Making a Meal Out of Salsa - Vegetarian Recipe

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This time of year I love fresh salsa.  When I went up to the boarder of Canada and Minnesota to visit my sister in July, she made the most delicious salsa. This salsa was more filling than tomatoes, onion and peppers; it also had sweet corn, hearty black beans and creamy avocado. She was gracious enough to write the recipe down for me, which I than promptly lost. 
Last night at six o'clock it was still 90 degrees in the kitchen so instead of turning on the oven or stove I got out the cutting board and made this delicious meal. It's pretty darn close to what my sister made.  I adlibbed a bit.  I think she had even more tomatoes. 
Make a Meal out of it Salsa

8 fresh tomatoes1 can of black beans drained and rinsed (or 2 cups of rehydrated dried beans)2 avocados2 cups corn kernels (I used frozen)1 onion5 cloves of garlic1 jalapeno1 cup of cilantro leaves1 lime's worth of juice

The short version of the recipe would be chop everything and put it in a bowl.  However, there are some parts that could use a little more finesse than that.  So here's the long version of the directions:

1. Start by getting out a really big bowl and spoon.  I used our biggest mixing bowl.  This will make your life easier as there are a lot of ingredients to mix and you'll need the room.  Then get out your largest cutting board for the same reason.
   
2. Dice the onion and then taste it.  If it is really peppery throw it in a colander and rinse it with cool water.  You'll be surprised how much of the bite will be taken out.   Allow the onions to drip for a while before adding them to the big bowl. 
    
3. Next dice up the tomatoes.  Put the diced tomatoes into a colander and toss with a little bit of salt (1/2 teaspoon or so) this will help drain off the extra juice so you don't have sloppy salsa.  No one wants to dip their chips into the liquid pooling at the bottom of the bowl.  I like to drink the juice. It's delicious. 
   
4. Before you mince it, taste your jalapeno.  If it is really hot, take the seeds out. If it is not spicy enough keep the seeds.  (At the end you can always add some powdered cayenne pepper to heat up the spiciness to your taste.)  Mince the garlic and jalapeno and add it to the bowl along with the beans and corn.  Toss as your ingredients so the flavors start to meld together.  
5. Clean the cilantro by taking the leaves off the stem and removing any wilted or yellow bits. Rough chop the leaves and add them to the bowl.
    
6. Add the drained tomatoes.  The last step is to dice the avocado and add it in with the lime juice.  You want to add the avocado last because it's soft.  Give the mixture one last gentle mix to combine everything and you are ready to serve!

This makes tons which is great for a party or be like us and make it into a meal.  All I added was some Baked Tostitos Scoops.  This is not a paid advertisement. Tostitos has no idea who I am.  I just like having a high ratio of salsa to chip and the Scoops make that possible.  And I liked that they are baked. 

This salsa is even better the next day!  I'm not sure about the day after that, as it didn't last more than two days. 
Jeff and I both thought it would also be good as a pasta salad.  Simply toss some whole wheat rotini in there and skip the tortilla chips.  Of course that would involve boiling water on the stove so perhaps I'll save that for a cooler evening.