Recipe: Tomato Salsa

Tomatoes- the vegetable-turned-fruit that comes in over 7000 different varieties can help prevent certain types of cancers, according to the latest news provided by AARP The Magazine.  Simply incorporating three or more servings a week can even reduce risks for heart disease, diabetes and osteoporosis.

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Here's a great recipe to get you started toward a healthier you! Just in time for the July 4th celebrations!

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TOMATO SALSA

Yield: About 2.5 cups

            2 cups seeded, chopped tomatoes (red, yellow, and orange)

            ¼ cup diced red onions

            ½ teaspoon minced garlic

            ¾ teaspoon freshly ground cumin, roasted

            2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

            1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced

            1 banana pepper, stemmed and diced

            ¼ cup diced green mango (optional)

            Salt and pepper

            ½ cup minced cilantro leaves (for garnish)

Combine the first seven ingredients and the mango if using. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Refrigerate. Just before serving, garnish with the cilantro.

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Recipe provided by AARP The Magazine.
Reprinted with permission.

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In the Kitchen with Amelia

I am proud to introduce a new regular contributor to Critique of the Unique. Let's welcome AMELIA to the house!!!

Amelia will be sharing wonderful recipes and cooking related reviews and giveaways, so be certain to check out her posts!! We look forward to all the tasty dishes she will be preparing and sharing with us! So be sure to go "In the Kitchen with Amelia"!

A little about Amelia (in her own words):

Greetings readers, my name is Amelia and I have been married to the most wonderful man for a little over a year, together we are raising my step-son and I'm loving every hectic minute of it. They are my everything and I strive to be the best person I can be for both of them. My step-son loves to be in the kitchen with me, he's the best sous-chef I've ever had! 

From a very early age my family and I were always together in the kitchen cooking, whether it was at Grandma's, Aunt's, or my Mama's kitchen. I remember thinking when I was little that it was so neat how a home baked cookie or cake could make someone who was feeling down, start smiling and feeling better, or how people would ooh and aah at the dinner being set down in front of them it was like magic to me and I knew I wanted to be a part of that reason of making people feel happy. So, that's where it all started: baking cookies with Mama or Grandma, and as I grew older I started to experiment, not all of them good ideas, haha,  but hey live and learn right?!

I've come to a point in my life where I'm starting to think of all the different types of food I've yet to try and I get excited over the literally millions of different combinations. I tend to gravitate towards Italian dish's mostly, but hey, who doesn't love a bowl pasta right?! My favorite thing to do is bake, but I can't say I have a favorite thing to bake, I love any baked goods! My husband likes to tease me and say I'm having an affair with food, because I will, seriously, do a little happy dance when I'm eating something I find to be really great tasting, I'll rock side to side in my chair while saying yummmmmmm, haha! 

Besides cooking and spending time with my family I do enjoy to be outside: any outdoor actives, fishing being a family favorite, swimming, hiking, camping, floating the river, bungee jumping or just something as simple as sitting on the porch drinking coffee in the morning while gossiping on the phone with my Mama! I'm very excited to be apart of this blog and can't wait to get feed back from the readers, together we can make the world a magical place by the food we cook for our families and friends! And remember....a recipe is just a guide-line, make it your own, experiment!!! Bon Appetit!! 

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Glee Gum: Make Your Own Gummies Kit Review

Product: Make Your Own Gummies Kit from Glee Gum

Produced by: Verve, Inc.

Category: Cooking 

Price: Approximately $13.00 (varies with retail outlet)

Need something to keep the kids busy on a rainy day? I've got just the thing!! My two kids had a blast with the Glee Gum "Make Your Own Gummies Kit", where they chose to make cute little gummy bears!! 

Glee Gum has been in business since 1992 when the founders of Verve visited a chicle-producing community in Northern Guatemala. It is here that they learned how chewing gum was made and decided at that point to help the economically depressed community by purchasing their main product- chicle (Chicle is the sap from the Sapodilla (pronounced "Sap-oh-dee-yah") tree, which grows in the rainforests of Central America. Chicle was the original basis for all chewing gum, until synthetic gum bases were developed...excerpt from website). Since then, Verve has been producing Glee Gum and the "Make Your Own Chewing Gum Kit" so that others can have an educational and environmental experience while having fun making their own Glee Gum. Not only is it fun, but it also provides a sustainable income to those in Northern Guatemala!

The product line soon expanded to include other kits, such as the "Make Your Own Chocolate Kit" and the "Make Your Own Gummies Kit".  When our gummy kit arrived in the mail, the kids were super excited! They could not wait to try it out!! We quickly learned that there was a little bit of process involved in making the gum, and we soon embarked on a chemistry experiment of sorts! It's all relatively simple. The ingredients come individually packed and labeled, so no messing up. Simply follow the included directions and in no time at all, you've become a master chemist...well, in a round about sort of way! 

Inside the kit is a "secret ingredient".....seaweed! The seaweed stalk contains special ingredients that make the gummies stick together (agar and carrageenan)! After a brief soaking of the seaweed stalk and a little mixing and heating in the microwave, the concoction is ready to pour into the molds! My kids found little erasers to use for their mold. The kit contains a mold base powder that you simply spread out on a plate or large pan. We found that it was a little difficult for my kids to indent the powder with the mold without messing up the one they previously made, so we put the powder into a larger pan and added a bit of cornstarch to the powder to accommodate the depth of the pan. This made it a little easier for them to make their molds! Once the mold is ready, simply drop the mixture onto the indentions and the gel fills the molded areas. Then, place in the fridge to let settle!  The kit also contains sour candy coating. All I can say is ....woah! This stuff is S.O.U.R. We put it in a plastic bag and the kids shook them until their little gummy bears were coated!! 

Click to enlarge

The last step is best!! Eating time! These gummies had such great flavor! My kids loved them and it was hard for mom to sneak a few for herself!!! 

I highly recommend these to anyone that has kids and wants an educational experience that is fun to boot! Word of caution--do not leave the gummies in the bag with the sour candy coating and then put in a hot backpack. They do tend to melt!! Store your finished gummies in a cool place!! 

How to Connect: 

The "Gooey Tale of Gummies"

Glee Gum Blog

Glee Gum on Facebook

Glee Gum on Twitter

Where to Purchase:  Store Locator

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