Monday, August 25, 2008

Sassy Salsa


One of my favorite things about summer is enjoying our small garden! I love to see Ashton trying to use the tiller to get the ground ready to plant. I love to see Bryson kneeling down beside Dave, working so hard on pulling weeds. I love to see the girls out there, picking cherry tomatoes and eating them in the hot summer sun.

But most of all....I LOVE picking our vegetables and making BIG batches of salsa! Dave started it years ago....and gradually I have hopped on board. At first, I helped because I could cut the veggies faster. But now, we have it down to an art! Dave is best at doing the taste-testing. He can always tell right away what it needs "more of" or "less of". We have used the same "recipe" for years. It's actually not really a recipe, but more of a concoction! The kids all love to join in and help. Even Ashton, who does NOT eat the salsa (or any kind of salsa) loves to pitch in! We let them peel the garlic, squeeze the limes, tear up the cilantro, etc... It is such a great way to spend time with each other, and work together as a team!

We always make a HUGE batch and share it with everyone! Sometimes my parents or Dave's parents, sometimes our neighbors and friends, and sometimes we even get orders to make it for family get-togethers (like July 4th or Labor Day)!!! Everyone is very appreciative when we share!

This summer, we had the priviledge of having our neighbors over to help us make the salsa! We had taken some over the previous week and they decided it only made them want more! At one point, Shanda was on her back deck, eating the salsa with a spoon!!! She had the idea of bringing over some of their own tomatoes and making some more! We jumped at the chance and invited them over right then! Luke and Shanda are a blast to be with! Two of the nicest people you will ever meet! (Shanda is one of my best friends in the whole world and it is hard to keep us apart!)
So that evening, while the kiddos played in the backyard, we cut and cut and cut our veggies and DOUBLED our BIG batch of salsa! Of course, after we were done, we hung around, eating chips and salsa, and talkin' it up!

Looking forward to our next salsa-makin' adventure....