I've kind of decided to revamp the old blog up a little bit. I'll be focusing more on food and cooking and DIY crafts than on life and it's meaning. But it will probably still be random at times when I write.
On to bigger and better things;
This week my new friend, and neighbor, April and I strolled on over the bridge to the Albany Farmers Market and Antiques in the Street. Going over the bridge is kind of a big deal. There is a big change in environment and flow on "the other side of the bridge". So it was a bit adventurous of us to take this mile long trek. It was well worth it though because we both came home with a treasure trove of delicious and beautiful things. Among my bounty was fresh nectarines, GIANT apples, apples that have pink flesh, onions, squash, tomatillos, and anaheim peppers. Because I have "mommy brain" I forgot to take a picture of the tomatillos and peppers before I cooked them up.
The Giant apple next to a normal size nectarine
The apple is as big as my hand
Kennidy and her pink fleshed apple
Firstly; for those of you who don't know Anaheim peppers are in between green peppers and jalepeno peppers. If you leave the seeds in they are pretty spicy. Like Holy Sweet Mother Mary, I can't see or speak and I may have peed my pants because I'm on sensory overload- Spicy! Even though I am a spice weenie I took the challenge and left the seeds in. Living on the edge right? Gotta get my kicks in where I can. (Side note: ALWAYS use gloves, a napkin, paper towel, whatever to block the peppers from your hands when cutting them. Other wise your hands will be on fire for several hours or even days. The oils from the pepper can burn your flesh. Your welcome for that tid bit and no I did not make this rookie mistake.....this time)
Secondly; tomatillos are one of the most under acknowledged fruit-vegetables. I would eat a tomatillo over a tomato or cucumber (other fruit-vegetables) any day. A tomatillo looks like its cousin the tomato only it is green and has a husk around it and generally gets no bigger than a golf ball. There are also purple tomatillos but I have yet to see them. If you happen to see them at a local market PLEASE let me know! I would love to make the elusive "salsa morado".
I decided to make some salsa verde out of my farmers market finds. I use apples in it to mellow the spicy taste out a little bit. (I'm a weenie remember?) This recipe is sweet and spicy and savory and when you eat it with some tortilla chips, salty too. Forget trifecta this recipe is just a mind blower! I love it especially because it is so fast and so easy. The kids like it, the husband likes and I like it. It's a crowd pleaser in the Mendoza house. I also suggest cooking either some pork or chicken it it (in a crockpot maybe, eh?) for a complete, and flavorful main course. Goes great in tortillas with a little corn and rice. Yummm.
Here is my recipe:
Salsa Verde
1 Large Anaheim Pepper cut in half
1 Pint of Tomatillos with husks removed and halved
1 Sweet Green Pepper with seeds removed and sliced
1 Walla Walla Onion quartered
1 Whole Head of Garlic separated and skinned
2 Green Apples sliced and seeds removed (skin on is fine)
Throw all of that on to a lightly greased cookie sheet and roast at 350 for 25 min or until garlic and apples are like butter to slice through.
Throw it all in a food processor until you reach your desired consistency. I like mine almost like apple sauce.
That's it! So easy right? You get about 2 pint size jars of salsa out of this recipe. One for you and one for a friend, neighbor, or somebody else you really like. Hope ya'll enjoy it as much as I do. If not majfica (That's Portuguese for "More for Me").
Peace and Blessings!
-Lo-
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