Tomatillo Salsa... You know you want some

My first food blog... Yayyy!  I always brag about being a fat kid on the inside. Nope Im not taking a hit at overweight people.  But when you have been straightt up and down just about your whole life, all you can do it continued to work out and thank sweet baby Jesus for a high metabolism.  Well one of my favorite foods to metabolize is Tomatillo salsa. I was first introduced to this particular salsa by a pretty famous chain down in South Carolina called... Moes.

Ever since then my obsession with this green, often slimy sauce has been unbearable. I would go to Moes and order 1 little taco and load up on Tomatillo sauce. When I ran out of chips, I drank it. :o  So I decided to look it up and create my own receipe.

Here's what ya need:

1/2 - 1 lbs (12)  of Tomatillos- Don't be scared they come in a little shell

1/2 onion

1/4 cup of jalepenos, pickled

cilantro

1 lime

 Salt

1.I first take the tomatillos and remove their covering. Wash them off and slice them in quarters. Place them on a cookie sheet and bake them for about 8-10 minutes. I heat it at about 345 degrees

2. While the tomatillos are cooking, cut up your onion, and prepare the rest of the ingredients.  Since it goes into the blender next, there is really no need to cut up the jalapeno or cilantro.  That is unless you use fresh jalapeno which is an alternative.  *I really like the sour taste of pickled jalapenos.

3. Take the tomatillos out the oven and place in the blender.  Then layer the chopped up onion, jalapeno and cilantro.  *I sometimes add some of the jalapeno juice from the jar and or vinegar. You can also add minced garlic as well

4. Once in blender squeeze half a lime on top and sprinkle salt to your liking.  Puree or blend until you have the consistency you desire. *It will seem a bit thin and sometimes slimy, but it will thicken up.

5. Refrigerate until cold and serve. 

Ive tweeked the recipe to my liking.  Ive actually stopped measuring actually.  When it tastes right. Its right.

Goes great with chips. Enjoy

Carb Day 2012

Gentlemen and ladies start your engines. If you know anything about Indianapolis, that phrase should be familiar. Its a little known race called the Indianapolis 500. Yeah right... its a huge known race, like internationally known. Cant count the many times I have been overseas and folks ask me about it. They ask whether I have been or not and are astonished when I say no. Nope I have never gone to a race. Yes, I have been here 28 years and have never gone. Don't get me wrong, I am very aware of the 500. I know famous drivers... Buddy Lazier, Arie Luyendyk, Dan Wheldon and Tony Kanaan are a few of my favorites.

This experience doesn't just start and end with race day. There are many activities to do pretty much everyday leading up to the race and it draws folks from all over the world. Lets see there is Festival Kids day, Legends day, tons of qualification days and Carb day. What the mess is Carb day?

My friends would always talk about going and I really had no idea. Could they be talking about pasta of some sort? lol In actuality Carb day is short Carburetion Day. In previous years it was used as the last day for teams to "tune their carburetors to practice for the race. Since then no teams really practice, but there is a Freedom race (congrats Esteban Guerriari) and pit stop challenges. There is also a concert held in the infield. This year we dances to the sounds of Lynyrd Skynyrd.

Here's is what Carb day really is. A bunch of "free-spirited" folks, that wake up at the crack of dawn, pack up a cooler filled with beer and head to the track. Its hot. Its sticky. Its dirty. But hey its a good freakin time. The roaring of engines around the track may not be from the big race car drivers, but something about it makes you dang proud to be a Hoosier. So pass me a Miller lite and a brat and sunscreen.

Lets get the party started. Happy Carb day!

Its my Birthdayyyy!!! 2012 Edition

28 years on this earth. Wow! Incredible how the time flies. I feel like I was just in kindergarten at St. Andrews with my bangs and pressed out hair, bashfully walking down the hall with one thumb in my mouth and the other twirling one of my pigtails. Every year when it comes around I always try to reflect back on my past year. Did I grow? No not in height. But as an individual.  Its like my new year.  2011 was an up and down year and if I had to grade myself, Id give me a C.  Not great. Not bad.  Just so so.   But hey, you live you grow, you learn and at the end you eat cake and blow out a candle.












This year I didn't do much.  My birthday falls in a really bad time I guess. Its always Spring break, so birthday parties were never an option. Even in college, my birthday falls during out spring season.  So I look forward to it and I don't. In 07', I got in a huge fight with one of my best friends on my birthday. 08' I was lying in a hospital bed in Suhl, Germany squirming in pain. In 09', I was on a 15 hour bus drive in Finland. 2010 was extra fun in Spain, but I was extra broke and there was some sort of holiday going on where everything was closed. Last year was not bad.  But hey my birthday is notorious mishaps.

The other special thing about my birthday is that I share it with my late Uncle Rod. We always celebrated it together. That will always be with me.

This year would be a lot of the same. First I really think people forgot.  But its whatever right. My boyfriend Curtis and I dined at a really good authentic Mexican restaurant with some close friends. That meal came with a shot of Tequila and some good ole fried ice cream. Unfortunately I was too "tired" to party anymore.  But it was a fun night out with some friends.

The next thing better than a birthday dinner is two birthday dinners.  Of course I am speaking of the annual Byrd April Birthday party dinner.  Starting on the 5th of April, the Byrd family celebrates 7 birthdays; my Auntie Stella, cousins Taisha & Taunya, Uncle Alvin and cousin Chris.  Its a big month for us.  So we always get together to do what we love to do. EAT.

This year we dined at the Cheesecake factory again.  No complaints there.  We invited the whole clan this year, as my brother David, Ren & Tonisha and their 4 kids as joined us, as well as my boyfriend Curtis.




 



We ate, we laughed, Curtis played with the kids the whole time, but more importantly we had Cheesecake. Yum!  Yes it was the Red Velvet one with white chocolate sprinkles.
I had an amazing time.  I love my family and they are always an amazing time. 

Happy Birthday Auntie Stella, Taunya, Taisha, Chris and Uncle Alvin!


Ready to embark on my New Year as well!  Happy New Year to me.