salsa! a summer favorite

first of all... NEVER REFRIGERATE TOMATOES!!!!! EVER!

tomatoes and peppers have a tendency to REALLY grow when they grow, so lots of people growing them literally give away bags to friends and neighbors. so, when life gives you tomatoes and peppers... make salsa! this is a great way to use the bruised ones that still have a few good parts or the ones that are about to go bad or if you dumpster a bunch of them at once. in my case, i dumpstered about a gallon of tomatoes and at least 4 peppers, my roommate has been bringing home both, we're growing both, and so is my mom, my neighbor, and a friend. that's a lot of tomatoes and peppers.

any time other than summer, salsa is simply not good. not only do you have to BUY tomatoes and peppers, but they are often shitty quality because they were grown under lamps in labs in california or shipped in refrigerator cars from mexico. who fucking cares if they're organic if they come from so far away! that defeats the whole purpose of buying organic! as americans, we have been taught that we can have any food from anywhere at any time but we have to learn that is not true. think of how many tanks of gas it takes to get vegetables that grow in ohio in summer to ohio in the winter because we LIKE them and we WANT them. we have to continue to support our local economies and ecosystems if we want anything to change.

aside from being a delicious use for seasonally abundant foods, this salsa is raw, not cooked, which some think is better for you, but i tend to think is only sometimes better for you, as many foods' nutrients are more easily absorbed by your body when cooked. but whatever your raw/cooked persuasion, this is one healthy food with a ton of natural flavor-- no spices needed.

the proportions of each ingredient are totally up to you; there is no way i can rationalize telling you how much garlic to put in it. you could hurt yourself.

1. roughly slice or chop any kind of tomato, onion, garlic, spicy or bell peppers, cilantro or parsley and put them in a colander to drain off any excess water. you can squeeze the tomatoes if you want, but some think the seeds have the most flavor.
*my proportions are generally: 2-3 tomatoes and a few cherry tomatoes, 1/4 bell pepper and 2-3 hot peppers, 1/4 red onion, 4 cloves garlic, a large handful of cilantro.
2. place ingredients in a food processor to at least an inch below the top (you might have to do a few batches) and add 1 Tb olive oil (helps you absorb vitamins and adds flavor) and the juice of half a lime to each batch.
3. pulse for a few seconds until you find the right consistency.