Tomatillo Salsa

-Take the skins off of 1 pound of tomatillos.

-Put the whole tomatillos in a saucepan and cover with water.

-Halve 1 medium sized onion. 

-Roughly chop one half and reserve the other half.

-Add the chopped half onion to the pan, along with the following:

2 whole cloves of garlic

1 jalapeno (with just the stem cut off, leaving it whole seeds and all)

-Boil until tender, about 7-10 minutes.

-Drain out all but about 1 cup of water and then put the tomatillos etc. in a blender.

-Roughly chop ½ a bunch of cilantro and add it to the blender with ½ tsp sea salt.

-Carefully begin blending the mixture, starting slow so that the hot liquid doesn’t splash you.

-Puree until mostly smooth, about 30 seconds, and then put the salsa in a bowl.

-Finely chop the remaining onion half and another ½ bunch of cilantro and stir in.

-Taste for salt.

-We like to eat this salsa warm, but it also keeps well for several days in the fridge.

Tomatillo Bloody Mary

Light and citrusy, this drink can be refrigerated for up to 4 hours. Pour over ice before serving.

-Take the skins off of 1 pound of tomatillos, then rinse them well.

-Roughly chop them.

-Peel 1 large cucumber and roughly chop.

-De-seed 1 jalapeno pepper.

-Puree the following together until smooth:

The juice from 2 limes

1 TBS sugar

A generous pinch of cayenne pepper

½ tsp salt

The tomatillos

The cucumber

The jalapeno

¾ cup cold water

-Stir in 1 cup chilled vodka.

-Refrigerate until chilled, about 2 hours.

To serve, stir together 2 tsp salt and ½ tsp cayenne pepper on a small plate.

-Wet the rims of 4 glasses with a lime wedge and dip each in salt mixture, turning to coat.

-Stir Tomatillo mixture well, and divide among 4 ice-filled glasses.

Tomatillo and Leek Salsa

-Take the skins off of 1 pound of tomatillos.

-Put the whole tomatillos in a saucepan and add 1½ cup water. 

-Then add the following:

1 leek, roughly chopped

3 whole cloves of garlic

2-4 jalapenos seeds and all

-Boil until tender, about 7-10 minutes. 

-Drain out about ½ cup of the liquid and then put the tomatillos etc. in a blender. 

-Roughly chop ½ a bunch of cilantro and add it to the blender with a big pinch of sea salt.

-Carefully begin blending the mixture, starting slow so that the hot liquid doesn’t splash you.

-Puree until mostly smooth, about 30 seconds, and then put the salsa in a bowl. 

-Finely chop another ½ bunch of cilantro and stir in. Taste for salt. 

-We like to eat this salsa warm, but it also keeps well for several days in the fridge.

Thai Celery Salad with Peanuts

Whisk together the following and set aside:

3 TBS extra virgin olive oil

The juice and zest of 1 fresh lime

2 tsp fish sauce

-Cut 9 stems of celery into thin slices on the diagonal.

-Chop up the following into thin slices:

½ a bunch of chives or 3 scallions

1 small red pepper and/or 1 jalapeno

-Take the leaves off of a bunch of cilantro.

-Chop 1/3 cup of roasted salted peanuts.

-Toss the dress with the celery, scallions, peppers, cilantro, and peanuts.

-Serve fresh.

Thai Cabbage Salad

Combine the following in a large glass bowl:

1 head green cabbage, sliced thinly

3 carrots, grated

1 cucumber or 2 lemon cucumbers diced small

1 bunch cilantro, finely chopped

1 jalapeno, finely chopped

-Toss together.

For the dressing:

-In a small glass jar combine the following.

½ cup white vinegar

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

Few dashes of sesame oil

1/4 cup soy sauce or tamari

1 tsp Sriracha

4 garlic cloves, minced

2 TBS raw sugar

-Shake well.

1 cup peanuts, chopped

-Make dressing in jar and store until ready to serve.

-When ready to serve toss salad and dressing, add peanuts last.

Melon Carpaccio with Lime

-Bring ½ cup sugar and ¼ cup water to a boil in a small saucepan over medium heat

-Stir to dissolve sugar.

-Add 4 small mint sprigs.

-Cut half a jalapeno pepper into thin strips, then add to the sugar/mint.

-Scrape in seeds from ½ a vanilla bean; add bean.

-Remove syrup from heat; cover and let steep for 15 minutes for flavors to infuse.

-Strain syrup through a fine-mesh sieve into a small bowl.

-Zest 1 lime.

-Then stir in ½ cup fresh lime juice (about 3 limes).

-Cut 1 melon in half, then seed and peel it.

-Cut crosswise into ¼ inch slices.

-Arrange melon slices in a 13x9x2" glass baking dish.

-Pour syrup over melon in baking dish.

-Cover with plastic wrap and chill for 2 hours to allow flavors to meld.

-Divide melon slices among plates, over-lapping them decoratively.

-Pour remaining syrup in dish into a small pitcher.

Drizzle some of syrup over melon.

-Garnish with mint leaves and lime zest.