Crisp Cucumber Salsa

I needed a snack for a meeting, and I found this in my Taste of Home Simple and Delicious June/July 2010 issue. I made a minor change to the recipe, but I think that Charlene Skjerven (the woman who submitted the original) was on target with this one!

Cucumber Salsa

2 cups finely chopped, seeded, peeled cucumber
1/2 cup finely chopped, seeded tomato
1/4 finely chopped onion (called for red, I used spanish sweet)
2 Tbsp. minced fresh parsley
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
4 1/2 tsp minced fresh cilantro
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup sour cream (called for reduced fat, I used the real stuff)
1 1/2 tsp lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp lime juice
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp seasoned salt
1/4 tsp chili powder

tortilla chips for serving

In a small bowl combine first 7 ingredients. In another bowl, combine the remaining ingredients (except for chips), stir well. Keep veggies and sour cream mixture seperate until just ready to serve. Then stir gently together. Serve with chips.

***Use disposable gloves when working with jalapeno, unless you are into that burning sensation. Do NOT touch your face when woring with pepper!!!

The original says to serve immediatly. I think this is beacuse the cucumber will begin giving off liquid once it has the seasoning mix on it, especially the salt. But as I could not make and serve immediatley, the directions I gave work well. I prepared the veggies about 3 hours before and mixed it all together right before service. I also think , but have not tried whirling everything in the food processor if you want to make a larger batch. But be very careful not to over process.