Enchilada with White Cream Sauce

471.  Enchilada's for dinner is a resourceful meal you can prepare ahead, freeze or take as a great dish.  And, everyone loves them.  Filled with any type of delicious filling whether it be beef ground or shredded, chicken, vegetarian, pork or fruit for a dessert option.  This recipe is simple to follow, just have all your ingredients ready before you begin.  You will make a roux as the base for the cream sauce.  You can find more detail here:  Roux

You will love this recipe and it tastes great the next days reheated or, pop them in the freezer and bake when you need a quick meal.

"Enchiladas are the perfect combination of meat and cheese wrapped in a tortilla. Enchiladas are so good that every time you make them, you feel a little bit better about life."  ~Anonymous

Mango Salsa

430.  Cool, fresh, satisfying; these words describe fresh-made mango salsa.  When a break is needed from the standard tomato based salsa, fruited salsa is perfect.  Fruits that work well would include mango, peaches, plums, or pears.  When the fruit is softer or more ripe, the sugars develop in the fruit making the sweet/savory balance so much better.

"Salsa is something I never get tired of.  How could I, when there are so many different flavor combinations to try?"

~ Megan Myers

Green Tomato Salsa

344. Garden Diaries..."The end of the growing season on Long Island has come to an end.  So, my tomato plants will not be giving me any more tomatoes or ripen the tomatoes on the vine.  My father would take his green tomatoes at the end of the season and place them in a brown shopping bag and put them under the sink in the kitchen.  This would cause them to ripen from the warmth of the house and the lack of light in the bag.  I tried this method many times but this year I wanted to use the tomatoes right away.  My solution, make salsa...green tomatoes and all."

Here is my process...Green tomatoes and all!

I chopped the whole tomatoes into cubes then placed all in a saucepan and followed my pico de gallo salsa recipe Here.
I brought the mixture to a boil then immediately placed in sterile canning jars and sealed them.
How great to pull these jars out in the middle of the winter!
If I need a quick salsa but don't have all the ingredients, I will open one of these canned jars, pour into a serving bowl, add 5 chopped tomatoes, 3 chopped green scallions and chopped cilantro adding salt and pepper to taste.  Perfection!

"Canned tomatoes are like summer saved....all that deep sun kissed flavor ready to be enjoyed."
~Better Homes and Garden

Fish Tacos

319.  Today was a "craving day" for Fish Tacos.  I just had to have them!!!
Bobby Flay had a great recipe he shared on his Boy Meets Grill episode of Fish taco.  You can see the episode here:  http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/bobby-flay/fish-tacos-recipe.html

Here is my process and I must say, this recipe was flavorful, memorable and one to come back to time after time.

I also made sides of refried beans and Spanish rice to accompany the tacos.

 Condiments were chopped cabbage and radishes,  my homemade salsa, scallion, red onion and limes and sour cream.  Delicious!!

"Take risks and you'll get the payoffs.  Learn from your mistakes until you succeed."

-Bobby Flay

Garden Canning

316.  Canning tomatoes is a must each autumn.  My tomato plants were great producers with constant tomatoes on the vine from May through November.  I purchased the plants in March at a plant distributor in Brooklyn, NY.  It was very early but I brought them home and kept them warm and watered till May.  These plants were significantly hardy and healthy as opposed to plants that I would buy locally in town.   Along with tomato plants I purchased flowers and herbs, which were also good quality and productive.

Each week would produce a basket full of tomatoes and cucumbers.  There are only so many tomatoes you can eat fresh.  The rest were destined to be sauce, salsa and marinara.  Towards the end of the growing season, when the temperature stayed below 70degrees, the tomatoes that were green were very useful for green salsa.  And can I say, the green salsa turned out "magnificent"!

 I still use some of the old canning jars my mom gave to me and others purchased at flee markets and yard sales.  My funnel was purchased in my first year of marriage when we lived in Seattle, Washington.  We loved to go to Remlinger Farms, pick apples and enjoy the beautiful scenery in Carnation, Washington.  Here is the link:  https://remlingerfarms.com/wholesale.htm

I was able to put up 3 batches of tomato sauce and marinara as well as 2 batches of salsa in pint jars.  This was the best tomato growth I can remember in many, many years.  Not to mention the great fresh basil, parsley and oregano growth as well.  Ahhhh, homemade sauce, nothing like it!

"There ain't nothin' better in life than true love and a home grown tomato."

-Old Saying