Jamie and I were at the Farmers Market this past weekend, and my eyes went wide when I saw that farm fresh field tomatoes were available.  I love tomatoes, and when they are in season, I can’t stop myself from indulging in a large variety of tomato treats;

• BLT sandwiches
• Salads with more tomatoes than lettuce
• Squash & Tomato Gratin
• Stuffed Tomatoes
• Salsa Fresca

Traditionally Salsa Fresca (or pico de gallo) is made with cilantro, but I find the flavour really overpowering, so I use basil instead.

This is so easy to make, you just chop up whatever fresh ingredients you have on hand, and mix them all together in a bowl.  Of course, we add jalapeño peppers and sriracha sauce, because we like our food a bit on the spicy side 🙂

You can really add anything to this sauce; cucumber, radishes, avocado, mango, bell peppers, scallions, etc.  The key is that your ingredients are fresh.

This is another one of those things where you realize that it is so easy to make, you wonder why you ever bought it in a jar.  I find that the flavour of this salsa is so fresh and crisp compared to the jarred variety you find in the grocery store.  When we have this in our fridge, we eat it on everything; salads, eggs, chicken, fish, and of course, with tortilla chips 🙂

My food blogging journey has taught me that you can create so many food staples yourself.  I really stop to consider what I am purchasing in the grocery store, because a lot of items that I used to put in my cart, I can make at home for a fraction of the cost and with better ingredients.  I never really considered making my own condiments before, but over the past few months I have discovered that products such as; nut butter, hummus, BBQ sauce, jam and salsa, are so much better when you make them yourself.  It is a great feeling to create quality food products and to have confidence to know what you are putting into your body.

This really is the perfect summer-time sauce, it is bright, flavourful and uses ingredients that are easy to find and in season!  And, on the plus side, you don’t need to turn on your oven 😉

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Ingredients:

• 3 1/2 cups field tomatoes – diced
• 1/4 cup chives – finely chopped
• 3 cloves of garlic – minced
• 1 jalapeño pepper – finely chopped
• 6 basil leaves – finely chopped
• 1 lime – zest and juiced
• 1/2 tsp sriracha sauce
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Add all ingredients together in a large bowl.
2. Mix well and enjoy!