Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Coming soon...Tomatillo Salsa

I've been saying I needed to stop by the Mexican grocery to get some tomatillos. Actually it's the place to go after the Farmer's Markets close to get the best deals on produce.

And did I get the best deal! Last year I paid $0.99 and $0.89 a pound for tomatillos. I paid $0.49 a pound! I bought almost 10 pounds. That should translate to about 3 batches of salsa. I also got cilantro, 2 bunches for $1.00 which is pretty good. I forgot garlic cloves, so I've got to run to the store before I begin my first batch.

According to eHow.com, this is how to select tomatillos:
1. Locate the tomatillos in the supermarket. They are now found in most U.S. grocery stores, and usually located next to the hot peppers.
2. Select a tomatillo and pick it up. Most of the tomatillos will still have the papery husk attached. This papery husk should be in tact and relatively crispy and free from moisture or mold.
3. Peel the husk back slightly and examine the color of the tomatillo. It should be bright green and evenly colored. Avoid selecting tomatillos having black or brown spots, which can be an indication of spoilage.
4. Squeeze the tomatillo. It should be quite firm and will not yield much to pressure from your hands. Soft tomatillos may be spoiled and should be avoided.
Stay tuned for the recipe.

Please check out my post at Lola's Diner. I need to raise $250 to avoid foreclosure on my house. I'm selling Ad Space as well as Guest Blog Posts. I am also taking donations. Please check out my post and if you can help, I would be very grateful. Prayers are also welcome.

Lola's Victory Garden
©2009

Sunday, October 18, 2009

It's Been Awhile...

Remember this?


Now it looks like this:


It's so sad. I haven't been able to bring myself to buy salad fixin's since we ate the last tomato from our garden. We didn't have a very good harvest. We didn't even have enough left to can any spaghetti sauce. Very disappointing harvest.

So it's on to other things. I'm going to be stopping by the mexican grocery the next time I'm in the neighborhood to see if I can get a good price on some Tomatillos for salsa. We're down to just 1 jar and we love the stuff. I'm also going to be canning some jams. I froze the fruit because I didn't have time to can when I purchased them at their peak of flavor and at the best price. I'll also be making a pepper jelly for serving over cream cheese with crackers. It's perfect for serving during the holidays. Watch for these and other posts coming up because Lola's Victory Garden is not shutting down for the season. I will be continuing to post canning recipes and frugal tips until I begin work on next years garden, so be sure to continue to stop by to see what's new.

Lola's Victory Garden
©2009