Chips and salsa is especially fitting for summer because it requires no cooking, and if you're really creative, no dishes. Of course you eat the chips from the bag, no problem there. The creativity comes when eating the salsa out of the jar. There is an art form to this, that to this day I have not quite mastered. There are a few guidelines though that I have learned to follow.
1. Choose the size and shape of the chip carefully. Ideally it will be long enough to reach into the jar, but sturdy enough not to break inside the jar.
2. Tilt the jar just so. Not too far that the juices drip out, but far enough to give you room to leverage the salsa out of the jar.
3a. Utensils can be used only when there is less than 1/2 inch of salsa left in the bottom. Spooning the salsa out onto the chip is acceptable. OR 3b. Leave the end of the salsa in the jar for someone else to deal with! --Ha, my mom hated when we did that!
When I eat this snack I am always reminded of the hot summer days my sister and I used to spend together sitting by the pool in our backyard. My sister was, and probably still is, an expert chips and salsa eater. I owe everything I know to her :) We weren't able to cook, and really weren't on a regular schedule for eating. So, when we would feel like a snack we would go inside and fix ourselves food. Chips and salsa, in most cases, was our 'food' of choice. (We also had Ramen Noodles, but that's another story.) We would argue over who took the most salsa, and many times the jar of salsa wouldn't last more than a day, maybe two. We would usually eat in the sun on the deck of the pool, deciding what to do next. How much time did we have before our parents would get home? What chores did we still need to do before then? We had a lot of fun during the summer together!
Chips and salsa is a good snack year-round, don't get me wrong, but eating it during the summer just feels right! What's your favorite summertime snack?
