Salsa...

Today was our department picnic at Spacely Sprockets. I was late, as I had to pick up my glasses (as you will read in the normal Blog entry) and, once there, I should have had a hotdog (you can't screw them up, right?) Instead, I opted for a burger, which was the most over-done piece of meat I ever tried to eat. I had to choke it down as I was at a table of six and spitting it out and cursing wouldn't have been cool. Some of the side dishes were, in fact, excellent, and the desserts (I didn't try them, of course) were beautiful.

But, it seemed the hit of the day was the homemade salsa a Purchasing agent (Tony) made and brought in. So, when I got back to work, I went in search of Tony (who I know. Hey, I know everybody!) and asked him for the recipe. Here's the story he told:

His cousin moved to Oklahoma in the early 90's when "salsa" was just beginning to be big. Her husband fell in love with the stuff and used it on everything. She despaired at the cost of the store-bought stuff. But her neighbor (an old Cherokee Indian woman) gave her a recipe.

Sidebar: Isn't it interesting that we always accept and embrace a story that mentions an "old Cherokee Indian woman"? I mean, if I said, "My Mom" or an "Old Polish woman" nobody would pay attention, but you add a "Native American" into the story and then everybody goes, "Oh, yeah, right, cool!"

Anyway, we will ignore the possibility that she was later killed for divulging the tribal secret of salsa (since Cherokee Indians weren't really known for their salsa, I am pretty sure that's not a problem) and move on.

Here is his family recipe (and please remember this is for a LARGE group - scale back accordingly):

5 Large Cans of Hunts Whole Tomatoes
5 Bunches of Green Onions (Just the White Part and up to 2" of the green)
2 Jars of Old El Paso Sliced Jalape�os
Lawry's Seasoning
Powdered Garlic to taste.

Chop everything up in a food processor and enjoy.

So, tomorrow, I think I am gonna substitute fresh tomatoes and adjust the taste accordingly. I'll let you now how it turned out.