Month: May 2016

Kitchen/

Delicious Fresh Homemade Salsa

This Salsa Rojo has been a staple in our family for more than thirty years and has been my most requested recipe by far. Surprisingly simple, yet super tasty and versatile for those who want to add their own “secret ingredient” (read: jalapeno for a little heat, or green onion for a fresh spring flavor). I pretty much just keep a batch of this in the fridge at all times so we can use it on scrambled eggs in the morning, chicken nachos for lunch, and fish tacos for dinner. And it’s so much better than those usually too-sweet bottle sauces you get at the grocery. Give it a try!

Cori’s Simple Salsa Rojo

1 (14.5 oz.) can petite diced tomatoes
1 (4 oz.) can diced green chiles (Hatch is best)
1 lime
1 bunch cilantro
1 tsp. salt, or to taste

Add tomatoes and green chiles to bowl of a food processor or blender. Add juice of one lime up to approximately 1 tablespoon. Rinse leaves of cilantro and roughly chop top half of bunch; add to bowl. Add 1 tsp. salt. Pulse salsa 3 – 5 times to chop cilantro and incorporate ingredients together. Taste salsa and adjust ingredients as desired.

Enjoy!

Heartistic Life/

Revealing the Past

The more I work with this little table, the more deeply I fall in love with it. The details are just beautiful.

I got started with the Cistristrip by using all the precautions listed – chemical-resistant gloves, goggles, well-ventilated area, drop cloth, etc. But, I have to say, the Citristrip is absolutely a dream to work with! I could almost forget I’m working with a strong chemical! There is a light orange scent, but definitely not anything toxic smelling. I did get a bit on some clothing and on my skin. I washed both immediately and noticed no long-term effects from it. Again, I wouldn’t push it, because this is a powerful chemical, but it’s definitely a great product to work with and a huge step forward from chemical furniture strippers of the past!

20160427_002_web

I started out cautiously with a fairly thin coat and left it on the shortest amount of time – barely over 30 minutes.

20160427_005_web

I knew that this table had been painted at least twice before; the green latex that was showing and a pink latex that was peeking through here and there (and that I remembered from my youth). But even with this super cautious application of the Cistristrip, I started to see some indications of a coat of ivory below the pink.

20160427_007_web

20160427_006_web

20160427_008_web

Obviously, it was going to take more than half an hour to get through three layers of paint! I went ahead and coated this same section again and gave it a couple of hours. This time I got some serious results.

20160427_010_web

20160427_011_web

One of the truly remarkable discoveries is how well preserved these routed motifs are! The wood edges are crisp – almost as if they had been cut yesterday! And as the Cistristrip works to remove the layers of paint, it is definitely pulling up some paint that was inlaid in the motifs as well. The interior “flower” was a reddish color, but it’s hard to tell just yet what color the surrounding lines had been. I’m hoping as I continue to gently work the latex out of the grooves, I will be able to solve the mystery of what colors were in there.

I’ve already started trying to decide how in the world I can possibly do this sweet table justice in it’s new life. Somehow I want to honor it’s past and yet carry it forward. It’s a huge weight.