2nd Annual Salsa Contest

On Sunday, April 24, 2016, we held the 2nd Annual Salsa Contest at our house as part of Awesome April and Earth Day Week.  It was a great affair with great company and awesome food: delicious roasted pork, grilled chicken, twice baked potatoes, salad and zucchini bars.  Of course, we were there to see who’s “sauce was the boss” from 2015, and we had four salsa competing for the championship.

Salsa Contest History

Salsa Contest; Salsa; Tomatoes; Peppers; Canning

1st Salsa Contest on 9/3/2014. Guess who was the winner?

For those of you who do not know what what I am talking about, I created the “Salsa Fiesta Contest” in 2014 after my mother-in-law Barb, my brother-in-law David (aka “Redbeard”) and I all made our own batches of salsa.  In preparation for our Labor Day get-together and barbecue at our house, we decided it would be fun to do a contest to see who had the best tasting salsa.

The ground rules were really (and still are) quite simple:

  • Make the salsa from ingredients from our own gardens, the farmer’s market or the store
  • Can the the salsa and bring it to the contest in a sealed jar

To determine the winner, the attendees had to taste each salsa and vote by secret ballot.  It was true voting (no hanging chads, no brokered conventions and no delegate shenanigans).  Votes are dropped into a bowl and tallied. The winner is determined by the most votes.

It was a close battle and contest, but at the end of the day, the 1st Salsa Fiesta Contest winner was ME!

2015 Salsa Fiesta Contest

Salsa Contest; Contest; Salsa; Tomato; Jalapeno; Peppers

2nd Annual Salsa Fiesta Contest – four salsas, but only one can win! 4/24/16

While we always planned on having another salsa contest at the Labor Day barbecue, it was delayed with all of the “stuff” happening last year in our lives.  We just never got back around to planning and hosting the contest.

Fortunately, Earth Day Week was upon us, and as part of Awesome April, I decided that it would be a great time to put my crown on the line and hold the 2nd Annual Salsa Fiesta Contest.  We had four salsas this year:

  • Redbeard’s salsa
  • Barb’s salsa
  • Barb’s neighbor’s salsa
  • My salsa

The real dark horse in this contest was Barb’s neighbor’s salsa.  We had heard a lot about his salsa since he grows his own tomatoes and makes a lot of salsa.  From what I understand, this gentleman is close to putting his salsa on the market for the public to buy.  Needless to say, it is intimidating to get a “semi-professional” in the contest.

Tasting and the Winner

Once again, everyone had a chance to taste each salsa and vote.  Votes were once again written down, folded up and placed into a bowl.  Once everyone had voted, Julie tallied the votes.

The winner of the 2nd Annual Salsa Fiesta Contest was David, aka “Redbeard”.  As much as I would LIKE to say that it was a close contest, it was not.  Redbeard won by a landslide six votes, with the rest of us getting two votes each.

He had a great week: won a Teacher of Excellence Award in his school district and won the 2nd Annual Salsa Contest all in the same week.  He is on a roll!

Congratulations, David!

Julie, Barb and 2015 Salsa Champion David (aka "Redbeard") strike a pose on 4/19/16.

Julie, Barb and 2nd Annual Salsa Contest Champion David (aka “Redbeard”) strike a pose on 4/19/16.

3rd Annual Salsa Contest

Salsa Contest; Contest; Salsa; Tomato; Jalapeno; Peppers

Game on for the 3rd Annual Salsa Contest!

David will enjoy his crown for a short period.  We will have the 3rd Annual Salsa Fiesta Contest on schedule this year, and it already promises to be a fun one.  David sent me a nice little text as he rode into the sunset with his victory (see above), and it is a “gentle and constant” reminder that it is “game on” for this year.

I will have more information on the 3rd Annual Salsa Fiesta Contest later this year.  Rest assured, I am tuning up my recipe and growing some killer tomatoes, peppers, onions and garlic in my garden.

It will be a great salsa year!  Game on!