[chocomouse]

I used to grow Big Boys, and really liked them, but since I no longer plant 24-36 tomato plants, I stopped growing any beefsteaks and grow only Celebrity and Amish/Roma. We are finally harvesting some tomatoes! The Amish are huge, perfectly formed, and getting very red. The Celebrities are all cracked and splitting before they are ripe. Folks in my gardening groups are picking their tomatoes at first blush and letting them ripen inside. This is not my idea of a home-grown tomato, BUT this morning I picked a basket of large, perfectly formed, not-quite-red Celebrities.

In my 38 years of gardening here, this one has been absolutely awful. Too much rain and hardly any sun, interspersed with a few days of 90+ temperatures. Some seeds didn't germinate; some grew, all green, no fruit; some produced fruit, small, never ripened; most didn't produce anything until last week. I can't wait for next June and a fresh start.

[chocomouse]

On Thursday, I made 4 salads for our dinner: seafood, cole slaw, Cowboy, and cauliflower. The cole slaw was a new recipe, with a dressing made of orange juice, honey, and lime. I thought it might be a nice change from my usual tart-sweet dressing; it was OK, a little disappointing, and I probably won't make it again.

[chocomouse]

Thanks, BakerAunt. I got the recipe for Zucchini Dill Relish through Google, and I will look there again. The relish I made is good, tastes like a dill pickle, and was really good on my turkey burger the other day.

[chocomouse]

That's too bad, Skeptic. I cannot imagine being without an over for more than a day!

[chocomouse]

Now that the anti-biotic is working on my infection, I'm able to use my hand again so I'm back in the kitchen, cooking and baking! I made zucchini brownies and Grilled Asiago Bread Rounds today. This time I used a three-cheese blend of asiago, romano, and parmesan with lots of roasted garlic. I also used bread flour again, which makes them chewy but also easier to handle. We'll eat some tomorrow.

[chocomouse]

We had burgers -- beef for my husband and turkey for me, with corn on the cob.

I also made a batch of zucchini dill relish. I was trying to make something similar to what I buy in a jar at the grocery store - a sweet relish with dill flavor. But this turned out to be "dill pickle" flavor -- good, for dill pickles, but not what I am looking for. I'm thinking something more like a bread and butter pickle flavor, with lots of dill added. Does anyone have a recipe that might work?

[chocomouse]

Dinner tonight was quesadillas; I love this meal to use up leftovers, and it's quick and easy to make and to eat. We had a small pork chop left from a meal last weekend which I thin-sliced, along with sliced onions, peppers, salsa and shredded cheddar, on tortilla shells.

I've had what the physicians think must have been a spider bite, although they don't see a bite hole or any external marks/indications. It's probably from when I was pulling weeds in the flower beds last Wednesday. It led to an infection in my left hand, which is my dominant hand. My hand was swollen, very painful, and I couldn't use any of my fingers or my hand. I've not been able to do anything for 4 days! Now, an antibiotic is working, the swelling and pain are decreased, and I can actually hold a knife/fork again - gently. I am so grateful to the medical staff who diagnosed and treated this. If you get an unexplained, sudden swelling, get medical help immediately - it's likely a serious internal infection.

[chocomouse]

Thanks to BakerAunt's recent post, I made two loaves of Whole Wheat Maple Buttermilk Bread!

[chocomouse]

Grilled chicken thighs, corn on the cob, and cole slaw.

[chocomouse]

That's interesting, Mike. I don't recall any yeast recipes that call for buttermilk, so it makes sense. However, I've read in several places that adding an acid to yeast bread recipes helps the rise, and indeed, several of my rye recipes call for an acid (specifically, dill pickle juice).

[chocomouse]

For dinner, we had chicken patties, fresh green, yellow, and purple beans (which turned green when cooked) and zucchini patties. That was a new recipe, and I will be making it again; they were excellent. Shredded zucchini, shredded cheddar, eggs, chopped onion and garlic, and basil. Scooped with a 1/4 cup disher into a buttered skillet.

[chocomouse]

BLT and LT on rye for dinner - two Amish paste tomatoes, the first from our garden this summer!

[chocomouse]

I made hoagie buns. Still working on my shaping; today I tried using a rolling pin. I want to make them thinner, flatter, but they always seem to rise up so high and thick. I'd like to minimize the amount of "bread".

[chocomouse]

We had brats on fresh buns and corn on the cob.

[chocomouse]

BakerAunt, I love beans also, and it has been my most successful crop this disastrous gardening season. I grow them in a waist-high planter on my deck, and I'll get my 3ed picking this weekend. Today I planted more seeds, both green and yellow beans, hoping to beat the frost we usually get around October 15. If it is predicted to be a light frost, I'll toss a blanket or sheet over them to extend the growing season.

[Author]

Posts