When the summer season is at it's peak, that's when I'll make some homemade salsa using great local veggies; some from area farmers and some right from our own garden. Depending on the mood I'm in when I'm making the salsa will determine if the salsa is chunky or pureed. When I was in Mexico many moons ago, the owner of La Pasado and his wife made homemade salsa. I got to hang out in the kitchen and see how it was done. The type of salsa they made was more of a pureed salsa but it was very hot and very delicious. Whenever I make a pureed salsa, I use the techniques that Victor and Sonja use to make their salsa.
With family visiting and with a ton of tomatoes from our garden being ready to pick, it is salsa time. Making medium and hot salsa to use with chips, in/on dinner dishes, or in a breakfast omelet, there comes a time when you need to come up with another way to use salsa. I decided to add it to my basic corn muffin recipe. Enjoy this delicious recipe. I might just have to have a Mexican night and make more of these muffins along with tamales, tacos, and other delicious dishes.
Ingredients: 1 c flour, 1 c cornmeal, 1 TBSP baking powder, 1.5 tsp ground cumin, .5 tsp sea salt, 3 TBSP sugar, 1 egg, .5 c milk*, 1/3 c canola oil, 3/4 c chunky salsa*
Instructions: (1) Preheat oven to 400F and prepare a 6 or 12-cup muffin tin with cooking spray or paper liners. (2) In a large bowl, whisk flour, cornmeal, baking powder, sea salt, and cumin. (3) In a medium bowl, whisk egg, sugar, mil, and oil until well blended. Stir in salsa. (4) Add egg mixture to flour mixture and stir until just blended. (5) Divide batter evenly amongst prepare muffin cups and bake for 25 minutes or until tops are golden and toothpick comes out clean. Let cool in pan for a few minutes on a wire rack before transferring them to the rack and cooling completely.
*Try to use at least 1% milk. Most of the time I'm using fat-free milk but in my corn muffins I always use whole milk or even buttermilk.
*If you don't want to make your own salsa, a bottle of a chunky tomato sauce will do. I love Pace but there are some great chunky salsas out there. Don't be afraid to try a flavored salsa like say Chipotle.
