How to peel a tomato

 

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I always settled on making salsa leaving the skins on, knowing there had to be a better way I did a little research and learned a simple way to get those pesky skins off with minimal effort.

The process is very simple, get a pot of boiling water, drop in your tomato for 10-15 seconds ad immediately remove and drop in a bowl of ice water.

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This submersion not only stops the tomato from cooking but this blanching process reduces the bond of the tomato skin.  It was so easy to remove the skins my 6 year old also helped me and removed the skins without any issues.

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The great part of this method it is very easy and given you only lose the thin skin with almost no waste to the tomato.

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I used these tomatoes to make a modified version of my garden salsa which was my best batch yet.

Mango Salsa Recipe

mangoSalsa

I am starting to get some cherry tomatoes turning red but not enough to make salsa so yet again so I decided to make some Mango Salsa.  It is great to eat on tortilla chips the same you would for regular salsa or black bean corn salsa.  One of my favorite things to do with is as a topping to blackened salmon (salmon grilled with dusting of Cajun seasoning)

CVG Mango Salsa Recipe

  • 3 mangos
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1 small onion
  • green onion
  • 5 sprigs of cilantro
  • juice of one lemon (or lime)
  • 1 jalapeno pepper (seeded)
  • sugar

Directions:  Finely chop 1 mango (or blend in blender/food processor) this will create a base for the salsa.  Coarsely chop remaining mangos, onion, and green onions to have more defined texture and add to bowl.  Finely chop garlic, cilantro, and seeded jalapeno pepper and add to mixture.  Squeeze in juice of lemon into bowl and mix thoroughly.  Let sit for 10 minutes and add sugar until salsa does not have a spicy aftertaste (normally 2-3 teaspoons)

Now if you really like the spice you can leave the seeds in and/or skip the sugar but for the blackened salmon it give a good contrast to the spicy meat and people just are not usually expecting fruit to be spicy.

I can proudly say with the exception of mangos, lemons, and sugar the remaining ingredients came right out of my garden.

Black Bean and Corn Salsa Recipe

Corn Bean Salsa

My jalapeños peppers have been growing like crazy and I have had to start harvest to prevent the plants from stop producing.  Given my tomatoes are still green I have been itching to do something with them, I decided to make some corn salsa.  Given I couldn’t find a recipe that matched the ingredients I had on hand I decided to make my own.

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CVG Black Bean and Corn Salsa Recipe

  • 2 ears of corn (1-1/2 cups frozen corn)
  • 1 small onion (chopped)
  • 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
  • 1/4 cup sliced green onions
  • 2-3 cloves of garlic (chopped)
  • 1/4 cup white vinegar
  • 3 T sugar
  • 1 chopped seeded jalapeño
  • 1 chopped unseeded jalapeño
  • 1-1/2 cups black beans (canned)

Directions: Cook corn for 2 minutes in boiling water and submerge in ice cold ice water.  This helps stop the corn from cooking any more and also make handling while cutting the kernels a little more pleasant.  Cut off kernels and add to bowl.  Chop/slice remaining ingredients and add to bowl, stir, and refrigerate and serve chilled.

If you like your salsa a little spicier leave both pepper seeded.

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