I went to the backyard this morning, and it was a real treat to see what I thought was enough to make a batch of green salsa with veggies exclusively from my garden. The serrano plants were heavy with peppers, and I spotted a bunch of papery lanterns on the tomatillo vines:
I picked close to two dozen serranos, but realized that most of the tomatillos were still pea-sized, inside their deceivingly large husks. To make things worse, I went to check the cilantro; I could not believe that the seedling I had spotted weeks ago (photo below, left) had hardly grown (right.) On the positive side, by this time of year cilantro has usually bolted, so I counted my blessings and picked the tiny sprig:
At this point, it had become clear that I did not have enough for a batch of salsa. I noticed a pretty purple blossom on one of the Black Hungarian plants, and remembered that they already had a few peppers growing (photo, below). It is the first year I am cultivating this variety, and I was just letting them get darker – because of their name – but I think I waited too long because they looked somewhat wrinkled already, so I harvested them:
The tomatoes were at different ripening stages; I got a fair amount of the cherry sized ones, but only one small Amish paste. The large Brandywines still needed a few days, as can be seen in the photo below*:
Back in the kitchen, I chose two of the serrano peppers, and arranged them on the counter with the rest of my harvest, along with a few of my onions and garlic (photo at the top of the post). I was assessing if I would still be able to make a batch of salsa, although obviously not green. One of the nicest things about salsa, is that all the ingredients are pretty much fungible, so I concluded I could go ahead, with some adjustments: the variety of tomatoes could supplement the tomatillos; I had two kinds of hot peppers; and the small amount of cilantro would be compensated with a generous portion of onion and garlic. I will share the recipe and results in my next post.
My Slice of Mexico 
Beautiful! I love to make something that completely comes from the garden!
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I made a teensy bit of salsa the other night, but missing some favored fresh ingredients. Soon, I hope!!
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Your garden is so incredible, btw. You must have a nice growing climate despite being so far north.
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Thank you! Full disclosure: of course I only post photos of the one thing that was looking its best on any particular day 🙂
I am lucky to live in one of the mildest regions in Canada, but I find that as the summer progresses, my garden gets wilder and more unkept, so I consider the winter frost a welcomed garden partner that kills weeds and pests, and then I can start with a clean slate the following spring.
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My garden would recognize yours in a heartbeat!❤️
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That Black Hungarian variety is new to me. I have to keep my eyes out for it.
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I am making the salsa today, I shall report on them soon
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Nice harvest. I love garden fresh.
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That’s very cool seeing the different colors of the varieties of tomatoes. I hadn’t realized they also came in purple. I love purple.
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I know, and they are so sweet those dark ones! They also have a tinge of chocolate brown colour. There are some new varieties, like the “blue berry” and “junction blue” cherry sized tomatoes, and they look truly purple in photos but I have not tried them yet. I like chopping the different colours for bruschetta, they look really pretty :’)
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That would look pretty. Blue tomatoes, that sounds very cool.
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I just threw some cilantro, onions and tomatoes with other veggies into a pot (making my throw-everything-together-into-a-pot soup, lol). Made me think of you and all the Mexican recipes you share.
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