I SO wished I had a camera today! I need to get going on shopping for a digital camera.
I’ve been talking off and on about a recipe called “Farmers Tomato Pie.” My youngest sister shared the recipe with me several years ago, and I love it. I make it once or twice a year, but only when tomatoes are at their very ripest.
The recipe has a mixture of Italian cheeses, garlic and tomatoes, baked into a pie crust. Just after you pull it from the oven you sprinkle fresh basil leaves over the top. The house smells heavenly as you bake it.
Seedy Business
This morning on the radio (WGN720 in Chicago) I heard that bird feeding in the United States is a TWO BILLION DOLLAR industry! That’s a LOT of seed!
We most likely feed the birds to a greater degree than most of our neighbors. Elegante Mother considers it to be her entertainment. We put out feed all year round, and I add a feeder during difficult winters. Usually we fill one almost raccoon-proof feeder with about a 12-cup capacity, and a silo feeder that holds medium chipped sunflower hearts, every one to two days. All the birds like the silo feeder, but it’s meant to feed the smaller birds. That doesn’t stop the bigger birds from trying to muscle the little ones out.
It’s been a delight to see the goldfinches and other small birds use my herb garden for dinner. The purple coneflower is very well received but none of the birds will bother with the seeds from the garlic chives. I can’t say that I blame them. Bees were visiting the garlic chive flowers and I thought that would make interesting honey!
Welcome In
This is a picture of a custom made raccoon door. It’s also a picture of our roof.
NO Mercy!
Please meet JB….my physical therapist…..the man who lives for NO MERCY FRIDAYS!
‘Maters
I have to do some work on my raised veggie beds, so I’m not growing full sized tomatoes this year, but I have a cherrry tomato plant, and two miniature pear tomato plants growing in the herb beds. They’ve been producing regularly, and this is one day’s harvest.
In the middle of winter, I long for the scent of summer tomatoes. I love the warm, ripe texture of a summer tomato. There is no taste quite like it. The next best thing is the taste of a cherry tomato….that burst of flavor that pops in your mouth as you bite into them.
These cherry tomatoes are Sweet 100, but next year I’m going to look for a variety that has more acid, and is marginally larger. Yum! I can hardly wait!
Day is Done
And so is the chili sauce!
I’ve been making chili sauce with Elegante Mother for the last 15 years, and it usually took us all day to cook it down to the point where it could be canned. Today we were done at 2:20!
Cooking With Gas
Hm….well, maybe not gas…..but with a lot of fun in the kitchen.
My niece will be here to join us for dinner tonight. It’s just the ladies, as Dear Husband is off boating tonight. I’ve found several recipies that I’d like to try on her, so this is what I’m planning:
Italian pork tenderloin
Roasted veggies
Farmer’s tomato pie (May 16, 2003 in the archives)
Corn Cakes with Fresh Corn and Chives
Peach Blueberry Cake
Wow……now that I have it down on paper I can see that I’m going to have to cut something out. Maybe I can talk her into the Farmer’s Tomato Pie for lunch tomorrow. I can slip in a small side salad that would be much lighter.
To Market, To Market
Peaches
Blueberries
20 pounds of tomatoes
6 plum tomatoes
miniature patty pan squash
green onions
tiny red new potatoes
6 pickle cucumbers
4 green bell peppers
3 red peppers
1 pound crimini mushrooms (baby portabello)
1 portabello mushroom
6 ears bi-color corn
green beans
yellow wax beans
An Apprentice
This weekend I am gaining an apprentice!
We have an old family recipe for something called “Chili Sauce.” I’ve posted the recipe on the June 30, 2003 blog entry. Hopefully, the link will take you there.
Except for last year, Elegante Mother and I have been making this sauce once a year for the past sixteen years we have lived together. I’m not sure why we didn’t get to it, but I must have decided that we could coast on all the reserves we had stored up.
Drizzle
The rain has come! Wednesday night there was a hard shower for about 30 minutes, and then the cloud cover rolled in, and we have had lovely, gentle showers off and on for the past two days. I understand we may continue this way for a couple more days with a chance of storms during the day today and tomorrow, and thunderstorms this evening. (Wouldn’t you know that Dear Husband is planning on staying overnight on the Arr!!?)
The ground is absorbing every little drop! The plants are saying “AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!” Everything looks green and clean again.
I was sitting at my desk in the office, facing the window, and an unusual movement in the leaves of the magnolia caught my attention. Individual leaves were fluttering here and there. A plink to the left, and a twitter higher up on the right. Another in the center, followed by another on the lower left. I thought at first there might be little birds on the branches behind the leaves, until I realized I was seeing the start of the rain. Bring it on! I’m ready for more. As a matter of fact, we could have gentle rain like this all week long and I’d love it.
I made a stop at Costco on Friday. When I went into the store the rain had stopped, so of course I left the umbrella in the car. As I neared the exit, there were a number of women standing with their carts, looking out at the renewed storm. I paused for a minute, and decided I wasn’t going to melt and sallied forth saying to the women I passed “We might as well enjoy it while it’s here.” You know….there was a parade of women out in that rain, enjoying getting soaked!