Number nine...number nine...

Oh this was a lovely one! The fruit was blueberries, plums, peaches and a watermelon. The cheese was something on the hard side that tasted surprisingly mild. The bread was oniony and delicious and the veggies were peppers, lettuce, tomatoes, onions and a new contestant - TOMATILLOS!

As usual, the carnage began with the bread and cheese. No disappointment there.

The watermelon was strangely un-pink, but it still tasted sweet and was gobbled. The peaches were quite delicious as well. Not tremendously juicy, but sweet. I gave the plums and small peppers to my friend Kristine who also took the August 15 farm share because  I was away. Any other vegetables and fruit not mentioned in the rest of the post was eaten as God intended - naked. (The food, not us, you know, corn on the cob, lettuce in a salad, blueberries in a frenzy dripping blue juice down my chin...)

GLAMOUR SHOT!

Centerfold! Yep, we shucked them reeeeeal slow...

The tomatillos were new to me. Apparently they are new to spell check as well because it keeps wanting to change them to automatism. Which I don't even know! (A state of being automatic - thanks Webster...)

I found a recipe for Salsa Verde Chicken that looked pretty good and another one for Salsa Verde that conveniently called for tomatillos. Apparently like gooseberries are destined to become crumble or  jam, so are tomatillos destined to become salsa verde.

Peeling off the little jackets was very satisfying. The quartering followed smoothly!

Into the La Machine with you! And some of those red onions and some fresh garlic. Which I must have forgotten to mention earlier but was there, in the share.


Chop, chop, swirl!

Buh-buh-buh-bubbling.


I cooked it and it smelled amazing. My beloved came home at this point and said, "I don't care what is in it, I am going to eat a lot of it!" Which was gratifying and ...spoiler... is exactly what happened.

At first, I was concerned that we were going to have another ugly-but-delicious-cat-vomit-fiasco. But this was just the salsa verde spread a little too thinly over the chicken. Too much chicken, too little salsa. But it was all saved by the great deus ex machina of cooking...

...CHEESE!!!

Melty, beautiful tasty all forgiving cheese. I don't remember what kind. Probably some store bought shredded cheddar or mozzerella. It doesn't matter. It covered the gross looking part and tasted delicious!

Seriously, how yummy does that look? It tasted just as good. 

Thanks tomatillos for this splendid meal!

Two recipes for this one. First, the salsa which was extremely easy. Second the chicken, which was even more so. Just skip the helpful step where it says "open a jar of crappy salsa verde that has been sitting on the shelf at Market Basket for 6 months" and instead use your delicious fresh farm share salsa verde!

TomatilloSalsa Recipe

Total Time: - 40 min

Prep - 15 min

Cook - 25 min

Yield: about 4 cups

This is a standard Mexican salsa that you find everywhere in Mexico. Tomatillos have a natural acidic and fresh note that gives them a little sparkle. (They keep that sparkle even after they're cooked.) Tomatillo salsa is a natural with the flavors of grilled meat, but it is a great do-ahead, have-on-hand salsa to freshen up anything off the grill or out of a skillet.

Ingredients

1 pound fresh tomatillos

1 large Spanish onion (about 12 ounces), cut into large chunks (about 3 cups)

3 cloves garlic

1/2 packed cup coarsely chopped cilantro leaves

1/2 jalapeno (seeds and all if you like heat)

1/2 lime, juiced

Kosher or fine sea salt

Directions

Pull the husks from the tomatillos and wash them under cool water until they no longer feel sticky. Cut them into quarters and put them into the work bowl of a food processor. Add the onion and garlic and process until smooth. Add the cilantro, jalapeno and lime juice and process until the jalapeno is finely chopped.

Scrape the mixture into a small saucepan. Season lightly with salt and bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid is boiled off and the salsa looks relish-y, about 15 minutes. Cool before using. The sauce can be refrigerated for up to 1 week. If refrigerated, you may want to add a little salt and/or lime juice to the salsa before serving.

   

Salsa Verde Chicken Bake Recipe 

    Prep time: 5 minutes

    Cook time: 30 minutes

While the chicken is cooking, prepare some rice or quinoa to serve with the chicken. The recipe produces a lot of sauce which will go well with the sides. You could easily make this with boneless, skinless chicken thighs as well. You may need to cook them just a few minutes longer than the breasts.

    1 1/4 to 1 1/3 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts

    1 3/4 cups (1 15-ounce jar) tomatillo salsa verde

    4 ounces grated Monterey jack and/or pepper jack cheese

    1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro (optional)

  

1 Preheat oven to 350°F. Remove the tenders from the chicken breasts and cut the larger pieces in half. You should have 4 4-ounce chicken portions plus the tenders. Line a 8x8 casserole baking dish with the chicken pieces. Try to cover the bottom as completely as you can with the chicken.

2 Cover the chicken pieces with the salsa verde. Cover completely, there should be no exposed chicken or it will dry out. Place in the oven for 25-30 minutes. If you have a meat thermometer, use it. The chicken should be removed from the oven when the internal temperature of the breast meat reaches 150°F.

3 Sprinkle cheese over the chicken, increase the oven heat to 400°F and return to the oven for another 5-10 minutes, enough time for the cheese to melt and the sauce to get bubbly.

Remove from oven. Serve immediately. Spoon over cooked rice or quinoa. Sprinkle with chopped fresh cilantro. Serve with tortilla chips for crunch if you would like.