Kitchen Adventure: Salsa Without a Recipe

I am going to make salsa. Maybe I should look up a recipe. Nah, that's overrated. We'll just see how this goes.

Cutting board, knife, tomatoes, onion, cilantro...yup, gang's all here. Okay, let's do this.

I never know how to cut up an onion. Who's the world's worst onion cutter? Me. They always look so...mangled when I'm done with them. Wait a second, this one's not bad.

Okay, let's give this food processor a whirl. Haha, whirl...

Oh, food processor. I love you. No, seriously. Those onions are a thing of beauty. Oops, now they are almost liquified. I think I got a little overzealous there. You are my new favorite kitchen appliance. Please don't tell the microwave.

How much onion is too much onion for salsa?

Hmm, can this go in the garbage disposal? We're about to find out. The worst that can happen is it will break, right?

Um, how do I know when this disposal is done digesting this stuff? Well, it sounds slightly less malicious now, so let's just call it done.

Oh, tomatoes. You remind me of my first job where I got to cut a lot of foodstuffs up in the back. Hey, cilantro, you know what? You do, too. *lightbulb* Can you go in the food processor?

Okay, maybe the cilantro in the food processor was not such a great idea. It looks pitiful now. But my affection has not been diminished by this. Food processor, you still rock.

Mix, mix, mix. Wow, that's a lot of onion.

A dash of lemon juice. Okay, that was probably too much.

Holy onions, Batman! Um, maybe I'll just stick this back in the fridge. Coldness calms down an onion's intensity, right? Sure.

I think I'd better find the Tums. There will surely be heartburn involved in this somewhere.

This sounded like a good idea in theory...and would probably make some killer nachos.

~"It's so beautifully arranged on the plate -- you know someone's fingers have been all over it." [-Julia Child]~

Beyond the Recipe

Have you ever realized that a lot of wonderful conversations happen around food? Dinner time in college was one of the greatest socializing times we had. We'd develop a routine with what time we'd all naturally gravitate to the cafeteria, and then we'd linger as long as we could after our plates were clear just to talk.

At home we move slowly away from the table after we're done eating, too, but the food is much better (of course). We have some pretty great cooks in the family, and some tried-and-true family recipes.

You know what I love more than consuming the products of these family recipes, though? Having my family teach them to me. As I learn the right way to roll the dough or the secret ingredient or how high to make the graham cracker crust (or not make it, as the case may be...lol), it's amazing what I can learn about my family. It seems like with every recipe I also hear anecdotes about my relatives. I get to know them better as I improve in the kitchen. It's a win-win situation.

That was the creation of the week. Another family recipe gained, another thing off my To Do list, and more lessons about the people I love. A huge thanks to my Auntie Cindy for that. :)

When all else fails, I will not starve in my apartment because I can always resort to making a cheesecake. You know, when I have 2 hours to spare. I hear first year teachers have all the time in the world...(yeah, right). :P

~"Part of the secret of success is to eat what you like and let the food fight it out inside." [Mark Twain]~