It's always a good day when I do something I've never done before.

No, strike that. It's often a good day when I try something new, but not always. Sometimes it doesn't work out, but in this case I haven't lost much if it doesn't. The thing I did today that I've never done before is: (ta da!) buy tomatillos.

In fact, before Rachael's recent show about tilapia, I didn't even know what a tomatillo was. (I wasn't too sure about tilapia, either, but that's another story.) I still don't know exactly what they are, but now I have some in my refrigerator. (I forgot to ask Rachael how to store them, so I assume the fridge is safe.)

What I don't have is tilapia, because my market didn't have any. They hardly ever have everything I'm looking for, now that I'm looking for things that are hard to spell. It's lucky I have another store that usually carries the less obvious items. It's just that it requires an extra shopping trip, and I don't always have time.

Anyway, I do have the tomatillos, and I'll get the tilapia. I also have something else I never, ever thought I'd allow in my house. Jalapeņo peppers. I bought three shiny green ones today. I expect to use them, too, once I've eliminated the seeds that hold most of the fire (but not, fortunately, all of the flavor (or so they say)).

My sensitive mouth doesn't appreciate hot and spicy flavors. I've never been able to eat peppers the way my father did, straight from the jar. It's another one of those traits that I would change about myself if I could (like my inability to tell jokes and my poor swimming skills). It's not as important as being able to sing, but it's on the list somewhere.

Upon reflection, I realize I have no idea what tomatillos taste like. (I know my spell check doesn't like them at all.) I own eight of the little suckers, because that's how many Rachael told me to use. That's a big (though inexpensive) investment in a food item (fruit? vegetable? fungus?) that I've never even seen, much less tasted. This is a lot like that time, right after I started watching Rachael's show, that I almost bought eggplant.

Maybe it'll work out, as Peter Marshall used to say when a contestant picked the wrong square.