Grilled Tomato Salsa

Do you have a garden?

Do you have tomatoes coming out your ears?

Have you given them away to all your friends, neighbors

and your hair stylist?

Are your plants leaning over in anguish from the load still on the vines?

Mine too, all two of my plants.

Two? You only have two plants and you are giving them away?

I know that's what you are thinking.

Well, its like this.

My husband loves to garden. 

We have 5 garden boxes and a mound.

A mound of dirt (Izzy LOVES the dirt!) to plant cucumbers or pumpkins on.

He says they grow best that way.

I believe him.
xo 

So, this year I knew he would be gone for the harvest

 (remember...I'm a Navy wife)

So I asked him to just plant 2 tomato plants and one cucumber.

And A LOT of Sunflowers.

Snap peas and green onions.

He added brussels sprouts. They're still there. No takers...

go figure.

I have also been giving away cucumbers like there is no tomorrow.

I do eat a little of all of it, but sharing is so much fun!

But my friends have eaten their share & aren't interested in my sharing any longer.

****

Last week I was staring at the large bowl of fresh picked tomatoes on the counter, 

and then looked outside to my full plants,

and I picked up the phone and called my mother in law.

"June, I'm bringing down tomatoes this weekend".

"No, please don't....I have too many here already".

*deep sigh*
I replied with

"but, nobody wants any more tomatoes and I don't want to waste them,

especially since Jeff would do back flips for a fresh fruit

or vegetable about now"!

*chitter chatter*

*click*

An hour later my phone rang 

"Bring all your tomatoes! 
We're making Salsa this weekend"!

Wooo hooo! Great idea!

So, I packed up my clothes, my puppy, my son and a huge bag of fresh tomatoes

and drove 3 hours south.

One. To make fresh roasted salsa that I can freeze until my husbands return.

Two. So my son can say goodbye to family before we drive to Wyoming for school.

Three. Just because we love visiting them.

***

If you are trying to find another recipe for your tomatoes

here is an easy Salsa recipe!

Grilled Tomato Salsa Recipe

3 large sweet onions: peeled, leave whole

(we tried cutting them in half, and they fall apart while cooking)

3 green jalapenos:  leave whole

*3 red jalapenos*: leave whole

(We used 6 green jalapenos, if you want a hot salsa, use the red as well)

8 large cloves of peeled garlic

(wrap in tin foil with a little bit of Olive Oil to place on grill)

15 Medium sized tomatoes: leave whole

1 large bunch of fresh Cilantro

1tsp. Cumin

1 large lime or lime juice

Salt & pepper to taste

Place everything on a high heated grill.

Allow to blacken, turning as needed.

The tomatoes will get soft, turn gently with tongs.

Remove from grill when black, allow to cool enough to touch.

Cut open the jalapenos, remove stem & seeds & guts.

Remove the stems from cilantro.

Get out your circa 1975 Blender.

Add half of each ingredient to the blender. 

It won't all fit at one time unless you have a large 

food processor.

Squeeze lime juice, add Cumin and Cilantro.
Chop and blend all together.

One recipe will make about 2 Quarts.

We tried a few different batches. We found that the type of tomato makes a difference. My "Early Girl" tomatoes were sweeter than store bought tomatoes.
Also, if you love garlic, I would add a few more cloves of garlic.
This was a fast and delicious Salsa Recipe!
Tell me if you like it!!

Enjoy!!

xoxo
Jodi
PS. on a side note...I saw on the CNN ticker today...
A glass of wine a day may aide in the treatment of depression....
*Cheers*

Have a glass with your salsa & chips!!