Help please with non-spicy salsa

[cave76]

I absolutely love Mexican food (and Thai, Chinese, Japanese, Indian---- you get the picture!) but I've just recently suspected that the spicy food I love may be giving me some health problems. Not acid indigestion but a problem with the urinary tract. (Sorry for TMI).

I can't abide the thought of not eating Mexican food and in the past, all my life, the hotter the better.

Now I want to give a non-spicy life (Ugh!) a chance.

To my question, finally---- it's easy to cook without adding jalapeno's or such but I love to pour salsa over a taco, chimichanga, or any other dish.

I'm going to try reducing some tomato juice or V8 to make it a bit thicker, if possible, and add cilantro and other 'not hot' spices. (And please, oh please, don't let it be cilantro that's causing the problem!)

Any thoughts on this would be greatly appreciated or any other ways to get a salsa that is flavorful but not hot/spicy.
Thank you in advance

[Andy M.]

Go ahead and leave out the hots. The heat is always a separate ingredient, either chilies, chili oil, etc. There may be a minor flavor difference but there is no reason why you can't enjoy not hot foods.

[cave76]

@Andy------ I guess I'll say 'duh'! LOL Of course! I used to make my own salsa with the usual ingredients------ I guess I'll have to start doing that again even though store-bought tomatoes are so yucky and expensive now. I think I'll use canned Romas instead and leave out the chopped jalapenos.
Thank you for your common-sense reply.

[jennyema]

Make it with quality canned tomatoes and just leave out the hot pepper.

[cave76]

Thank you also, Jenny. I'll get some canned tomatoes today when shopping. I'll try to remember (!) to post my success with it.

Still dreaming of jalapenos!

[CharlieD]

Chi Chi’s brand salsa makes one that is mild, very mild and it really is not a bad salsa at all. I cannot eat food that is too spicy and this one is really working well for me.

[cave76]

@Charilie----- I'll look for that brand. I live in a great smallish city with very white bread cuisines but we do have at least one fairly good Mexican grocery. Or maybe Safeway has it. Amazon has it but I'd prefer not to get the giant size first. :)
Thanks

[jennyema]

Chi chi's would be found at Safeway not a Spanish market.

If you do make your own consider roasting your garlic, onion and bell pepper in a cast iron skillet for a deeper flavor.

[jabbur]

Hunt's makes a wonderful fire roasted diced tomatoes in a can. I use them in just about everything that requires a good tomato flavor. I make a dip we call Oklahoma caviar that I use them in. They are so good and so easy to use that I find myself using them even when I can get tomatoes from the farmer's market.

[buckytom]

Originally Posted by jennyema

Chi chi's would be found at Safeway not a Spanish market.

If you do make your own consider roasting your garlic, onion and bell pepper in a cast iron skillet for a deeper flavor.

+1.

but i can't imagine using canned tomatoes unless decent fresh ones are unavailable.

btw, cilantro is known for chelating toxic metals from your body (removing them) which are then excreted in the urine and feces (what's your sign. i'm a feces).


3 out of 4 doctors here say if you enjoy cilantro, go for it. but you should ask your own pee pee doctor.

Originally Posted by jabbur

Hunt's makes a wonderful fire roasted diced tomatoes in a can. I use them in just about everything that requires a good tomato flavor. I make a dip we call Oklahoma caviar that I use them in. They are so good and so easy to use that I find myself using them even when I can get tomatoes from the farmer's market.

i'm a little afraid to ask, but what is oklahoma caviar?

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

Some herbs, spices, and flavors that can help out your salsa:

Cumin
Coriander
Paprika
Lime zest
Mango
Mild Chile Powder
Onion
Garlic
Celery
Carrot

To make these ingredients work together, first, cut the carrot into a small dice, slice the onion and celery, and saute' these in fresh butter over medium heat, just until the carrots are slightly softened. Add chopped tomato, cilantro, and the remaining ingredients.

Peppers, whether sweet or hot can cause indigestion for some people. But the ingredients listed above will give you that southwestern flavor, sans peppers. Oh, and add some black pepper to the mix.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North

[CraigC]

Make a fresh pico de gallo and leave out the spicy chili.

