Sunday, August 29, 2010

All That's Missing is a Margarita

Tomatillo growing on plant
Forget salsa out of a jar, there's nothing like making it yourself from fresh ingredients.  One of the key ingredients in the salsa I make is the tomatillo.  But I can't always rely on my local grocery to have them.  So this year, I decided to try my hand at growing my own.  I bought a tomatillo plant in the spring from White Flower Farm. 

A tomatillo plant looks a lot like a tomato plant and requires the same conditions, primarily lots of sun and good drainage.  The fruit is small, round, and green and it grows in a papery husk.  You know when it's time to harvest when the fruit has filled out the husk and the husk is straw colored.  When you peel the husk off, the tomatillo skin will feel sticky--just give it a good rinse and you're ready to start chopping.
Ripe Tomatillo

The final, tasty product


Bookshelf:  Container Gardening Books

5 comments:

Mary C. said...

ooo, looks yummy :) Thinking of growing them next year...

Swimray said...

I grew Anaheim chili peppers this year for salsa. They were hot, but a 'fresh' hot :-) Maybe tomatillos next year.

Anonymous said...

I grew a tomatillo in my vegetable garden this year...for the first time. It grew to be over 4 ft tall and just as wide...or wider. I had literally hundreds of tomatillos. What a fun plant(even though it branched over my other peppers). I'll know better next year:). A nice addition for my annual sauce party. A bunch of girls get together...we all contribute our toms, peppers, onions, herbs, etc...then we make tom based sauces and salsa for Ziploc freezing. 57 quarts of spaghetti sauce, 32 of marinara...and 43 pints of salsa. Such fun! Did I mention that Mojitos with fresh mint are a must for this function? What a blast...

Miriam said...

Oh my gosh--how can a snag an invitation to that party? It sounds like a whole lot of fun. That's definitely enough sauce and salsa to get through the winter. Thanks for writing!--Miriam

Karen said...

Consider this your standing invite for next Oct. :) That'll give you enough time to figure out how to get the sauce thru airport security.