Black Bean Corn Salsa

Summer is flying along! Here's a great appetizer for evenings out on the patio or by the pool: Black Bean Corn Salsa

First, grab up some heirloom tomatoes from your local produce stand or farmer's market. I think I used about 20 pounds. Keep in mind that I make things up as I go - taste your salsa as you cook and add things as you think they are needed.

2 cups corn

4 cups cooked black beans

6-8 cups diced tomato

2 cups diced green bell pepper

1 cup diced banana pepper

1 cup diced sweet onion

1/2 cup lime juice

Mix this all together in a large pot over low heat. Add spices to taste. I added a little ginger, a tablespoon or two of italian herb mix ( basil, rosemary, oregano, savory), and red pepper flakes to give it a little heat. If you like a hotter salsa substitute hotter peppers for the green bell pepper and the banana peppers. Cook it all together and ladle it into jars. I water bath canned mine by processing pints for 35 minutes and quarts for 45 minutes. Some folks will tell you that you need to pressure can it because of the beans. Choose for yourself.

Let these jars rest on the shelf a couple of weeks to give the flavors time to meld. Then pop one open and serve it up on chips!