Super Momma Meals

brit's mango salsa...sunshine food at its finest

Almost nine years ago, when my son Jake was born into the sticky heat of a Kentucky July, my life-long friend Brittany came to visit.  She brought a stack of the cutest baby rompers you could ever imagine, along with about 30 pounds of salsa fixins.  We drank margaritas and ate her mango salsa all weekend long.  Everything tasted so good that I forgot to care that I slept only two hours per night.

I’ve made some variation of Brit’s salsa almost every weekend of every summer since.  And almost everyone wants to know how to make it.  Just this past week, another friend asked me to post the recipe.  So Amanda, here is the version I made for you in Murray…I think.  If not, just fiddle around with it until it tastes perfect for you.  A little more lime, a little more salt….  Brit didn’t use corn or black beans, but I love those two additions…make it your own!

But don’t leave out the mango.  That’s what gives this salsa its distinctive taste.  It’s the sweetness of the mango against the tangy tomatoes and lime, with that oh-so-fabulous, fresh cilantro that bring on the zing.  Garden-fresh summer tomatoes really put it over the top.  Keep in mind, this dish is all about some choppin’.  Very therapeutic.  But if you hate to chop, get someone else to make it for you.  And then you might become so addicted that you decide chopping really isn’t all that bad.

yellow gerbera daisy...such a friendship flower

This year, my sister Beth’s third baby boy is due in early August.  Our tomato plants are already seeded and sprouting, so I’ll have plenty to hoard for the late summer heat.  And when those sleepless nights are just about to send Beth over the edge, I’ll swoop in with Brit’s salsa and some margaritas.  Oh, friendship food is a beautiful thing.  It never stops giving.  Thank you, Brit!

Shake that booty!

Brit’s Mango Salsa

print recipe

Serves, um, a lot.  A large mixing bowl full.  Great for parties.

Prep time:  25 minutes

Ingredients:

• 9 Roma tomatoes, diced
• 1 mango, peeled, cored, and diced
• 1 white onion, diced
• 1 to 2 jalapenos, cored, seeded, and diced
• 1 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1 can white shoepeg corn, drained
• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
• Juice from 1 to 2 limes
• Salt to taste
• Pepper to taste
• Tabasco to taste

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl.  Serve with tortilla chips, on tacos, burritos, fajitas, with fish, chicken, or anything else you can get your hands on.