Chips and Salsa

Growing up in New Mexico means learning to love spicy food, and what better way to train your palate than with tasty salsa? You know how Italian restaurants usually start out with olive oil and bread on the table? Well, New Mexican restaurants are notorious for providing little bowls of chips and salsa for customers to enjoy before their meal. Salsa is, by far, my favorite condement. There's nothing like walking into any New Mexican grocery store and seeing an entire aisle filled—from top to bottom—with jars of salsa.

My Tia Anna makes the most unbelievable homemade salsa. It's so good that I used to show up at our family functions early just to pour some of her salsa in my own to-go container (okay, it was usually a plastic cup) so I could be sure to have some when I went home. She quickly caught on to my scheme and started bringing me my very own container of salsa.

But that wasn't enough. One day I finally asked her how she made it so I could make it at home. Then she said the one phrase every person who fears the kitchen is afraid of hearing: "Oh, I don't measure anything; I just put a little of this and a little of that in there." Drats. Luckily, she wrote everything down the next time she made it.

This is my version of her salsa, and it's so simple to make. I should note that everything here can be modified. My husband doesn't like cilantro, so I usually put in a little less. And if you don't have green chile, just use jalapenos. The same goes for the texture: if you like chunky salsa, don't puree it as much. Do you have fresh tomatoes on hand? Go for it! A couple other things to keep in mind: taste as you go, but keep in mind that the flavors will mingle together more in the fridge; and try not to oversalt, because most ot the time you'll be scooping this salsa up with a salty chip (recipe below)!

Salsa

from The Tale of Two Kitchens

Ingredients:
2 (14.5 oz) cans of diced tomatoes (drained)
1/2 medium white or yellow onion, diced
3 tablespoons green chile (or jalapenos, to taste)
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 cup cilantro, chopped

Stir all ingredients together. Mix to preferred texture in a food processor, blender, or with an immersion blender. Refrigerate and enjoy!

Tortilla Chips

from The Tale of Two Kitchens

Ingredients:
6-inch corn or flour tortillas, cut into triangles
olive oil
salt

Preheat oven to 400° F. Line baking sheets with foil. Spray or brush both sides of tortilla triangles with oil. Place triangles on baking sheet not touching. Sprinkle with salt. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden.

Kale Chips

I first heard about kale chips sometime last year when I was searching for a healthy alternative to potato chips—my weakness. I crave the crunchy, salty, and flavor chips encompass, but hate the excess calories.

I'll admit I was extremely skeptical the first time I tried these. I mean, really? How in the world could a leaf calm my chip craving? So with a cynical mind, I made my kale chips and about ten minutes later I was chowing down on something amazing and surprisingly delicious.

I made them a few times while my husband was out of town, just to make sure I knew what I was doing. Then, when he came home, I asked if he wanted to try them. I was waiting for the typical man response of, "You want me to eat WHAT?" But instead, he willingly tried them and liked them! SUCCESS! Now, we make kale chips several times a month, if not more, and eat them as a snack or have them along with meals. Sure, I still have an occasional weakness for real chips, but believe me when I say these scratch my potato-chip itch!

I suggest playing with the ratio of oil, salt, and pepper until you figure out what you like on the chips. The nice thing with kale is that there's usually so much that you'll have plenty to play around with. I'll be the first to admit that sometimes I still burn my kale chips, but then I just pop another batch in the oven and try it again!

Kale Chips

Ingredients:
1 pound kale, chopped and stems removed
olive oil (drizzle or spray)
salt and pepper

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°. In a bowl, drizzle or spray olive oil over kale. You want the kale covered with oil, but not drenched or saturated. Sprinkle and mix with salt and pepper (to taste). Place kale on baking sheets, somewhat spread out, trying not to overlap too many pieces. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until crisp. Keep a close eye on them towards the end and take them out when they start crisping. Enjoy!