Hispanic Barbie

In the previous post, you might have noticed the picture of the pretty salsa that I served on Cinco de Mayo. Behind the salsa in the photo is something I bring out of the closet once a year, but has come to mean a great deal to me. I call her "Hispanic Barbie," but she is actually a barbie head and arms atop a styrofoam tortilla warmer that is covered in ruffles and lace to form the senorita's dress. She was a gift several years ago from the wife of one of our employees who knew for my love of Mexican food. I was speechless when I was presented with Hispanic Barbie. What the heck was I going to do with it? It vaguely reminded me of the doll heads with crocheted dresses that were intended to cover a spare roll of TP and sit on the toilet tank at Grandma's house. Although I can't recall the woman's name, I do remember the sparkle in her eye when she gave it to me, the "jefe's senora"(boss's wife). I thanked her in my pathetic college spanish and resolved to find a way to display the gift.

If you've been to my home, you might have noticed that I like to decorate the dining table for the appropriate season/holiday, etc. My daughters will tell you that "like" is an understatement and that my fascination with it borders on eccentric. Heh. I own tablecloths, placemats, napkins and rings, and centerpieces for practically any occasion. Hispanic Barbie would be a centerpiece for Cinco de Mayo! It's a great holiday to haul out my brightly colored table linens and my much loved vintage Fiestaware.

So once a year I haul out this wonderful centerpiece and remember the love with which she was given. It is a nice feeling.

Super Secret Kick Ass Salsa

I haven't often shared my salsa recipe, partly because it has developed over the years and I have never really written it down, and partly because I get lots of compliments on it and am being kind of selfish :) But I have been giving it out quite often lately and it seems that I write it down a bit differently each time, so I thought that I would post it here and then just direct people here when they ask for it. So here it is!

This salsa is pretty quick to make and it is easy to have the ingredients on hand all the time in case you have unexpected company or a really big snack attack! This and a bag of tortilla chips are also my mainstay when invited to something potluck-like and I get asked to bring it quite often. A few years back I went on a houseboat vacation with 9 of my closest friends and we made a gallon of this salsa, chopped entirely by hand because we didn't have a processor. We consumed every bit of it and could have eaten a lot more! But be forewarned, some people have not been able to recreate my salsa, probably due to the haphazard way I cook! Adjust the heat to suit yourself--I make it hotter at home but tone it down a bit when I take it somewhere. I'll also soon be posting some other recipes, one for pineapple salsa and another for Chipotle Salsa (burn your eyebrows off HOT!!!) But in the meantime, here is Twylla' s Super Secret, Kick Ass Salsa! Enjoy!!!



1 large can diced tomatoes--I like to use organic--and when you have ripe tomatoes in your garden, use them either by themselves, or added to the canned

1 small can chopped green chiles

2 or more chipotle chiles in adobo sauce (buy a can in the Mexican foods section, use what you will and store the rest in a ziploc in the fridge or freezer until next time you need them) These are dried, smoked jalepenos and give the salsa its zing and smokey flavor

1 bunch green onions, cleaned and cut into 1 inch pieces

1 bunch cilantro, stems cut off

Seasoning salt, or sea salt to taste

2t-2T sugar



Place all the above ingredients in a food processor (I like to place the fresh vegetables in first with the rest on top so that they process better) Process until you get the consistency you like.

Make sure and taste it before you take it out of the processor so you can adjust it if you want to.