a good little recipe and a very bad back

I am laid up, laid out, down for the count with a really bad back spasm. So... needless to say I have not been cooking much, or doing much of anything really, and that has been the hardest part. But these things happen and when you're used to a very active lifestyle, it's hard to lay flat on your back for days.

On the other hand, I have been getting a lot of reading done. I am reading Heat, by Bill Buford; Michael Ruhlman's The Soul of a Chef; In Defense of Food by M. Pollan; The Best of the Barefoot Farmer; and trying to learn how to knit with Stitch and Bitch by Debbie Stoller. All of them are keeping me entertained.

But here is a little something that I made before I got sick. Nothing great, but I now think it's very easy to make your own salsa rather than buying the kind in a jar, which is never that good anyway. I love it when I make little discoveries like that. And to go along with it and the tortilla chips, our new summer favorite, up there with Campari-soda: The Gordon's cup.

For the tomatillo salsa I used a recipe found in A. Waters' The Art of Simple Food (seems to be my go-to cookbook these days). It was easy.



Peel a lb of tomatillos and cook them in boiling, salted water for 5-6 minutes until soft. In a processor or blender throw in 3 cloves of garlic, some other kinds of hot peppers like serrano or jalapeno, some salt, a cup of cilantro, and a bit of the cooking liquid from the tomatillos. Pulse that, then add the tomatillos and pulse again. It should be chunky and loose at the same time. The flavors meld and get better (and hotter) once it cools or after being refrigerated.



Gordon's Cup (this recipe is from bon appetit a while back and the inspiration to make it was from a recent Orangette post).



Take some limes, a few slices of peeled cucumber, 2 T simple syrup and muddle in the bottom of a cocktail shaker. Then add about 1/2 c of your favorite gin (I've been using Juniper Organic Gin --really nice and clean tasting), some ice cubes and shake well. Strain over ice cubes and serve with fresh mint or a slice of lime. So good with chips and tomatillo salsa on a summer afternoon.

Hope to be back on track soon!