Prize Winning Salsa Recipe

Prize Winning Rainbow Salsa

 A few years ago Olivia started buying heirloom tomato plants for me as part of my Mother's Day present.  It started a love of heirloom tomato varieties for me.  Knowing how much I enjoy them, Olivia suggested she and I attend the Heirloom Tomato Festival in Pierceton, IN last weekend so I could get my fill of all things related to heirloom tomatoes.  What started out to be a nice little outing for me ended up being a red letter day for Olivia too!

The festival was a quaint, quintessentially small town gathering of vendors selling products relating to tomatoes and some not so related.  We listened to a talk on beekeeping and even stumbled upon a wonderful booth selling vintage linens. 

The real excitement came when we wandered into the old train depot and found out they were having a "chopped" style salsa making competition.  Potential contenders could sign up and and have fifteen minutes to complete their salsa creations.  Unlike the Food Network version, ingredients were not presented to the competitors in baskets, but rather a table with numerous ingredients the contestants could choose from once the clock started ticking.  When finished, four judges sampled the results.

After some encouragement on my part, Olivia decided to enter the competition.  I really thought she would have a decent shot at winning since she knows well that people eat with their eyes first.  She picked colorful ingredients that made beautiful salsa!  I knew when she added pineapple, black beans, and plenty of pepper and hot sauce that she was as they say, "in it to win it."  

Against what looked like three other very good salsa offerings...Olivia's won!  She won tickets to a musical production in Middlebury and the title (one I gave her) of Heirloom Tomato Salsa Queen!  :)

We had so much fun at this small town festival.  We created fun memories and a fantastic salsa!

Olivia's beautiful salsa creation!

Olivia concentrating on her salsa.

Rainbow Salsa

2 red heirloom tomatoes, chopped

1 yellow heirloom tomato, chopped

1 small purple onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, chopped

2 jalapenos, chopped

1 orange bell pepper, chopped

2 small gypsy (sweet) peppers, chopped

1/2 cup crushed pineapple, slightly drained

1/2 cup canned black beans, drained

3 tablespoons chopped chives

1 tablespoon chopped cilantro

sprinkle of Kosher salt

dash of black pepper

juice of 1 lime

dash of hot sauce

Combine all of the above ingredients and serve immediately.  For a more blended flavor, allow to refrigerate for 30 minutes.