Fresh Salsa

While not your traditional Easter fare, my recipes this month were chosen because of their ingredients.  Fruit Salsa, Veggie Salsa, and Oven Stew are all made with pure ingredients, nothing artificial, wholesome food, nothing from a box, can or jar.

Have you ever noticed when a true chef cooks something the flavor is fit for a King? I used to wonder why until I watched a chef at work.

Salt is good: but if the salt have lost his savor, wherewith shall it be seasoned? Luke 14:34

A friend of mine was cooking in my home. I was amazed at the choices this chef was making in his ingredients until I tasted the outcome.  He used nothing but the freshest and the best. Food used was pure food, not some other substitute. In his broccoli soup he put fresh herbs, not those in a jar, whole cream, not milk, butter, not margarine, fresh vegetables, not frozen and a variety of cheeses.  Needless to say the outcome was more than delicious and the memory of the flavor is still with me.  (Recipe provided in a previous column.)

I watched the professionals make cupcakes on TV the other day.  Even when mass produced they were using fresh ingredients right down to melted chocolate rather than cocoa.

When I cook, I often cut corners.  Sometimes the vegetables are frozen and almost always the herbs and spices are from a jar. If I don’t have butter, margarine always works. The result, a meal that is palatable but not one you would savor. A true chef has too much respect for the food to ever compromise integrity.

I have been reading lately about the Levitical laws.  Over and over we are reminded of how Holy God is, and how nothing but the purest and cleanest can be brought to Him as an offering.  I began to wonder if I have been showing the same respect toward God as I have been my cooking.  Do I offer God the best and the purest or do I slothfully offer the King of Kings and Lord of Lords second best?

Do I spend time in devotions and worship to Him when it is convenient for me, or do I come to Him when I am at my best?

Do I sing to Him with lips I have used to hurt others?

Do I worship Him in song through CD’s I have copied and not even paid for?

When I put my offering in the plate am I offering the least God requires or am I giving sacrificially?

Have I forgotten who He is?  Do I remember that Joshua tells me (24:14) that I must:
“Fear the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in truth”

Just as a chef wouldn’t serve his guest anything that was second rate, we should ensure that what we offer our King is of the sweetest aroma.

With the Easter Season upon us we are reminded that God offered the ultimate sacrifice for us–Himself!  A pure and Holy God.

I encourage you to spend the Easter season prayerfully considering what you bring to your Lord.  Ensure that your offering is a sweet aroma fit for a King!

Fresh Salsa

Ingredients:
6 medium tomatoes
1 green pepper
½ C chopped onion
½ tsp garlic powder
¼ tsp salt
1 hot pepper (or 4 canned pickled jalapeno slices)
Procedure:
Cut tomatoes into quarters.  Dice 1 green pepper, 1 hot pepper and ½  white onion.  Mince 2 cloves of garlic. Chop ingredients in a blender until chunky. Add salt.  Bring mixture to a boil and simmer 10 minutes.
Serve with your favorite snack food or use in oven stew.

Oven Stew
Bake 275°F
Aprox. 3 ½ hours

Ingredients:

1 lb. Stewing beef
4 potatoes
4 carrots
1 onion
1 stick celery
1 C beef broth
1 C Salsa
1 C peas (add later)

Procedure:
Cut beef and vegetables into cubes.  Place in a casserole dish with salt and pepper to taste.  Add salsa mixed with beef broth.  Bake at 275°F for 2 ½ hours.  Add 1 cup peas.  Bake an additional hour.  Thicken with cornstarch and water.

Apple Berry Salsa with Chips

Ingredients:
Chips:
2 Flour Tortillas
1 T sugar
½ tsp cinnamon

Salsa:
1 C strawberries
2 med Granny Smith Apples
1 kiwi
2 small oranges
2 T brown sugar
2 T apple jelly (or jam)

Procedure:
Chips:
Heat oven to 475°F.  Brush Tortillas with water.  Cut in wedges and sprinkle with cinnamon mixture. Bake 5 – 7 min.

Salsa:
Chop ingredients in a blender until chunky.  Serve with chips

©2009, Bonnie Hooley

3 comments for “Fresh Salsa

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *