Going Green

For my family, the weekend always meant three things:

1. Brunch
2. Exhaustive trips to the Home Depot
3. Salsa

Looking back on my childhood, it has become clear that these three activities have both blessed, and scarred me as a person. I live for brunch, make salsa on an almost weekly basis, and my penchant for decorating not withstanding, hate the Home Depot with a fiery passion. Despite that last pothole in memory lane, I do have fond memories of my weekends as a child. With the exception of a sleepover here or there, most weekends were fairly predictable and family oriented. We'd wake up and head off to brunch, where I'd almost certainly OD on scrambled eggs and chocolate covered strawberries (hey, if you tell me it's all-you-can-eat, you better believe I'm going for the entire tray). Then we'd head over to my personal hell, the Home Depot, for any materials my dad needed to build whatever my mom thought was missing in the house that week.

Afterwards, we'd drive home and my dad would set off for his basement workshop to build the chair/side table/wine rack/cabinet of the week, to the tune of his favorite oldies station. After a couple of hours to himself, my mom would brew a pot of coffee for him, an espresso for her, and they'd chat about whatever it is parents talk about. By the afternoon, I'd tire of hours on the phone with my friends and would grab the blender and whip up a huge bowl of salsa for the three of us. Back then it was your average, everyday, restaurant style red salsa. It wasn't fancy, but it brought us all together as a family and almost erased the memory of 3 hours spent in the wallpaper aisle at the Home Depot. Almost.

All these years later I still make salsa on the weekends, and always have a big bowl waiting in the fridge for when my mom comes to visit. These days, I've taken to making green tomatillo salsa, which is so easy and delicious, it doesn't even require any chopping. You can just toss all of the ingredients into the blender and let the machine do the work for you. This weekend I whipped up a batch to accompany a delicious dinner of chicken tortilla soup and homemade enchiladas at my friend Gloria's house. It was a great meal, and speaking of enchiladas, this salsa is perfect for enchiladas suizas--just make them the same way you'd make regular enchiladas, but replace the red sauce with this green salsa. Here's the (very) easy recipe:

Tomatillo Salsa (Salsa Verde)

1 large can tomatillos, drained
1 avocado
3 Tbsp fresh cilantro (I just twist off a handful)
3 jalapeños (I remove the ribs and seeds from 2)
1/4 of a large onion
pinch of salt

Combine all ingredients in a blender and blitz until smooth and combined. Taste for salt and serve. Enjoy!

-Laura