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Amy's salsa works 'wh everything' e secret to this sweet and tart mixture is peaches and Granny Smith apples. By Bob Blalock Amy Richards couldn't help herself. She was grazing the food spread at a baby shower years ago and tried some salsa that a friend had made. "I found myself going back and going back and going back, and I was like, OK, I just can't stop eating this," Richards says. She asked her friend about the ingredients. Two that caught her attention were unusual for a tomato-based salsa: peaches and Granny Smith apples. "I was like, I absolutely have to make this salsa. So, I just kind of started throwing in ingredients and making it on my own, because he never gave me a recipe," she says. What she ended up with is a salsa that dely balances the sweet from the peaches (or nectarines or mangoes) with the tart from the apples as well as lime juice and pulp. Richards goes light on jalapenos so the salsa is mild rather than hot, although she'll kick up the heat with more jalapenos for friends who like it fiery. Richards' salsa ended up on the menu at Baha Burgers, which she and her husband, Keith, founded in Hoover in 2009. Although they sold the restaurant, Baha customers can still order her salsa. e beauty of Richards' salsa is that "you can put it with everything," she says. It has become a staple at the Richards' home on Smith Lake. "We eat it with barbecue ribs. We eat it with turkey burgers. We eat it on the side with fish. e kids eat it with chips. ey eat it by the spoonful," Richards says. "You can even eat it for breakfast because it's so fresh and light." Amy's salsa INGREDIENTS 6 medium vine ripe tomatoes 1 bunch green onions (use only the greens) 2 bunches cilantro 1 Granny Smith apple 2 peaches or nectarines or mangos 3 tomatillos (optional) 1 lime (juice and pulp) Jalapenos to taste Cracked salt to taste PREPARATION 1. Hand-chop tomatoes, onion and cilantro. 2. Peel and finely chop apple and jalapenos. 3. Boil tomatillos until so, about 10 minutes. 4. Peel and puree or smash tomatillos and peaches. Be sure to use all the juices. 5. Stir all ingredients well and chill. NOTE You can be flexible with the ingredients depending on use, either as a dip with chips or as a side with fish or barbecue ribs or on top of a burger. 9 www.apcshorelines.com