Fruit Salsa Time!

Summer!  Summer, summer, summer-summer.
Oh, we all are such amazing cooks
(and better than average photographers)
when we get to work with food like this!

There was rain.  And it is still raining.  I feel so much more at home.

I've just about adjusted to all this sun, the early tomatoes, the super sweet fruit, the early peppers (sunny & spicy).  And then it rained.  That means I can keep freaking out about my hot kitchen.  But that's not going to stop me from making this warm (hot) weather deliciousness.

There's not much to say, except, "make fruit salsa."
And make it like you can't make it any other time of the year.

Oh, yeah - and if you have some crab (because it is crab season), use the beautifulness to go with your crab - because that's what I made it for the 1st time.  But some nice grilled chicken - or just with some fresh cheese (cotija, mozzarella, goat cheese) you cannot go wrong.  (Crab - quick how to clean, and a pretty awesome ceviche recipe as well.)

1.  Use tomatoes so ripe you can peel them without that dunk in hot water.

That means they will be softer than you are used to.
But do it - because just this once - you CAN!

2.  Use that fruit that's getting away from you.  This is where to use that fruit that's about to go south.  If it is especially juicy (sluuuuuuurp) fruit - cut on something that can catch the juice to add to your salsa.

Nectarines.  Peaches may get all the press,
but I love the little extra acid of the nectarines.
And the smooth skins.  The non-fuzzy skin is also a plus.

3.  It IS summer, so use your summer onion - the Sweet Onion.

4.  And explore your pepper options.  Ask about heat levels, and then choose what will make you happy.  

And if you want to get hotter - but regulate the heat, you can remove some of the pow-pow by taking out some, or most of the seeds and the white membrane.

The seeds have some heat.
But the most heat lies in the white membrane
that connects the seeds to the flesh.
Use this knowledge wisely - and to your advantage.

This is a much calmer pepper -
all the fruitiness, and less of the heat.

5.  Fresh herbs.  I used basil here, but oregano, parsley and even a little mint or fennel fronds can add that special something.

6.  Acid, Salt & Pepper.  You need a gentle acid - nothing too harsh.  Right now the salsa is pretty sweet, and you want to blend the acid with the sweet, not slash harshly through it.

Some good vinegars; white balsamic, champagne, or rice.  Maybe a little lemon or lime juice if you have it about.

Add salt (and pepper if you want) to bring it all together.

Oh summer.  You are lovely.

Sweet!

 NOTE: Before I get going, I must state unambiguously, I am a fan of the "empty calorie" dessert as long as it meets a few criteria; The flavor, texture and experience of eating it should be decadent and satisfying, and the ingredients should be of the highest quality possible.

Such criteria leaves a very flexible border.  So of course, a few bites of the very "foodie-est" chocolate cake make the list, as does a surprise rocket-popsicle from an ice cream truck at the end of a backpacking trip.  But cool whip mixed with chocolate-pudding-from-a-box to make "chocolate whip" never does, nor would 'cookies' from a "100 calorie pack."  Neither is really food, and neither meets any of the 1st three criteria.

The fruit from Eastern Washington is starting (at last) to roll in.

And I realize something odd about myself - I have gotten out of the habit of eating things that are sweet.

Part of it is the "do without dessert" ethic that has ruled much of my life.  This is an idea I carry around in my head from a variety of influences.

Much of the dessert I've eaten has come only after I am full.

Much of the dessert I've eaten has been "empty" calories; fat, sugar & flavorings.

Many of the people I've eaten dessert around spend a huge amount time talking about how fat it will make them as they were eating it (what a buzzkill).

Much of the dessert I've eaten was an afterthought, an extra.

As a result, in my Puritan-influenced mind, dessert is, on a daily basis, too much.  Sweet, the flavor of dessert, is then left out of my daily food intake.

And only part of it is this "fear of dessert," another part comes from the years when I only got my hands on under ripe fruit.  There was a point where I actually believed I stopped liking nectarines (my Very Favorite Fruit!), because every time I got one, I didn't like it.

But then, I got my hands on a perfectly ripe, tender and unbruised specimen.  Ah Hahhh!

So as I restart the tradition of Dessert, and fruit as dessert in my house -

The moral of the story is - plain fruit as dessert ONLY works with beautiful, ripe, in season fruit.

A banana in November, or a crunchy, mealy, tasteless peach in March do not.

So for the moment, bring on the cherries, and I'll figure out what to do with the excess so they CAN be enjoyed in November.  But I'm not going to fool myself and believe they would work "fresh and plain" in November.  They'll need a little sprucing up.