“Correct the seasonings”…it can sound intimidating or school-marmish (“Your salsa has a dangling participle.”), but this is truly your chance to be the Emperor. Imagine 100,000 pairs of eyes (give or take a Taoist enlightenment or unfortunate accident) from the Coliseum stands staring at your thumb - not to mention those of one terrified Christian and one hungry-but-exhausted lion in the arena. The Christian also eyes the exits and has other priorities. The lion will eat any meat and the masses only want blutwurst, so you’ll have to listen to your inner Julia Child.
"Your salsa needs more red", she said, pouring a glass of shiraz - there were not enough tomatoes. It lacked binding. The fresh flavors were nice, but begged for the mature contrast of something that had been simmered. Correction: one 14.5-ounce can of Hunt’s Tomatoes Diced in Sauce and one 14.5-ounce can of Red Gold Italian Diced Tomatoes. This made a nice “gravy”, just enough to coat the fresh vegetables, but not so much as to float them. It was red enough now, but it still needed an extra kick. A couple tablespoons of chile powder did that, though paprika or cayenne would have done just as well.
The yield was now up to a gallon. This was placed into a glass jar and sealed up with a FoodSaver and a universal lid. A nice thing about storing in a vacuum – microscopic air pockets will be replaced by the gravy, completing the marriage of flavors with an appliance-assisted marinade.
4:19:13 AM 
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