapeno gave it a good kick but if you take out the seeds and ribs, that's where the heat lies.
Looooove fresh salsa! My hubby started making some last year and we have it about once a week. One time, thought, he put WAY too much garlic in it and it was all but inedible.
ReplyDelete*sigh* Duran Duran......boy, that takes me back!
Isn't it yummy! The Mr tried it last night and said "how is it we've been to every Mexican restaurant in the city and their stuff is crap and you make salsa on the fly and it's the best thing ever?" :)
DeleteWhat a great idea! I've always wanted to try pico or salsa, but I've always been to scared. I declare right now in front of the world that next time I have tomatoes I'm ready to throw, I'm making pico!
ReplyDeleteIt's easy as well I was going to say pie but pie isn't exactly easy now is it? Hmm, it's as easy as passing gas after beans? I need help.
DeleteOhhh, that looks amazing! I don't like chunky salsa either, I usually fish around for sauce and try to leave the bits out (hard!)!
ReplyDeleteMe too!! If there's a big honkin' piece of tomato in my salsa it either gets fished out or squished with a fork into pulp!
DeleteBefore you put the pineapple in it, I was ready to dive into the picture and eat that salsa with a spoon! But I do like mango salsa, so I would give your pineapple a try, too. I tend to put things that are just past their prime in my smoothies. Shouldn't wait that long, I know, because it loses nutrients, but at least it's edible, er, drinkable. Overripe bananas go in banana bread or get frozen in chunks to add to later smoothies. Limp celery goes just fine in soups. I try not to have to throw out anything. I do draw the line at slimy bell peppers, though. lol
ReplyDeleteIt needed something sweet to balance it. I never thought I liked pineapple salsa either until I tried it, now it's my favorite!
DeleteMy trash to treasure receipe, is what I call "refrigerator soup"! Each week the day before garbage pick-up (there is no graceful way to say it!!!), I go into the refrigerator and rescue every leftover and edible (aka, barely holding onto life)vegetable, throw it in a pot with some broth, add some herbs and come up some of the most delicious soup ever! This might include any type of pasta dish, beans, vegetables, pot roast or chicken....the list is endless! Life is too much fun to live without it!!! Peaceful Blessings! Nanny
ReplyDeleteHooray for non-chunky salsa! That looks yummy.
ReplyDeleteI love Nick Rhodes and Duran Duran, but my childhood crush was Billy Idol. :)
I graduated from Nick to Billy. My mom took me to see him when I was in middle school. I STILL love him. I know most Idol fan pan his old school Christmas CD he released a few years ago but we LOVE it!
DeleteIt's been awhile since I've made salsa...time to revisit that. Especially since I did finally learn what you already mentioned...the heat for a jalapeno is in the seeds and ribs, I've been dying to try working with a pepper I've always avoided like the plague (learned that little bit of info the first time I tried a stuffed jalapeno and it wasn't at all like I thought it would be, I was informed about the seeds thing then).
ReplyDeleteOh that picture STILL makes my little heart go pitter-patter! I think I probably had that poster on my wall as a teenager! :-)
ReplyDelete