MY SPECIAL SALSA AND GUACAMOLE

My friend Jeremy came over this Saturday and the first thing he said when he walked in the door was, "Where's that coffee jelly?!"  I laughed because I hadn't mentioned the coffee jelly I'd made on Friday, but he'd read our blog! So thank you, Jeremy, for being a true supporter.  Rachel and I always joke about how few people read our blog (4 in total...our parents).  But as it turns out, there are people out there that do!  And we are very thankful for you. We'll try to simultaneously be entertaining and informative, and hopefully inspire you to cook at home if you don't already!

If you'd like to make a salsa that people will talk about, this recipe below, courtesy of our friend, Terry, is a total hit at get-togethers.  It's hearty and colorful with so many wonderfully textured ingredients:

You're probably thinking, "Red wine vinegar?"  Yup, the secret ingredient. And cucumbers give the salsa the heartiness that you'd normally achieve with red onions, but minus the spiciness and onion breath.  The key is to dice the ingredients into tiny cubes.  Tedious, yes.  Delicious and pretty, yes. You, ultimately, are in control with the size of the cuts, but doesn't this just look amazing?

Serves 10


Ingredients:
4 tomatoes (beef steak or on the vine), seeded
2 cucumbers, seeded
1 red onion
1 jalapeño, seeded
4 Tbsp fresh cilantro, finely chopped
Juice from 2 limes
3 Tbsp red wine vinegar
3 dashes cayenne pepper (or more if you like it spicier)
salt & pepper to taste
tortilla chips


Finely dice the first 4 ingredients in a large bowl or tupperware, then mix together the rest of the ingredients, minus the chips (duh).  Cover and refrigerate.  You can make this a day ahead if you'd like. The longer the flavors have to blend, the tastier the salsa.  Now for the guacamole!

Serves 10


Ingredients:
6 avocados
salt
1 - 1.5 cup, roughly, of the above salsa


Easy.  If you make the salsa, the guacamole is so simple and only takes a few minutes.  Mash the avocados in a large bowl with either a fork or a potato masher.  Mash to whatever consistency you like.  I prefer to keep some larger chunks of avocado.  Sprinkle with salt to taste.  Carefully fold in salsa.  That's it. 


You can add more or less salsa.  I, personally, like a lot.  And a tip from my friend, Liane, to prolong the life of the guacamole; throw in a few avocado pits.  I think it tricks the avocado into thinking it's still in its original state and your guacamole won't start turning brown...until about 2 days later.  Let us know what your friends think the next time you make this tasty combo!  


M