Tuesday, September 10, 2013

How To Pickle Onions

This is my new favorite food.  Seriously, what took me so long?!  I'm almost mad at myself for waiting until now to try pickling!  Anyway, now that I've done it, I can't stop.  Truly, I've been pickling anything I can get my paws on.  Watch out, Boo.  Sort of Totally kidding...

I made these recently for our shrimp tacos.  Remember this tomatillo salsa?  Together they make one pungent bite!  It is so good...

Ingredients:
1 C water
1/2 C vinegar (apple cider, if using white onion, or red wine, if using red onion)
1 tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt 
1 onion, thinly sliced

1 clean, canning jar (I use these Ball Mason Jar)


Directions:
1. In a bowl, whisk water, vinegar, sugar and salt until sugar and salt are dissolved, set aside
2. As best you can, thinly slice onion
3. Place onion in jar, cover with pickling liquid
4. Cover tightly and allow to sit at room temperature at least 1 hour prior to serving (or longer if you have the time)

What you'll need:




Peel the red onion, remove the bottom and the top root ends of the onion and place it down flatly on the cutting board, slice it down the middle:


Hold the onion so that the cut side is facing outward, slide a sharp knife down the onion creating very thin slices:

please be careful not to slice your fingers in this process...no need to photograph! 

Jarred goodness:


Finished product with yesterday's tomatillo salsa and other toppings:


We had huevos rancheros one morning for breakfast and I topped our eggs with the pickled onions:


These ladies definitely get better with age.  And the options are endless -- doesn't everything taste better with pickles?  Okay, maybe not everything, but most things...

I'd love to hear from you if you try this recipe!  Hope you enjoy...

xx,
The Future Mrs. Wolf 

Monday, September 9, 2013

Tomatillo Salsa

After having been away from our apartment for almost a month, Boo and I were eager for a home-cooked meal.  Too much eating out!  A certain someone requested a Mexican theme and off we went...


Have you ever bought tomatillos?  They come wrapped in a thin husk, which covers the fruit which feels sticky when the husk is peeled away.    Like really sticky.  But don't worry, this is normal.  

This recipe is probably one of my new favorites.  Probably because it involves almost no effort on my part.  Lazy? No! Efficient? Yes! 

Ingredients for 1C salsa:

4 tomatillos, husk removed, skin rinsed and dried, quartered
1/2 jalapeƱo, ribs and seeds removed, diced
1/2 red onion, sliced
1 lime, juiced
1/3 C cilantro
1 pinch kosher salt 

Directions:

1. Add all ingredients to food processor
2. Blend until just combined
3. Refrigerate and serve chilled*

*in a ramekin...everything is better in a ramekin

Tomatillos - some with husks, some without:


Quartering the tomatillos -- easily the hardest part of this recipe:


Ingredients awaiting transport to the food processor:


Here's the final product on the top right, set up with the other toppings for our shrimp tacos: 


This salsa is tart and refreshing, without being overly spicy.  It's a bit more watery than traditional jarred salsa, but it is so much better. I can't wait to make the recipe again!

I'd love to hear from you if you sample this recipe for your own Mexican food night.  Stay tuned for more recipes from the evening! Hope you enjoy...

What's your favorite kind of salsa?

xx,
The Future Mrs. Wolf