Thinking about life and salsa

I'm domestic when I'm worried. I used to clean the house. Now, I cook or write.

There's too much going on. Work stuff. Family stuff. I'm getting ready to officiate my nephew's wedding. My cousin, Patrick, passed away last week. I'm definitely in my head lately.

I've reached the stage in my life when guys hit the midlife crisis. But sports cars don't have the head and leg room I require and Ash says "No effing way" on the motorcycle.

Screw it. Let's make salsa.

Roasted Salsa
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. You'll need a baking pan and some olive oil.
Cilantro
Lime
Four whole tomatoes
Yellow onion - slice in half and pull the peel
Garlic - I used one clove of elephant garlic
Jalapeno peppers -5
Red bell pepper

The process
Place the tomatoes stem side down on the pan. Put a film of olive oil on all the vegetables. Roast for about 20 minutes, or until the red bell pepper turns black. Pull them out and let cool for 15 minutes or so. Handling them while they're still warm makes what you need to do easier.

Start with the red bell bepper. Pull the blistered skin off. Lop off the top and slice in half. Scrape out the seeds and ribs. Throw it in the food processer.

Next, the jalapeno peppers. For two of them, take off the top part and stem, then slice it lengthways. Scrape out the seeds and ribs. Slice each half in quarters and put in processor. For the other three, take off the top and cut them in quarters and toss it seeds and all into the processor.

Next is the onion. Roasted onions are slippery and their structural integrity has been compromised, so please be careful when you cut them. But coarse chop them and toss it in the processor.

Lastly, the tomatoes need to be done. WARNING: Roasted tomatoes hold onto their heat for a while. The blistered skin will come off easily, so peel it. Lop off the top and cut them into quarters and put them in.

Add fresh cilantro to suit your taste, along with the juice of one lime. Run the food processor for whatever consistency you like your salsa.

That'll do it.

Roasting the vegetables makes a big difference. I'll never make salsa again without doing that. It may not make up for not buying a motorcycle, but it's close.