Hearty Fresh Tomato Salsa

This salsa took nearly an hour to prepare, but the result is so much fresher and yummier than any salsa you can buy in a can, it's worth it! It feeds a large crowd, but you can halve the amounts if you don't want quite so much. Serve with chips, use in tacos and burritos, or as a condiment over veggie burgers.

First you have to peel, seed, and chop 4 pounds of tomatoes, which was the time consuming part. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, while you slice an X on the bottom of each tomato; cook them for 1 minute, then plunge in ice water, and their skins will slip off easily. Seed and chop the tomatoes - you should wind up with about 6 cups.

Place the chopped tomatoes in a colander and sprinkle with 1/2 tsp. salt; toss gently and let stand for 30 minutes.

While the tomatoes are draining, in a large bowl combine: 1 cup fresh corn kernels (about 2 ears of corn), 1 cup minced fresh cilantro (make sure to buy 2 bunches! I only had 1 bunch which yielded 1/2 a cup of cilantro, but I figured that was okay), 1/4 cup finely chopped sweet onion (such as Vidalia), 1/4 cup finely chopped red onion, 2 teaspoons raw sugar, 1/4 tsp. black pepper, 3 tablespoons fresh-squeezed lime juice, 3 chopped and seeded jalapeno peppers, 2 minced garlic cloves, and one rinsed and drained (15-ounce) can of black beans.

Add the tomatoes when they are done draining. Finely chop one chipotle chile from a can of chipotles in adobo sauce (such as Casa Fiesta). Add to the salsa, along with 8 teaspoons of the sauce - that will result in a very spicy salsa, so if you want it milder, add less. I confess all of my "teaspoons" were only about half full since I'm a wimp when it comes to spicy food! Freeze the remaining chipotle chiles in individual portions of an ice cube tray for the next time you need them.

Stir the salsa to combine everything. 1/2 a cup is 90 calories, and you will have 16 servings - I told you it feeds a crowd!

Cost:
tomato $11.54
fresh corn $1.00
Vidalia onion $1.03
limes $1.18
jalapeno peppers $0.40
canned black beans $1.79
canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce $3.59