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

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

What's For Lunch From The Garden?

I'm home alone now for the most part during the day so lunch is lazy. Yes, I said it, lazy. I'm not cooking anything, I'm not using more than 3 ingredients and I'm not Mickey D'ing it.

So lunch is from the garden.

Last week we had cucumbers, so cucumber, tuna and mayonnaise sandwiches were my thing. Slice the cucumber super thin and layer on top of toast spread with a thin layer of mayo. Add a little mayo to the tuna, spoon it on top of the cucumber slices, then layer more cucumber slices on top of the tuna and top it with a slice of toast with a little mayo. Season with salt if you like, but I skip it because salt is not my friend.

This week, :( no cucumber. What to do? BLT sounds good, but I'm not frying bacon. Too much mess and then what happens with the rest of the package? Do I fry it and save it for another day. (Hello! I have a teenage boy, if he sees bacon already cooked, he thinks delicious snack!) Do I put the package away with just 2 strips missing? No, then that means I have to use it within x number of days. (Solve for x? Not me, I don't do algebra.) Solution? Baconnaise!

Behold: The Tomato and Baconnaise Sandwich:
No lettuce? Well, we did have some, but that would be a bother to find it in the fridge because the kids have yet to learn that lettuce is a vegetable and it belongs in the Vegetable Bin. Besides, this is so good just as it is.

Home grown tomato + Baconnaise + Toast = bliss!

Disclosure: This is not a paid ad, but if the Baconnaise people would like to reward me with some bacony goodness, I would be happy to take it.

PS: Baconnaise is available at Jewel Foods in the same aisle as regular mayonnaise.

Lola's Victory Garden
©2009

Our Weekend Garden Harvest

These are part of our take from our garden from Friday and today. We also ate a cucumber about that size and had about 1/2 that bowl full of cherry tomatoes that we used in a wonderful salad yesterday.

All I did was slice the cucumber thin, arrange on a plate, then quarter some of those cherry tomatoes. Then sprinkle on some Feta Cheese crumbles. The sweetness of those cherry tomatoes combined with the taste of the Feta Cheese was just fantastic.

Still no zucchini (I'm betting they all come at once.) And no broccoli yet, but that should be ready soon. The tomatillos are looking good, I'm thinking the papery skin has to be...well, papery before they are ready to be picked. (At least that's the way they are in the store when I've bought them to can Tomatillo Salsa.)

Our Sunflowers are growing like crazy. I wish I had a photo for you, but I'm taking it easy today and trying to recuperate from all the crazy running around and driving I've been doing. My bad back hasn't appreciated all that and it's been letting me know, so today I'm just taking it easy. Our daughter was nice enough to go pick those veggies, she's a good helper.

I have a question for anyone who has grown sunflowers before. Are all the seeds good for eating, or does it depend on the variety? Also, do you pick them and dry them, bake them, ???? Has anyone used the seeds from the sunflowers they've grown for eating or store them for use later in their bird feeders?

Lola's Victory Garden
©2009

Slow But Sure

We're starting to get some tomatoes in. A few cherry tomatoes here, a few there. I can't manage a photo because they end up getting gobbled up almost immediately.

I've got several cucumbers about 4 inches long, at least 1 zucchini slightly bigger than the cucumbers. I like zucchini to be about as big as my forearm before I pick them because I use them for Fried Zucchini or cooked with tomatoes. Either way, bigger is better. (For Zucchini!)

If I can get a helper Friday I need to put up my homemade net for the cucumbers and feed their stringers through to keep the veggies off the ground. It looks kind of like a soccer net made out of garden twine. It will do the trick nicely.

We've also got 1 head of cauliflower about ready for picking. Looks like some Aloo Gobi is in our future. The whole family loves any Indian food and Aloo Gobi is a favorite.

I hope to have some garden pictures up over the weekend.

We started our garden late. I imagine many of you may be up to your eyeballs in tomatoes and zucchini.

Let us know how your garden is growing!

Lola's Victory Garden
©2009

BlogHop 09

I'm not at BlogHer. (Sulk.) But if you're reading this you aren't either! (Sorry to rub it in.) So break out the booze and the snackies, cause it's party time!

I live with my partner and our 14 year old son and 16 year old daughter. I don't have a giveaway per see, but I do run a monthly Top Commenter Contest over at Lola's Diner where I reward my Top Comment Whores, (I mean Top Commenters). Still plenty of time to join in. Just start commenting!

At Lola's Victory Garden I blog about the progress of my Victory Garden. With a limited income and tough times I need to stretch every penny. Planting my own garden, will not only give me the freshest, best tasting produce now, but I plan on canning my surplus.

Canned Bread and Butter Zucchini Pickles, Dilled Green Beans, Basil Green Beans, Pickled Asparagus, Tomatillo Salsa (yum!) and Tomato Sauce are just a few of the veggies I canned last year. Last year I also made Strawberry Jam, Blueberry Jam, Bluebarb Jam and my favorite, Blackberry Jam. I have also canned meatloaf and barbecued pork. (Yes! It's good too!)

This year I'm hoping to add coleslaw, pickles and brussels sprouts (they are delish! And I'm totally addicted to the ones they sell at my local Farmer's Markets.

If you are on Twitter, follow me. My Twitter Id is "lolasdiner".

Why not become a follower and follow my garden and my canning escapades?

Lola's Victory Garden
©2009

If I Could Blog Back Time Thursdays - Worst Cooking Disasters

Come join me for a very special edition of If I Could Blog Back Time Thursdays! We'll be taking time out to share some memories. We'll Blog Back Time with possible ways to right past wrongs or about how times have changed. We'll share childhood memories, school/work memories, family and friend memories.

Today's topic is: Worst Cooking Disasters

Come on, even Lola has had 1 cooking disaster, (ok, 2) what about you?

Did you have some cooking disasters early in college, early in your marriage?

Did you make a disastrous mess?

Did it turn out awful?

This week's topic courtesy of Stephany @ Soulful Sepulcher.

Since this cooking disaster has to do with canning, I thought I would post it here on Lola's Victory Garden. I can't say I've really had many cooking disasters. Mine mostly revolve around taking on too much and making an incredible mess. The second one would be when I tried to can Pumpkin Butter. Before I go any further I must mention that the USDA does not approve of canning Pumpkin Butter because it is too dense to insure proper processing. This was the first thing I ever attempted to can and I had an old recipe book. If you're canning, make sure your recipe book is up to date, or that you are aware of current procedures and what products and/or procedures the USDA approves of.

This was a complete disaster, beginning to end. And so much mess. I can tell you now that I will never take on cooking pumpkin. From that day forward I will only buy canned pumpkin for pies and baked goods. First off, pumpkin is difficult to peel and cut into cubes. Second of all, it takes forever to boil until it is soft enough to mash or process in a food processor and you must first remove all the excess water. My kitchen table and floor was full of pumpkin guts, even though I planned ahead and laid newspaper down. (Only on the table.) After I canned it I put it in my pantry. Before I attempted sampling it I discovered that Pumpkin Butter was not safe to can, per the USDA, so I ended up pitching them, cute little jars and all. (Now I'm kicking myself, because I could be using those cute little jars for jam.) This was at about 10 years ago.

Now it's your turn. Please post your "Worst Cooking Disasters" on your blog. Then come back to Lola's Diner and leave the actual post link here. Please grab the html code for If I Could Blog Back Time Thursdays! Badge HERE.

Don’t forget to visit the other participants! It’s a great way to make new bloggy friends!

IF YOU SEE THAT MckLinky APPEARS TO NOT BE WORKING, PLEASE POST A LINK TO YOUR "FIRST TIME I STOOD UP FOR MYSELF" IN THE COMMENTS TO MAKE SURE WE ARE AWARE OF YOUR PARTICIPATION. THANK YOU!


PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS MckLinky IS STRICTLY FOR 'IF I COULD BLOG BACK TIME THURSDAYS' PARTICIPANTS ONLY.
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Lola's Victory Garden
©2009