Finally, a photo of this amazing salsa – unlike last time. I almost forgot to take a picture again: Habanero and I were too busy scooping chipfuls of this smoky and savory dip into our mouths. Clean and cool lime and cilantro balanced the warmth of the chipotle and adobo, keeping us coming back for more.

Unfortunately, I didn’t use plum tomatoes (as recommended in the recipe), so it was necessary to strain some excess water from the final product. I didn’t want to cut corners this way, but I had a tomato from the previous week’s CSA share that was dying to be used (literally). It wasn’t quite worth it, though: definitely stick with the plum tomatoes!

Something else we discovered in this salsa revisit was the Garden of Eatin’s Organic Yellow Corn Chips. I’d bought them because they were on sale, and I was pleasantly surprised by almost everything about them: their realistic bite size (not ridiculously super-sized and cumbersome to bite into); their lightly-salted, clean corn flavor; their crisp texture which held even when left for several minutes in salsa (while I was taking the above photograph). These chips definitely kicked the salsa eating experience up a notch or two.

Tomato Chile Salsa

an epicurious.com recipe

• Olive oil for greasing
• 1½ lb plum tomatoes (about 6 large)
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 tablespoon chopped canned chipotle chiles in adobo, plus 2 teaspoons sauce from can
• 1 (2½-inch) fresh jalapeño, seeded and remainder chopped (1 tablespoon)
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• ½ cup chopped fresh cilantro

Preheat broiler.

Oil a 13- by 9-inch roasting pan (not glass). Halve tomatoes lengthwise, then arrange, cut sides up, in roasting pan. Sprinkle onion over and around tomatoes and broil 4 to 5 inches from heat until tomatoes and onion begin to brown, 25 to 30 minutes.

Cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes.

Transfer tomatoes, onion, and any juices in pan to a food processor and add chipotles with sauce, jalapeño, lime juice, salt, and pepper. Pulse until vegetables are finely chopped.

Transfer to a bowl and stir in cilantro. Season with salt.

Salsa keeps, covered and chilled, up to 3 days. Do not add cilantro until ready to serve. Bring to room temperature before serving.

In this week’s share:

• Baby Arugula
• Cilantro
• Peppers
• Red Kale
• Zucchini
• Tomatoes
• Cherry Tomatoes
• Garlic
• Watermelon (we left this for our share partner)
• Green Beans

Creamy avocado, zippy onions and garlic, and a hint of smoke from cumin make this guacamole a sumptuous affair. Plus, when eaten with homemade chips, it’s practically a meal.

Guacamole

from Alton Brown’s recipe on foodnetwork.com

• 3 Haas avocados, halved, seeded and peeled
• 1 lime, juiced
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• ½ teaspoon ground cumin
• ½ teaspoon cayenne
• ½ medium onion, diced
• 2 Roma tomatoes, seeded and diced
• 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
• 1 clove garlic, minced

In a large bowl place the scooped avocado pulp and lime juice, toss to coat. Drain, and reserve the lime juice, after all of the avocados have been coated. Using a potato masher add the salt, cumin, and cayenne and mash. Then, fold in the onions, tomatoes, cilantro, and garlic. Add 1 tablespoon of the reserved lime juice. Let sit at room temperature for 1 hour and then serve.

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To make homemade chips, fill a deep fryer with a neutral-flavored oil (such as canola, corn, or safflower) and heat according to instructions. (Alternately, fill a saucepan with oil up to 1 inch, then heat until a wooden chopstick dipped in oil produces bubbles.) While oil is heating up, cut round corn tortillas into 6 wedges. When oil is ready, place tortilla pieces in oil in a single layer. Fry until lightly browned, then flip; continue frying until slightly deeper in color. Remove from oil and place on paper towel-lined plate to cool.

This smoky salsa foils the heat of chipotle and jalapeño chiles with cilantro and lime. (I wish I had a photo of it! We ate it up before we realized we hadn’t photographed it.)

It was the perfect way to use the cilantro in Week 4′s share – and to celebrate a grill-less, low-key Fourth of July with friends. You can find the recipe for this salsa here.

In this week’s share:

• Romaine Lettuce
• Salad Turnips
• Bok Choy
• Baby Arugula
• Broccoli
• Cilantro
• Carrots
• Sugar Snap Peas
• Swiss Chard

Still looking for time to make a slaw with last week’s kohlrabi. *sigh*

I have a feeling there’s going to be a lot of salad for lunch this week. (Sorry, Habanero.)