Salad with peach, tomato, mozzarella, and farro with balsalmic vinagrette

The fresh fruit and vegetables at the farmer's market have been amazing lately.  So why not mix the best of it all together?

Toss some cherry tomatoes, summer peaches, salad mix, and mozzarella balls with farro and sliced almonds with a balsamic vinegar and olive oil vinagrette.

Eat and enjoy!  This tastes like the epitome of summer :)

Chile Verde (with pork)

I recently went to a Mexican restaurant around here for lunch.  Looking at the menu, I saw that they had Chile Verde and got super excited because the only time I've ever had it was a couple of years ago when a coworker made it and let me try a bite of her lunch.  It was amazing, and had a complex layer of flavors I didn't understand (because I haven't ever attempt to cook Mexican food).  AND IT WAS GREEN!

So I ordered the Chile Verde, daydreaming of the green sauce and tastiness of years before.  No such luck.  I mean, it was ok, but it was brown and not what I was hoping for.  So I made it a goal to attempt to make it!  And I think I got pretty darn close :)

Now I know what tomatillos are and that they are sticky and kind of weird to peel.  And having learned the hard way once, I'll always remember to wear gloves when cutting chili peppers!

Tomatillos before peeling:

After peeling:

Adapted from here: http://food52.com/recipes/21128-slow-cooked-carnitas-chili-verde 

Sauce:
1.5 lb tomatillos, peeled and rinsed
4 cloves garlic
2 jalapeno peppers, chopped
1/2 can Hatch chilies (I didn't have this, so I just left it out)
1 bunch cilantro

Make the sauce:
Put the tomatillos (you can cut them in half if you want, or leave them whole) and garlic onto a baking sheet and broil until slightly blackened (about 10 mins).  Let it cool down, and then put all the above ingredients into a food processor and blend until well mixed.

Chile:
3 lb pork shoulder
2 tbs oil
1 large onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (I used berbere because that's what I have)
1/4 t cloves
1-2 tsp oregano
2 cups chicken stock

Make the chile:
Cut the pork into 1" square pieces, salt and pepper.  Heat the oil in a dutch oven to high and brown the pork in batches.  Remove the pork, lower the heat to medium, and add the onion and garlic, stirring occasionally until they are soft and translucent.  Put the pork back in, along with the tomatillo sauce (above) and all the other ingredients.  Bring the mixture to a boil, and then lower the heat so that it's just simmering.  Cover, and simmer for a couple of hours (2-3?) until the pork is tender.

Serve over rice!