Cha-Cha Chevy's Salsa

In my blog's header it says I may post a recipe on occasion, and in the 3 months since its inception (it seems longer than that!) I've yet to do so. So here you go, the inagural Happy Life recipe!

Salsa (I'm told this is like Chevy's salsa but I haven't been to that restaurant in at least 7 years so I don't know how close it is...)


Lots of tomatoes (I use about a dozen Roma)
1/4 of a regular onion
jalepeno peppers... see notes for quantity (it varies)
2 cloves garlic
2-3 Tbs fresh cilantro
2 1/2 Tbs white vinegar
2 1/2 tsp salt
vegetable oil
Equipment needed: BBQ, blender, knife, tortilla chips

Like all recipes I use, I have modified this one slightly to my liking, and like any recipe that involves spices, it will not turn out exactly the same each time. Jalepenos: the last time I made this I only used about 1 1/2 jalepenos and it was plenty hot; a bit too hot for me in fact. However, my brothers-in-law in Utah who make this same recipe, always use at least 3. As everyone knows, things get spicier the further south & closer to Mexico you go! Hence, Arizona peppers are hotter than Utah peppers, apparently. I heard that the official Chevy's recipe calls for 10, or something ridiculous like that. I would recommend buying 3 or 4, depending on where you live, and adding 1/2 at a time until it's hot enough for you.

Step one: coat the tomatoes and jalepenos with oil; cook them on the grill. Turn them occasionally & cook until the peppers blacken and the tomato skins are baggy & look like they'll come off easily.

Step two: peel your two garlic cloves (may use more or less; I like two), chop them in half, and chop your 1/4 onion in large chunks (to make sure it blends evenly). Likewise, do a rough chop on the cilantro.

Step three (once tomatoes & jalepenos are cool enough to handle): cut the very tops off the tomatoes and peel the skins off; if they don't come right off, you didn't grill them long enough. Chop the tops off the peppers & cut them in half so you can add half at a time if you want. Don't peel them.

Step four: put everything in the blender! (Don't forget about the salt & vinegar.) I like to sort of layer the tomatoes with the other ingredients to ensure that it mixes evenly. Do a medium-low speed and blend until it's an even consistency; no big chunks. It will look similar to the photo above. When I use the amount of ingredients listed, it fill up my blender to the very top!

Step five: eat with chips; yummy yummy!

Tips: have extra tomatoes so you can add them at the end if it's too spicy. However, don't put raw tomatoes in; that will slighly wreck the yummy grilled flavor. Also, you don't have to use Romas; any old tomatoes will do. But since Romas are small, you won't need as many if you're using a larger variety. Chevy's, and my brothers-in-law, use liquid smoke as a final ingredient. I don't use it & don't prefer it & I don't know how much they put in.

And finally... on a different subject. A little while ago I overheard Molly say the following, and I have no idea what the context was: "A lot of things in this world are not perfect. But the whole entire earth IS perfect." What a nice thought!