For fresh:
Tomatoes - about 4 pounds. I tend towards Roma tomatoes since they are usually less expensive. Home grown heirlooms are a real treat though. I cut them in half and squeeze out most of the seeds.
Onion - one or two, usually a white and a red.
Peppers - here is where the fun starts. I use several types, and I taste a bit of each one before I put it in. I got a nice little surprise one time after just tasting one of each batch - the one I tasted was on the mild end of the range, but the rest were at the high end. Usually one Ancho, one Poblano, two or three Jalapeno, one or two Serranos (Serrano peppers can run toward 23k skovil units, that is why I taste each pepper). They all bring slightly different flavors and heat levels.
I run all of that in batches through one of the little hand cranked Salsa Master choppers. A little slower than a food processor, but easier to use and lots easier to clean.
Green onion - one bunch, finely chopped. Use all but the last inch or so of the dark green.
Garlic - four to ten cloves depending on my mood. I smash it with the side of my knife, chop it fine, put kosher salt on it and turn it into a paste with the side of my knife. If you are not sure how, check Youtube for videos of the technique.
Lime - one or two. I use a microplane to zest it, then nuke it and juice it.
Cilantro - about a quarter of a bunch. Chopped fine. I'll usually throw it in with the tomatoes or onions in the chopper, but rough cut with a knife works fine too.
Black pepper to taste. And salt to taste. Let it all sit for at least 15 minutes before you add any salt after you have added the garlic. If you used salt as and abrasive to help make the garlic paste, you may have enough. Go easy on it, you want just enough to bring out the flavors, not enough to make it taste salty.
Pretty darned simple. All that is about 15 minutes work. Cost is maybe about 7 bucks. I think that will make about eight to ten cups.
