Tomatillo Salsa Verde

In my CSA box today were some tomatillos (along with a white onion, cilantro and jalapenos, and limes....hmmmm). I don't know about you, but I've never cooked with fresh ones, the canned ones, yes, I have a recipe or two that I use those for. Anyway, along with the bounty came a recipe for Tomatillo Salsa Verde. Never made it before, but I love the stuff when I go to El Toro. Print this one out folks....it's a keeper!!!

Tomatillo Salsa Verde
1 lb fresh tomatillos
1/3 cup chopped white onion
1/3 cup chopped cilantro leaves
1 Tbsp fresh lime juice
1/4 tsp sugar (I left it out, but it is so minor that it would probably be ok to leave in)
2 Jalapenos, stemmed, seeded and chopped (I only used one, not a huge fan of peppers)
Salt to taste

Remove papery husks from tomatillos; rinse well.
There are two ways to prepare the tomatillos, I used the roasting method.
Roasting method:
Cut tomatillos in half an place cut side down on a foil-lined baking sheet. Place under broiler for 5-7 minutes to lightly blacken the skin.

Boiling method:
Place tomatillos in a saucepan, cover with water and bring to a boil. Simmer for 5 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon.

Put all ingredients in blender or food processor and pulse until finely chopped and mixed. Chill in refrigerator and enjoy.

I had put it with diced pastured chicken, shredded raw cheddar and diced avocado...delish!!

Thursday Ramblings

A big shout out to Jimmy Moore for adding me to his recent list of must see blogs for October 2009! Jimmy is an expert on living "la vida low carb," and one of the first blogs I started following when I came to the low carb way of life. Thanks for the post Jimmy! Keep on spreading the word!

I've added some blog sites over on the right. These are the blogs that I read every single day, without fail. Great writing styles, fun to read and loads of information. If someone asks you about the Primal lifestyle, refer them to sites like these for a taste of Grok.

I wanted to share this information with you about keeping eggs fresh. Now, I will admit, I have never been one to check code dates or expiration dates on eggs, my bad....I know! And now that I am buying eggs straight from the farm, I don't have to worry about it. The thought of eating eggs on April 1, that were probably laid in December, well, it just creeps me out. I think I'll stick to the farm store.

It's Finally Happened.....

I've become a food elitist. And ya wanna know something? I LIKE IT! Throughout the summer, I've been really fortunate to have wonderful neighbors who are blessed with the gardening gene and they are more than happy to share their bounty with me. I've made fresh tomato sauce twice so far and I can not even describe how amazing it tastes. So simple: just garlic, onions, tomatoes and fresh basil, with a bit of seasonings to your liking. How easy is that? The first batch I peeled, seeded and chopped. Too much work, so the second batch I peeled the skin then broke the whole tomatoes up with my hands. A quick blend with the immersion blender to break up the bigger chunks and it was perfect. So in an effort to really eat local this year, I am saddened that as we harvest the last of their tomatoes, I will have to wait nine months to begin enjoying fresh ones again. Needless to say, this weekend I will be cooking more sauce and freezing it to enjoy sparingly in the winter.

So the other day, I went to my local Fred Meyer to pick up something completely non-food related. (I think it was Ziploc bags or something.) And while I was there, I thought that maybe I should pick up some extra tomatoes to supplement the fresh stuff. I picked up a bright, shiny Roma and I almost gagged. It was so waxy, the thought of eating it literally almost made me gag. I'm pretty sure my lip moved to a snarl as I was standing there. I mean, where the hell did the wax come from? THIS is what I have been eating all these years? GROSS! And then it hit me.....I've become a food elitist. I will never again be able to walk into a regular grocery store and just mindlessly buy off the shelf. Then I started to giggle, and smile really wide, and I realized this is not a bad place to be. If being a food elitist means knowing only the freshest, organic produce and humanely raised, free-range, grass-fed meats are nourishing my body, then bring it on!