I loved Jenn's blog, the music videos made me want to get up and DANCE!! I was laughing and tapping my foot here at the computer. Music has a way of inspiring us, doesn't it? Just yesterday I was inspired by yet something else. It has been no secret to family and friends that we put in a garden this year. It hasn't necessarily turned out to be as fruitful as we'd dreamed, but it still turned out plenty of nice suprises! Now that the main summer plantings have mostly died back...the beans, most of the tomatoes, corn, cucumbers, etc...we'd thought our garden was coming to a close. But then we saw glimmers of hope, some plants coming to life long after they should have already produced. We got a couple small watermelons that are ripe and sweet! And a particularly pleasant suprise: Our purple tomatillos and poblano peppers have suddenly started to produce! I'd all but given up on them, and now here they are, coming to fruition in September, long after they were planted. I was overjoyed when my husband brought in the first fruits of those labors! So I decided to make a Mexican feast tonight, since the two "late bloomers" are typically used in South American cooking. We only had a small harvest to begin with, but since it is just my husband and I, that worked out perfectly. I roasted our poblano peppers under the broiler, then peeled off their charred skin. I made a sauce out of them along with sweet Vidalia onion and garlic, along with some salt, Mexican Oregano & thyme. I thinly spread this sauce (it amounted to only 1/4 tsp each) across 4 medium-sized corn tortillas. Then I put some delicious muenster cheese and mozzarella on each tortilla, folded it, and griddled it. I also made a delicious salsa from the tomatillos. Though we only had a small amount to work with, I started with the small food processor and chopped the tomatillos, Vidalia onion, garlic, and 2 slices of fresh jalapeno (our jalapeno plant was still producing a little). I then continued to "blend" this mixture even more by hand, with the pestle and mortar. Seasoned with a little salt and a pinch of sugar, this salsa came out GREAT. I was so pleasantly suprised! Each of us had 2 folded quesadillas, cut in half into wedges, topped with the delicious tomatillo salsa, and sour cream on the side. I also served it with black beans and rice with cumin and garlic, and some 'seasoned greens' from a can (they are very good, though! Try them: "Margaret Holmes" Mixed Greens). I served it with a Chardonnay that my husband found on sale, a 2003 "Big Daddy Vineyards" Chardonnay, from Mendoza, Argentina. I don't like to brag, I know I have had plenty of cooking flops, but I have to admit, tonight's dinner really turned out to be quite good, and the wine just touched it off perfectly, going very well with the cheese quesadillas. Ole'!