[cave76]

@ Bucky
"but i can't imagine using canned tomatoes unless decent fresh ones are unavailable."

I can't either, but I haven't had a decent fresh tomato since I stopped growing my own----no matter what price I paid for them. I don't get to a farmers market much so maybe there could be some there.

For 'youngsters' here----- a 'decent' fresh tomato doesn't crunch when you bite into it. Neither does a 'decent' strawberry. (Oops, now I've shown my age!)

@ bucky---- I'll look into your information about cilantro. Thanks.
About your astrological sign------

Te audire no possum. Musa sapientum fixa est in aure

All the rest who have taken the time to answer---- many good ideas there and I thank you all.

[jabbur]

i'm a little afraid to ask, but what is oklahoma caviar?

It's tomatoes (I use 3 cans of the fire roasted diced), 1 onion finely chopped, 2 green peppers finely chopped, a can of black-eyed peas drained and rinsed, a can of white hominy drained and rinsed, and 16 oz of Italian salad dressing. stir it all up and refrigerate. We like it with our tortilla chips.

[jennyema]

Originally Posted by buckytom

+1.

but i can't imagine using canned tomatoes unless decent fresh ones are unavailable.

btw, cilantro is known for chelating toxic metals from your body (removing them) which are then excreted in the urine and feces (what's your sign. i'm a feces).


3 out of 4 doctors here say if you enjoy cilantro, go for it. but you should ask your own pee pee doctor.



i'm a little afraid to ask, but what is oklahoma caviar?

I have refused to use supermarket tomatoes for a long time now. They are horrible and IMO would ruin your salsa.

Good quality canned tomatoes are far superior when you can't get real garden tomatoes.

In July I make salsa with my cherries. In August with my bigger tomatoes.

And I'd also like more detail on that caviar...

[menumaker]

Try chopping some fresh coriander into your salsa and crumble some blue cheese into it as well. Not 'hot' I accept but will give some exciting flavors to your salsa

[Cerise]

Originally Posted by cave76

I absolutely love Mexican food (and Thai, Chinese, Japanese, Indian---- you get the picture!) but I've just recently suspected that the spicy food I love may be giving me some health problems. Not acid indigestion but a problem with the urinary tract. (Sorry for TMI).

I can't abide the thought of not eating Mexican food and in the past, all my life, the hotter the better.

Now I want to give a non-spicy life (Ugh!) a chance.

To my question, finally---- it's easy to cook without adding jalapeno's or such but I love to pour salsa over a taco, chimichanga, or any other dish.

I'm going to try reducing some tomato juice or V8 to make it a bit thicker, if possible, and add cilantro and other 'not hot' spices. (And please, oh please, don't let it be cilantro that's causing the problem!)

Any thoughts on this would be greatly appreciated or any other ways to get a salsa that is flavorful but not hot/spicy.
Thank you in advance

Welcome to DC. First, I would see a doc re the UTI. It may be totally unrelated to food.

I am not a fan of spicy food either I can tolerate Ortega green chiles, in small doses. I usually omit the chiles, and kick up the flavor with lime juice and lime zest and diced red onion. Instead of tomatoes, you can use strawberries and avocado, watermelon, or any fresh fruit.

[cave76]

Originally Posted by Cerise

Welcome to DC. First, I would see a doc re the UTI. It may be totally unrelated to food.

Thanks. I have---- extensively! Not a UTI, definitely.

[CraigC]

Originally Posted by menumaker

Try chopping some fresh coriander into your salsa and crumble some blue cheese into it as well. Not 'hot' I accept but will give some exciting flavors to your salsa

Fresh corriander = cilantro.

[Claire]

In my opinion, it is often cumin that puts the Mex into Mexican food, and it is not hot. I cannot imagine cilantro (as others have said, cilantro is the leaf, coriander the seed)(this varies from place to place, I'm talking in the U.S., English English can sometimes be different) causing a problem. I wonder if it may actually be tomatoes that cause the problem. In which case .... poor you! Also tomato seeds can cause intestinal distress for some people, so you can use V8, tomato juice, or seed your own tomatoes. If you do the latter, use plum tomatoes, they have less seed and more "meat".