Authentic Salsa Recipe

Here it is, I have been promising pics of the authentic Mexican salsa made from banana peppers.  It's very simple, just use banana peppers, jalapeño peppers if you like it a little spicy, scallions, cilantro and tomatoes. I didn't use that whole big can of tomatoes, I only used half of it. Those banana peppers are all from my garden!

Put all of the ingredients in the blender and chop.

There you have it, delish salsa!

Here is the recipe if you would like to write it down or you can just copy and paste it into Wordpad and print it.

Authentic Mexican Salsa (passed down by MaryAnn)

• 10 Yellow peppers
• 1 or 2 jalapeño peppers (only if you like it hot, otherwise substitute banana peppers)
• 2 or 3 scallions
• 6 to 8 sprigs of cilantro
• 1 can of 16 oz. whole tomatoes
• sea salt (optional)

Slice peppers in half and hollow out the seeds (wear gloves!) and throw everything in the blender.  If you would like it to be more chunky and chopped, don't put the juice from the tomatoes in it. You can also use a food processor instead of a blender.  If you would like a more runny texture, use more of the tomato juice.  You can just play around with it until you get it to the texture and taste that you like.

One time I made it and it almost turned into soup because I blended it too long and used way too much of the juice.  My friend in FL just recently made it and she said it turned out too soupy, too.  So don't use the juice from the tomatoes next time Bec Bec.  :)

I also must say, I can not take the credit for this recipe.  It's from a friend who lives here in NC. She got it from a relative named Maryann and she said it has been passed down from many generations.  It doesn't really have a name, so I just call it authentic salsa.

I made fish tostados for dinner.  This is my own little recipe that I made up.  I guess I should have looked up a recipe, but I like to get creative when I cook and try to come up with my own meals.  When I was in Myrtle Beach this past weekend, we went to a Mexican restaurant and I ordered fish tostados and they brought me shrimp tostados!  I ate them anyway, but I really wanted those fish tostados so I've been craving them ever since.  I finally got my craving satisfied.

I am not sure what kind of fish I'm suppose to use,  I just used some flounder I had here.  (I love fish, I don't eat much other meat, but do try to have fish 2 or 3 times a week.)  I made some pico de gallo yesterday morning for my scrambled eggs and just used the leftovers.  Then I added some of the Authentic Salsa, avocados, and a squirt of lime.

Jolie's Fish Tostados

• Flounder (or whatever fish you want)
• Pico de gallo (You can make your own or buy it already made)
• Salsa
• 1/2 avocado
• 1 lime
• Crunchy Corn Tostado shells (You can buy already made or cook your own soft corn tortillas until they harden)

I cooked the flounder in some olive oil and seasoned.  After the flounder was cooked, I chopped it in the skillet and added some Pico de gallo in the skillet with the fish just long enough to warm it up.  Then I put it on the tostado shells, added salsa and cut up some avocado pieces on top.  It turned out great!

Just in case you're wondering about the Pico de gallo, here is a quick recipe for that, too.

Pico De Gallo

• 2 fresh ripe tomatoes
• 2 or 3 scallions
• 4 sprigs of cilantro 
• 1/2 lime
• 1 clove garlic (or just sprinkle some garlic powder in it)
• 1 jalopeno pepper (optional)
• sea salt (optional)

Chop up all of the ingredients and add together in a bowl.  I try to get as little of the juice from the tomatoes as I can in it.  You can use this on so many things.  Enjoy!

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I love cooking and may start adding a lot more recipes to my blog.  After watching the movie Julie and Julia, I wanted to turn my blog into a food blog! I love watching any kind of movie about food. I just recently watched No Reservations and it was really good.  I even love the cartoon Ratatouille :)   If you know of a good food movie, please let me know. 

A Little About How I Eat:

I try to eat healthy. I don't follow any certain diet or rules. I guess the closest thing you could describe the way I eat to is Clean Eating, but I think even with that, clean eaters don't eat anything from a can or box, which I think is ok to do if there aren't a long list of ingredients or unnecessary sugars, MSG, trans fat, etc. in it.   I do try to stay as close to nature as possible and  not eat a lot of processed foods.   I love veggies, lots of green leafy ones! Kale, spinach, collards, mustards, turnip greens, swiss chard, arugula, I could go on forever.  I was raised on collards.  I also eat a lot of fruit and make a lot of smoothies, one of my favorites is my green smoothie.  Like I said, I don't eat much meat besides fish/seafood.  Other meats sparingly. 

I don't eat white processed sugar, which means I'm not a big sweets eater.  Every now and then I will and I also love dark chocolate.  :)  I don't have a sweet tooth, but if I do want something sweetened, I will substitute a natural sweetener instead.  I don't drink cows milk and eat very little dairy.  I love coconut milk, rice milk, and almond milk! 

Do you have a special way of eating or a certain type of diet you follow?  I never did before I traveled to Thailand, but I got sick a lot through my life and when I was in Thailand I got sick even more.  I promised myself when I got back to the States I was going to try everything I could to get my health taken care of.  I went and bought a bunch of health and nutrition books and taught myself about how food nourishes you and the correct ways to eat and it changed my life. I hardly ever get sick anymore and I feel great and have a ton of energy.  This is one of the reasons I have such a passion for food. Not just any food, but healing foods that add health and strength to my life.

Hope you enjoy these healthy recipes.