Living in NY brings together people from all around the world. We are smashed up against each other, and avoid eye contact, put our headphones on, and hope that no one bothers us on our way home from where ever we are all coming. That means that when we get the chance to connect with a stranger, there is a little moment of magic, and can shed light on things that our NY filters keep us from seeing sometimes. This weekend, it was a chance encounter with a Ukrainian woman at the market, who asked me how I was going to prepare the tomatillos that I was selecting by the handful. We chatted for about 10 minutes in the market over recipes and stories of how we arrived in NY. She smiled and laughed deeply and made me happy to share ideas about cuisine from around the globe. This conversation got me thinking about so many things regarding food, and about how there are so many kinds of foods that many people may not be aware of. My mother is from Guatemala, and she loves tomatillos, which in Spanish, just means little tomato. I'm also from California, where Mexican food is prevalent, and salsa verde is a staple condiment. Tomatillos are beautiful little fruits that are encased in a very delicate paper like shell, and it occurred to me that it would be a beautiful subject to photograph. I love cooking, and making images, but I rarely combine the two. This will be the first installment of more to come. Also, I'm not good at giving recipes, because I eyeball everything, and just keep trying until it works, which is why these posts will include instructions, not recipes.
Instructions:
roast
tomatillos
white onion
garlic
jalapeno
in oven for 30 min.
blend together with fresh cilantro
lime juice
sea salt
enjoy!
