Cinco de Mayo

¡ Ola !

Happy Cinco de Mayo

On May 5th, we went to - ¿where else? - a Cinco de Mayo party. Though I am Finnish/English and my husband is Norwegian/Swedish and both of us were born and raised in Minnesota, why not celebrate Cinco de Mayo? After all, I marched in a St. Patrick's Day parade with my Hawaiian Hula classmates (!!!).  I love cultural celebrations and cross-cultural celebrations are the best!

This was a fun and sweet family potluck party. The weather was gorgeous, sunny and warm. Most of us ate outdoors to enjoy the evening. We had beans, refried beans, shredded chicken and beef, cheese, tomatoes, onions, roasted beets with cheese, chips, tortillas, taco shells, tostado shells, and several salsas. Oh, and delicious strawberry margaritas. I made a fruity and spicy Pineapple Mango Salsa. It's very easy to make and tastes delicious. I love Pico de Gallo, Salsa Fresca, Picante Sauce, and other tomato-based salsas, but this one is excellent and a welcome addition to your table. Here's the recipe:

Pineapple Mango Salsa
makes about 5 cups

Ingredients
2 cups (about 10 ounces, peeled and pitted) diced ripe mango *
2 cups (about 10 ounces, peeled and cored) diced ripe pineapple *
1/2 onion (red, yellow, or white), peeled and diced
1 whole jalapeño pepper, stem removed, most seeds removed, minced **
1/2 cup (about 20 stems with leaves) cilantro, mostly leaves roughly chopped
juice from 2 limes (about 1 1/2 tablespoons)
Kosher salt, to taste

Instructions
1. Prepare the mango and pineapple by dicing the peeled fruits into small pieces (think of fresh salsa you eat to get an idea of the size)
     * If you don't know how or don't want to peel, pit, core the fresh mango
        and pineapple, you can find these fruits in the refrigerated cut fruit
        section of most large grocery stores
2. Dice the onion into small pieces
3. Prepare the jalapeno:
     ** Remove the stem end of the jalapeno pepper and remove most of the
        seeds and white pith; you can use all the seeds and pith if you like
        your salsa hot - I like to leave a few seeds to add a little heat. Finely
        dice the pepper. I use disposable gloves while handling the pepper,
        especially the seeds and pith
4. Chop the fresh cilantro, removing most of the stems and using the leaves for the salsa; a few stems are OK if you chop them finely
5. Combine the mango, pineapple, onion, jalapeno, and cilantro, tossing lightly to combine
6. Squeeze the lime juice over all and add a dash or two of salt to help enhance the flavors
7. Toss everything lightly
8. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, up to 24 hours is even better!
9. Serve with chips, or use as accompaniment to roast pork, chicken, or grilled beef steak

ingredients

Salsa!!!