Black Bean and Corn Salsa- Testing my Taste Buds

My room mate this summer has fantastic taste in food. She always is bringing home stuff from Trader Joes, including this great Corn and Black Bean Salsa. Sadly, this salsa is about $5 for an itty bitty jar. I took on the mission of trying to recreate this salsa using the ingredients list on the back of the jar, the very discriminating palates of my room mate, run-girl-run and myself, and whatever I had lying around the apartment. This is where a well stocked pantry came in handy as I refused to buy anything specifically for making the salsa. The result: Delic! Not exactly the same as the store bought version since neither my corn nor tomatoes were fire roasted, but still darn good. And for not putting out any extra money for it, I am darn happy. And now I have some space in the fridge and pantry again!

Corn and Black Bean Salsa (My Way)

1 can corn

1/2 can black beans thoroughly rinsed and very lightly chopped

1 can diced tomatoes with garlic and onions (if large chunks of tomato, chop them some more with scissors in the can) (do not drain! the liquid gives it a good consistency)

2 handfuls cherry tomatoes, chopped

1/2 green pepper, chopped

about a handful of jarred jalepenos (to taste) diced

2 roasted red peppers, chopped

salt

pepper

paprika

red pepper

tobasco sauce

cumin

1 green onion

parsley

1)Drain corn and saute with salt, pepper and paprika

2) combine corn with lightly chopped beans

3) add both types of tomatoes and the red peppers

4) saute green pepper pieces and jalepeno pieces then add to corn mixture

5) season to taste with the herbs, spices and green onion (cut into thin rings)

The last step is definately the hardest as I KEPT tasting, changing, tasting repeat. So worth it though, as I then had virtually free salsa. I heated up some tortilla chips that were about to go stale and we gorged ourselves on salsa and chips. I used an old store bought salsa jar to can some of the salsa, and the rest (yes, this recipe makes a lot) is in a tupperware. Lesson learned. If you end up with so much summer corn that you've already eaten it boiled, grilled and steamed, also try it in a salsa.