My summer garden is nearing the end of its life here in Chicago as the nights turn quick brisk. I had late tomatoes and was wondering if I was ever going to get in due to the strange weather we had in June and July. The month of August proved to be a prime picking month for me. September too!

I had tomatoes coming out of my eyeballs I tell you. I decided I would make some fresh summer salsa to eat and some fresh summer salsa to can. The fresh salsa I made to eat lasted all of one hour - I kid you not! As quickly as I make it, it was GONE!

This summer salsa recipe is so easy . . . fresh, simple and delicious.

Simple Summer Salsa Recipe

Directions

 Grill your tomatoes, onions, garlic and peppers on your grill or any open flame. I happen to love the taste of charred vegetables in a salsa. If you don't like this flavor, you can simple eliminate this step.

Remove vegetables when slightly charred and tomatoes begin to soften and split.

Peel the skin from the tomatoes and cut the seeds away from the peppers.

Drain accumulated liquid and set aside for later use.

Place tomatoes, onions, peppers, and garlic and all remaining ingredients into food processor (cilantro, salt & pepper & lime). I need to make a couple of different batches as my family likes varying degrees of hot salsa. The girls in the house like a very mild salsa and yes that includes me. My son likes a tad bit spicy and very salty salsa and my husband likes it hot and spicy. No one can eve eat the level of spice that he enjoys.

Blend until desired consistency.

Pour into container and chill or consume as soon as possible if you are like my family.

Serve and enjoy with your favorite chips.

If you would like to can some of your summer salsa, simply add the salsa to sterilized, hot jars and place the lids and rings on and boil in a large pot of water with water covering the jars for about 20 minutes. Carefully remove and set aside to cool. Make sure your lids have sealed. If some jars have not sealed, you can place these in the fridge and use within a week.

We have so much salsa at the moment that I have been using it on other foods as well. It is so good on so many other dishes!

• mixed with avocado and black beans for a dip
• top off your chicken burger
• in crockpot on top of your pot roast or pork loin
• rolled up in a tortilla with some melted cheese
• rolled up in another tortilla with some scrambled eggs

I just picked another huge bowl of tomatoes today and I think I am going to be making some more salsa this week . . . or maybe something else?