Chilie Tuxta on a Sunday Afternoon

A recent chat about Mexican cookbooks had me hankering for a taste of Mexico. What better way than to start cooking those culinary souvenirs from a recent trip.

The tiny chilie tuxta, looking like a dried strawberry, that I purchased in the market of Puerto Escondido, needed to be made into a salsa.

The ratio is 1/2 ounce of chilies to 1/2 pound of tomatillos, but it's not etched in stone. (I'll play around with ratios for the next batch. Just because).

After a tedious session of picking off the stems and removing the outstanding amount of seeds each chilie contained, I quickly fried the little buggers in some olive oil to crisp them, and drained on paper towels.

Tomatillos, husked and rinsed, were roasted on a comal until the flesh turns a pale green ant the tomatillos become soft. I also roasted two cloves of garlic in their skins and two slices of onion.
Whipped up in a blender, the salsa was a wonderful blend of acidity and heat with a smokey undertone. I had to add a bit of sugar to the salsa to counteract the tart-bitter notes of the tomatillos.

Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close up.

Chips and salsa do not a lunch make, so with visions of summer to come, I cobbled together a lunch al fresco.

Lovage, a leafy pungent herb, is staking its claim in my garden. I find it a welcome flavour in ground meats for burgers along with mustard and chopped shallots.

So be it.

A little trick I like to apply is to stuff the inside of the burger with goat cheese so it becomes a molten patty when eaten.
A little caramelized onions, a bunch of salads, a couple of margaritas and you have yourself lunch.

Julie's Margaritas

Crushed ice cubes in glass

1 1/2 oz silver tequila (100 percent agave)

under 1 oz cointreau or triple sec

Juice of one lime - or to taste.