Black Bean and Corn Salsa

 In an effort to save money and eat maybe just a little bit healthier, I've been accepting the challenge in the kitchen to recreate some of our favorite dishes from local restaurants. There was a period of time last spring we went out for burritos every Wednesday. While it became a delicious tradition filled with lots of cheese and sour cream and fresh chips--it also became an expensive habit for our wallets and resulted in some unsightly consequences right before summer. I haven't totally given up on those burritos but enjoy them now periodically, usually craving the black bean and corn salsa more-so than the burrito itself. The salsa is so good I typically eat 1/4 cup of the stuff before the chips even arrive. With so many tomatoes on hand on their way to the trash bin, I decided to whip up my own batch of black bean and corn salsa. The freshness is unmatched to any from a restaurant and I don't think I can ever enjoy salsa from a jar ever again. 

In the dead of winter this batch is making me crave sunny afternoons, margaritas and hopefully this year--a vegetable garden. 

Ingredients:

5-6 roma or on-the-vine tomatoes, quartered

one 14oz can black beans, drained & rinsed

1 C frozen corn kernels, thawed

1 medium-large onion, quartered 

1 small jalapeno pepper, without ribs or seeds

2 cloves of garlic, grated

one large hand full fresh cilantro

salt and pepper

1/4 teaspon chili powder

1/4 teaspon ground cumin

pinch of cayenne pepper

In a food processor add tomatoes, onion,jalapeno, cilantro, cumin, chili powder, cayenne, salt & pepper, and 2 grated cloves of garlic. Pulse 5-8 times to desired consistency (this takes almost no time at all). Add the beans and corn to a large bowl, then add in fresh salsa from the food processor and stir. Try to open the bag of chips before eating the entire batch of salsa!

If you like a little more heat, add some extra cayenne or leave the seeds and ribs in the jalapeno to kick up the heat.