Mmmmm, salsa

It was a late night in the kitchen making salsa. I have spent a few years perfecting a salsa recipe that is just right for our needs.

This salsa contains tomatoes, onions, green and yellow bell pepper, banana peppers, garlic and jalepeno pepper. I usually make one batch that has habanero peppers. Spice it up! It is a fairly plain recipe, which makes it more versatile for cooking and enjoying straight out of the jar.

Most of this will get used straight out of the jar and onto chips or quesadillas. I usually add fresh cilantro. Sometimes I add avacado or shrimp just to change it up. I can also use this in recipes were I need to add other spices, herbs or seasonings without the salsa overpowering everything else. Like salsa baked chicken, Spanish rice or to spice up meatballs.

Coming of age

All day we were peppered with questions as Keeli tried to make sense of the birthday event. What time is my birthday? Where is my birthday? Who is making my birthday? How many minutes until my birthday?

Keeli turned 5 today. Over the years, we have attempted to make birthdays about a celebration of time with family and building memories together rather than the expectation of gifts. Hopefully someday, she has many happy memories of today.

Tatum and Keeli created a sidewalk chalk mural celebrating Keeli's momentus occassions and announcing the big event to the entire neighborhood.
A large portion of the afternoon was devoted to cake baking and decorating. Everyone had a hand in stacking layers, frosting and sprinkling. Some even volunteered to eat the left over frosting. We left the combustible stuff to dad and the fire suppression to the birthday girl. We opened two presents, including a birthday card packed with cash and tiny sea shells from Nana Linda, who is currently in the Bahamas. Amazingly two of the shells survived the USPS.

And, in case you forgot, it was Keeli's 5th birthday today. 5.