Sunday night and I’m flying solo which means 2 things:

1. I can have whatever I want for dinner which makes me eternally happy.

2. It’s the perfect time to whip up a Party of One meal!

I haven’t really had a chance to actually make a real meal for myself in so long, it’s almost like I’ve forgotten how! So when my parents told me they were headed out with friends for dinner tonight, I took it as the perfect opportunity to get in the kitchen and get my cook on!

As it turns out, I didn’t actually cook anything tonight—nope, this is an all raw meal. But don’t get too upset. I’m not going crazy raw foodist on you or anything. I just happened to be in the mood for some fresh salsa for dinner.

And you know what? When it’s just you, you get to have whatever you want for dinner!

I had mango on my mind and decided to incorporate it into a yummy fresh salsa—gotta enjoy that fresh summer produce while I can.

Plus, there’s this:

You know you like to say it, too. Just try. Right now. For real.

“Salsa!”

Fun, right?!

This isn’t really a recipe (I didn’t measure anything), but here’s a rough estimate of what I did.

Fresh Mango “Salsa”

Makes about 2 cups—or one meal size portion if you’re me

1/2 mango, diced small

2 small tomatoes, seeded and diced small

3 T. red pepper (or green or yellow or orange!), diced small

3 T. zucchini (yellow or green), diced small

1-2 T. red onion, diced small

1 T. fresh basil, roughly chopped

1/2 clove garlic, finely minced

juice of 1/3 lime

hot sauce to taste (I used about 6 dashes, but I like it spicy!)

kosher salt and fresh pepper to taste—I’d do 1/2 tsp. salt & 1/4 tsp. pepper. Season ‘er up!

Mix everything up and taste to check seasonings. Refrigerate for at least an hour so the flavors can meld.

Scoop it up with your favorite chips . . .

. . . and wash it down with a cold Corona!

Yummersauce. Yes, this is a “meal” worthy of inventing words.

Plus, it gives you an excuse to say, “salsa!”

I know cilantro is usually standard in salsa, but I loved the basil in this! It was a total accident, since I just used basil since that’s what I had on hand, but serendipity for sure! Oh wait, I mean, I am a culinary genius and totally knew basil was going to be awesome in salsa. Of course.

So you should make this. Just saying. It totally rocks my socks.

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Also of note, I was lucky enough to get this package in the mail from Susan, a sweet reader in Australia.

She emailed a few weeks ago asking if I’d like her to send me some contacts since she works for a contact company over there. Of course I would!

So generous! Thanks, Susan! You’re a sweetie!

I am always amazed at how unbelievably kind people can be. It makes my heart smile.

Do you like fruit in your salsa? Have you ever made your own?

I (obviously) enjoy fruit in my salsa, but then again, I never met a salsa I didn’t like. I can make a meal of it, easy. And this was my first crack at making it myself, but I’d say it was a pretty darn successful effort!

“Salsa!”