Shamrock memories

Tomorrow is St. Patricks Day. My mom always had us go outside to the front yard to pick our teachers a boquet of shamrocks (long stemmed clover). I had my children do the same when we lived there. (FYI They still grow by the wierd tree in front of the basement window in the front of the house.) It was always so fun. We would put on our greenest clothes and hope all the other kids knew we knew it was St. Patty's day. The leprachaun will come to play a few tricks on us too. Maybe he will hide some of his pot of gold for the kids to find. It depends on how much energy he has by 9:00 tonight. Stay tuned, if I can find the camera I'll take pictures.

I made the most delicious Quesadillas today and thought I'd share: You could use these as your green lunch tomorrow:

1- 2 uncooked tortillas
1 handfull of mozarella cheese
1/2 handfull of Cotija mexican cheese grated (crumbled)
1 cup tomatillo salsa
1 (1/2) avacado (you might as well eat the whole thing because it will just turn brown!)

Cook the tortilla on the stove top on a skillet or griddle, add butter if you must... Then sprinkle on the mozzarella and the cotija cheese on one half and let it melt a little. Cotija cheese is a hard Mexican cheese that crumbles like feta but is really mild and buttery to the taste. It is kinda salty too. I LOVE it. You can buy it at the regular grocery store here in Cali, I imagine you could find it in your neck of the woods too. Cotija is the name of the type of cheese, not the brand. Then fold the tortilla in half and let it toast until all the cheese is nice and melty. Cut the avocado and put it in the tomatillo salsa or add the avocado after if you are going to dip the tortilla in the salsa. If you put the avocado in the salsa you should eat it all so you don't waist it because the avocado's will turn brown. Here's a recipe that I nicked off some website. I didn't make my salsa I bought it from the little young women in the Ramona Branch for their girls camp fundraiser. See what a charitable person I am. Yeah I know I'm a paragon of Virtue.

Tomatillo Salsa Verde Recipe

To cook the tomatillos, you can either roast them in the oven, or boil them. Roasting will deliver more flavor; boiling may be faster and use less energy. Either way works, though boiling is a more common way to cook the tomatillos.


Ingredients
1 1/2 lb tomatillos
1/2 cup chopped white onion
1/2 cup cilantro leaves
1 Tbsp fresh lime juice
1/4 teaspoon sugar
2 Jalapeño peppers OR 2 serrano peppers, stemmed, seeded and chopped
Salt to taste


Method
1 Remove papery husks from tomatillos and rinse well.
2a Roasting method Cut in half and place cut side down on a foil-lined baking sheet. Place under a broiler for about 5-7 minutes to lightly blacken the skin.
2b Boiling method Place tomatillos in a saucepan, cover with water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove tomatillos with a slotted spoon.
2 Place tomatillos, lime juice, onions, cilantro, chili peppers, sugar in a food processor (or blender) and pulse until all ingredients are finely chopped and mixed. Season to taste with salt. Cool in refrigerator.
Serve with chips or as a salsa accompaniment to Mexican dishes.
Makes 3 cups.