CSA Year 2 Week 12

Did I mention all the tomatoes? No? How about all the summer squashes?

(I already gave some tomatoes & squash to the nice neighbors 'cuz we just can't keep up at this rate! Hooray for produce! And sharing!)

(Plus, they brought us over a big bag of pears & apples. Yay!)

Wednesday Fun #98 - What a Pickle?!

So, as I write this Tuesday evening, I've just finished my first attempt at pickling. Well, actually at canning pickles since I've made refrigerator pickles before. (All of twice, but both times turned out swell! *grin*) It's a bit of an intimidating process, I think, since I didn't grow up around anybody who canned, so it's all new to me. Fortunately, my MIL has tons of experience canning, has shared her recipes (including the one for Kraig's late paternal grandmother's garlic dill pickles!), and is only a phone call away when I have questions. I did call her the other day before starting and asked a lot of those little detail questions that are probably obvious to those who've done/been around canning, but I didn't know.

So now I have to remember to ask her how long I have to wait until we can open one and try it. With only 3 pint jars, there aren't many, so either it'll be a not-so-bad failed experiment or an incentive to plant a lot more hills of cucumbers next year...


How about you? Have you canned? Ever thought about trying it? Your parent or grandparent can when you were a kid?

CSA Year 2 Week 11

Holy 'Maters, Batman! This is definitely the part of the season when we start falling behind in consumption vs. supply. I see spaghetti sauce (frozen) and dried cherry tomatoes and frozen shredded squash in our freezer soon!

Wednesday Fun #97 - S or P?

Ok, gang, I want you to be thinking about this... we're soon to be approaching WF#100... and that's a LOT of questions/links/polls to have come up with. (Also, recognition & thanks again to AKJ and Diplowhat for taking a couple of those months!) So, be thinking about what you like/dislike/enjoy/don't enjoy about WF, if you'd be willing to take a month, suggestions for WF ideas, suggestions for improvement, other ideas that could take the place of WF or alternate with it (Since the purpose was to keep this site from stagnating when we had a gap in the recipe posting. That way you'd still have something new each week to make a return visit worthwhile.), etc. Not that I'm asking that now, but I want to give y'all some time to think about it.

ANYWAY...

For Wednesday Fun this week, since I'm feeling a little lazy (& silly), let's keep it simple. Basic, even. Salt or pepper? No, not both. Salt OR pepper? :)

CSA Year 2 Week 10

Y'all, I'm sorry I didn't post this sooner. I got the pic taken, but then I was all busy getting the place ready for our outstanding & wonderful & FUN weekend guests & then I just plain forgot. So here it is a bit late. Also, I was apparently standing on one of the tall chairs, because everything looks smaller than it really is. Those squash are all HUGE! Imagine the tomatoes regular-sized, not smallish & you'll see!

Wednesday Fun #96 - Cookin' with Clocks!

I know, I know, I'm rather late today, but here's a Wednesday Fun...

Name (at least) 3 things in your kitchen that have clocks on them.



(Off the top of my head, I think I've got 4, but if I had to reset them all, I bet I'd find more...)

CSA Year 2 Week 9

This week there was only 1 "this OR this OR this"... but we still ended up with kohlrabi instead of one of the other veg! I guess it's just the universe's way of telling me I really should try this kohlrabi puree recipe...

Wednesday Fun #95 - Variations on Grilled Cheese

Grilled cheese sandwiches. Yum. Just, yum. These, to me, are something I will eat and enjoy anything. I learned from my father that there is no wrong time of day for grilled cheese sandwiches; he'd serve them for breakfast sometimes. What a great way to start the day! Now, those were pretty much always white or wheat bread with American cheese, which is still the classic, go-to grilled cheese for me.

But in college I was introduced to grilled cheese sandwiches with either a little spaghetti sauce spread/poured onto the bread pre-grilling, or dipped into spaghetti sauce. Yum! Different, intriguing, but definitely yum. (And don't forget Don's grilled cheese on big ol' Texas toast!)

Now I hear from Nectarine that they're good with jam spread on the inside, my aunt highly recommends putting a little good mustard in 'em, and I've discovered the joys of a rye bread/muenster cheese grilled sandwich. They even transcend culture - one of our fav (and READILY available) pub foods in Ireland was the "toasted special" - a grilled cheese sandwich with onion, tomato, and ham joining the cheese inside. Yum.


So how about you? What's your favorite variation on the theme of grilled cheese?

Tomato not really recipes

Most of the things I make with tomatoes aren't recipes.

Case in point: last night for supper, we grabbed some tomatoes, cucumber and basil from the garden, cut them up with cubes of fresh mozzarella and drizzled a little 18-year balsamic vinegar over the lot of it.

Or cutting a tomato in half, topping it with mozzarella and throwing it on the grill or under the broiler until the cheese is melty and starting to brown. Maybe sprinkling it with oregano or pressing a fresh basil leaf into the top before you serve it.

Puck's mom is in town, and on hearing me wax rhapsodic about both garden tomatoes and Colorado peaches, sent me this New York Times link, which includes the following:

"Mix wedges of tomatoes and peaches, add slivers of red onion, a few red-pepper flakes and cilantro. Dress with olive oil and lime or lemon juice. Astonishing."

I haven't tried it yet, but it sounds really good and like something I would never think to try on my own.

(Those of you who don't like tomatoes, follow the link anyway -- it's 101 summer salads, many of which have no tomato at all. I think I need to make the walnut, bleu cheese and raspberry one too.)

And we have all tried BLTs with avocado, right?

August theme - To-may-toe/To-mah-toe

Looking at this year's theme list, I see that August's theme is "To-may-toe/To-mah-toe."
So let's have 'em! Got any recipes for yummy ways to use fresh tomatoes? Perfect technique for preserving? Fabulous spaghetti sauce recipe? Salad that's so easy you hardly think it's a recipe, but folks really like it?

We don't have a tag specifically for tomatoes (nor do I think we need one), but it means I'm more likely to have missed a recipe that should be highlighted here. If so, lemme know & I'll add it in right away!

• Diplowhat's Tomato Snack sounds easy & delicious!
• I ADORE tomato Bruschetta!
  
• Here's my favorite marinara sauce recipe - could be done with fresh or canned 'maters.
  
• The Sexy Blonde shared this Cooking Light recipe - Broiled Flank Steak withWarm Tomato Topping.

And a lot of the Mexican/TexMex recipes use (or could use) tomatoes in them or as a garnish. Plus there was a Wednesday Fun where you described your favorite way(s) to eat fresh tomatoes.