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Happy Cinco de Mayo! Time to dig into this fruity salsa

Recipe: Fresh strawberry-orange salsa with green onions

Fresh strawberries combine with oranges and chilies for a fruity spring salsa

Fresh strawberries combine with oranges and chilies for a fruity spring salsa Debbie Arrington

What would Cinco de Mayo be without salsa? A lot less flavorful.

But this Mexican-inspired celebration falls in early May – long before fresh tomatoes are ripe in Northern California. Instead of basic tomato-based salsa, try this fruity alternative using two spring favorites: Strawberries and oranges.

Combined with fresh green onions (another spring favorite), the berries and citrus add a hint of sweetness along with a juicy crunch.

Versatile as well as colorful, this fruity salsa pairs well with pork, chicken, shrimp or cheese enchiladas, tacos or quesadillas. Also use it to top grilled pork chops or pork tenderloin or dress up a chicken breast.

Or just grab some tortilla chips and dig in.

Strawberry-orange salsa

Makes about 1 cup

Ingredients:

1 orange

½ cup fresh strawberries, hulled and chopped

Salsa ingredients including strawberries and half an orange
Fruit and green onions flavor the spring salsa.

3 tablespoons green onions, chopped

1 tablespoon mild green chilies, diced

1 tablespoon cilantro, chopped

1 tablespoon rice vinegar

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

½ teaspoon red chile flakes

½ teaspoon sugar

¼ teaspoon garlic salt

Instructions:

Cut the orange in half. Peel and chop one half of the orange; reserve the other half.

In a medium bowl, combine chopped orange, strawberries, green onions, chilies and cilantro. Lightly toss.

Into a small bowl, squeeze juice of remaining orange half. To orange juice, add rice vinegar, olive oil, chile flakes, sugar and garlic salt; mix. Add to the fruit-onion mixture. Lightly toss.

Refrigerate, covered, until ready to use.

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Food in My Back Yard (FIMBY) Series

FALL

Nov. 11: Prepare now for colder weather in the edible garden

Nov. 4: Plant a pea patch for you and your garden

Oct. 27: As citrus season begins, advice for backyard growers

Oct. 20: Change is in the autumn air 

Oct. 13: We don't talk (enough) about beets

Oct. 6: Fava beans do double duty

Sept. 30: Seeds or transplants for cool-season veggies?

Sept. 23: How to prolong the fall tomato harvest 

SUMMER

Sept. 16: Time to shut it down? 

Sept. 9: How to get the most out of your pumpkin patch

Sept. 2: Summer-to-fall transition time for evaluation, planning

Aug. 26: To pick or not to pick those tomatoes?

Aug. 19: Put worms to work for you

Aug. 12: Grow food while saving water

Aug. 5: Enhance your food with edible flowers

July 29: Why won't my tomatoes turn red?

July 22: A squash plant has mosaic virus, and it's not pretty

July 15: Does this plant need water?

July 8: Tear out that sad plant or baby it? Midsummer decisions

July 1: How to grow summer salad greens

June 24:  Weird stuff that's perfectly normal

SPRING

June 17: Help pollinators help your garden

June 10: Battling early-season tomato pests

June 3: Make your own compost

May 27: Where are the bees when you need them?

May 20: How to help tomatoes thrive on hot days

May 13: Your plants can tell you more than any calendar can

May 6: Maintain soil moisture with mulch for garden success

April 29: What's (already) wrong with my tomato plants?

April 22: Should you stock up on fertilizer? (Yes!)

April 15: Grow culinary herbs in containers

April 8: When to plant summer vegetables

April 1: Don't be fooled by these garden myths

March 25: Fertilizer tips: How to 'feed' your vegetables for healthy growth

WINTER

March 18: Time to give vegetable seedlings some more space

March 11: Ways to win the fight against weeds

March 4: Potatoes from the garden

Feb. 25: Plant a fruit tree now -- for later

Feb. 18: How to squeeze more food into less space

Feb. 11: When to plant? Consider staggering your transplants

Feb. 4: Starting in seed starting

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Garden checklist for week of Nov. 16

During breaks in the weather, tackle some garden tasks:

* Clear gutters and storm drains.

* Prune dead or broken branches from trees.

* After the storm, seed wildflowers and plant such spring bloomers as sweet pea, sweet alyssum and bachelor buttons.

* Set out cool-weather annuals such as pansies and snapdragons.

* Lettuce, cabbage and broccoli also can be planted now.

* Plant garlic and onions.

* Plant bulbs at two-week intervals to spread out your spring bloom. Some possible suggestions: daffodils, crocuses, hyacinths, tulips, anemones and scillas.

* Save dry stalks and seedpods from poppies and coneflowers for fall bouquets and holiday decorating.

* Rake and compost leaves, but dispose of any diseased plant material. For example, if peach and nectarine trees showed signs of leaf curl this year, clean up under trees and dispose of those leaves instead of composting them. Do leave some (healthy) leaves in the planting beds for wildlife and beneficial insect habitat.

* Give your azaleas, gardenias and camellias a boost with chelated iron.

* For larger blooms, pinch off some camellia buds.

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