I hope, if you're reading this, it means you haven't been significantly impacted by Hurricane Bitchface Sandy, and that you are safe, and dry. And presumably hungry (but not devastatingly so). My thoughts are with all of those less fortunate. As greater Boston wasn't hit hard, I have heard my fair share of "oh, come on! It wasn't even a real hurricane!" sentiments on the social media sphere. I am somewhat alarmed by just how short sighted many of my "friends" seem to be. Devastation happened. And just because nothing impacted you except the delay of your Amazon order delivery or some shit, does not mean everyone is in your proverbial boat. Get your act together, people. 

/end hurricane insensitivity rant. I felt it must be addressed first.

ON TO THE NOMS.

We moved to our current home just over a year ago. Matt and I were already in the neighborhood, and its proximity to the city, public transit, and Southie beaches made it one of my favorite "boroughs" to have occupied thus far (I think we're up to seven in Boston). We decided to move from our little, third story apartment to somewhere bigger to accomodate additional roommates (college lifestyle forever?) and the king of the castle himself (previous landlord was anti-pup. Communist). 

And then, because my absolute specialty is finding housing on Craigslist, I came across a duplex. Half. Of a whole house. So, we took it.

Because, duh. 

It was huge.

And cheap.

And literally a "stone's throw" from our old place (the boys walked the couches over above their heads, across a busy Dorchester street).

And, the absolute piece de resistance: a BACK FREAKING YARD.

Matt had made planter's boxes to sit on our deck at the old place. But this. This was a whole new backyard beast. Despite moving in late July last year, he made a good go of setting it up and planting stuff. By the time this past Spring rolled around, things were beginning to bloom for another year of homegrown goodness.

Fresh herbs. Sunflowers. Tomatoes galore.

I have never been happier to be with someone with a green thumb (I tend to inadvertently kill anything and everything vegetation related. Thankfully this does not translate to puppies).

In a fit of throwing all types of seeds everywhere, we wound up with a lot of tomatillos. The bulk of which didn't come in until late September. Matt sent me the above Instagram while I was at work, and I immediately began googling "tomatillo salsa" for ideas of how to get the most out of these beauties.

This recipe, which I followed rather closely, was the instant winner due to its addition of green olives, as Matt is quite the olive enthusiast (I could take or leave them. Unless they're stuffed with blue cheese and in an adult beverage. Then. Take).

I spent most of Sunday, thankful to still have power, making batches and batches of salsa.
If you're home and warm and have access to some late-season tomatillos, jalapenos, garlic, et cetera, you should definitely make this. It was perfect with chips, but also great as a sauce for meat (more on the meat soon. Promise).

All veg is from our back yard or Kimball fruit farm. Keep it classy and keep it local, my friends.





What it's Made of:
(this made a ton - the above jar plus another of equal size. Cut down accordingly.)

• 3-4 lbs tomatillos, husked
• 10 cloves garlic
• 4 jalapenos
• 3 T olive oil
• 2 cups green olives
• 1 bunch cilantro
• 2 limes
• 2 t agave (sub sugar or honey if need be)
• 1 t salt

How it's Made:

• Heat oven to 475 degrees
• Cover a shallow roasting pan with husked tomatillos, garlic and jalapenos, drizzle with olive oil
• Roast for 20 minutes or so, until tomatillos are browned. (You may need to do this in batches, depending on how many tomatillos you have and the size of your pan)
• Remove from oven and allow to cool for a bit
• Transfer to food processor (again, in batches if necessary) and add olives, cilantro, juice of lime and agave. Pulse until olives break down but consistency is still chunky
• Chill for an hour or so. Serve.