Mango Salsa

Ok so I really like to cook. And I like to make things on my own. It's pretty rare for me to use a recipe as is. And most of the time I just fly by the seat of my pants and make up my own things. Today I made some mango salsa that I plan on serving with rice and home cooked tortilla chips. I am always asking people for their recipes when they talk about something that they made, so I figured I would post some photos of the salsa and tell you how I made it. This is one of those things that I didn't look up a recipe for. I just bought all the ingredients when I was at the store and threw it together this morning. Its the first time that I have made it. So lets get started! The first thing that I did was peel and finely chop (in the food processor, the first time I used one! It was WAY easier then chopping by hand! I CANNOT believe I've never tried this before...) some fresh young ginger root. Then I chopped some fresh cilantro and placed them in the bottom of a large glass bowl. Oh, I am cooking for a lot of people so I made a TON of salsa! Then I took a red onion and cut it into small pieces and put that through the food processor as well. Here is a photo of those three things in the bowl...

Then I cut two limes into quarters and squeezed the juice into the bowl

Next I diced about 6 medium sized tomatoes. And put those in the bowl

And now for the main ingredient! The MANGOES! I have never cooked with mangoes before. I've tried to! Twice before actually! The first time the mangoes that I bought were not ripe enough and went straight from unripe to rotten :( And then the next time I bought some I tried to make sure they were softer. But they were bad! When I cut into them the insides were brown :( So I was really nervous trying again. But like the saying goes "third times the charm"! These mangoes were perfect! I bought three of them and diced them all. Beings that this was the first time that I cooked with mangoes I didn't really know how you are supposed to cut them! I tried on my own with the first one and discovered that it is impossible to remove that seed in the middle. So I jumped onto youtube and watched a video on how to properly cut a mango. Here is the video that I watched...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvLdPjpELyU
It was really helpful to me! Here is a photo of my mangoes in the bowl

I am practically in love with avocados! So that was a must have in my salsa :) I also took one quarter of a lemon and squeezed the juice lightly onto the avocado to prevent it from browning while it sat in the fridge marinating all day :) The lime juice might have been enough to do the job, but I added the lemon directly onto the avocado just to make sure!

Next I added some salt and pepper ontop just for a little more flavor

After that I just took a spatula and stirred it all together well
The only thing left that I didn't take a photo of are the two jalapeño peppers that I have on the side. The red onions add a little spice to the salsa and there are people in our house that wouldn't want anymore spice then that, so I left the peppers on the side to add as you like. I tried a small spoon of the salsa right after I finished it and loved it. However I have heard that letting it sit in the fridge all day is best because the flavors blossom. So we will see how it tastes tonight! I am excited. I hope you all liked this little tutorial :) Goodnight and good eats!