This and That

1. Mourning Dove after a rain shower.
2. Documenting a clean kitchen.....
3. and the other end of the counters, too!
4. We're on our third honey dew melon in 2 weeks.  Just too good!
5. Baby tears.  One of my favorite plants!  It's a sentimental one. 
6. We're still knee deep in tomatoes.  Loving it since it's only once a year!
7. The kitchen, just as the sun was coming up this morning.

♥

Sauteed Cherry Tomatoes

I only planted one teensy weensy cherry tomato plant this

year but it has given us an abundance of fruit!

It's much taller than me and has branched out

until it looks like a huge shrub!

Alex loves to pop them in his mouth and eat them 

like grapes!  But to serve with meals, this has been

a favorite this summer....cut in half and sautee in some olive

 oil or bacon drippings.  Add salt and Italian seasoning and

 garlic.  They are wonderful as a side dish to brunch or dinner!  

Yum!

♥

Burgers

Yum

♥

First Blush

♥

Fried Green Tomatoes

It was on my Fall Fun To Do List, so I thought this weekend

would be a good time to make some and have a taste 

of the south!  And when I looked online for a recipe

I decided that nobody would know southern

cooking better than The Neelys.  I love to watch them

cook together on their Food Network show, too.

These did not disappoint...crunchy and full of flavor!

The recipe I used is here.

Next time I'll do a little tweaking to the recipe, like

adding cornmeal and more paprika to the dredging

 flour... and cutting the recipe in half. 

 Other than that it, was quite tasty!

♥

Fresh Tomato Vegetable Soup

This is a great way to use up garden tomatoes!

It's fresh, fast and a very light tasting, yummy soup!

Vegetarian!

Ant it freezes well, too.

Fresh Tomato Vegetable Soup

1 c chopped onion

1/4 c butter

2 lbs fresh tomatoes, 1" diced, skin and all.

1 1/2 t salt

1/4 c sugar

1/8 t pepper

1 can green beans, drained

1 can sliced carrots, drained

1 can whole kernel corn, drained

Saute onions in butter until translucent.

Add remaining ingredients and simmer 15 minutes.

Enjoy!

♥

The Fall Garden

The cucumbers and zucchini are long past,

but I'm still picking tomatoes!

♥

BLT's

♥

Homemade Salsa

The garden gave me a huge basket of tomatoes, peppers and

jalapenos so I just had to make salsa, right?

I canned using the 'green' method.  No pressure canner, no boiling water,

no hot kitchen!  Just put piping hot salsa into hot sterilized jars (I run

them through the dishwasher on extra hot).  Put on the lids and turn them

upside down.  The heat seals the lids.  Do not disturb for 8 hours.

Yes, it really works just as well as the old way!

I add the salsa to the jars using a slotted spoon so I have all the

liquid left over to make Tortilla Soup. Just add veggies and chicken.

Serve, topped with tortilla chips, shredded cheese and sour cream.

Hot, spicy and delicious!

The salsa recipe changes a bit every year, but it's basically this ~

8 cups tomatoes, chopped

(I do not peel or seed them)

4 c raw sweet corn

4 c green peppers (or any color)

6 medium jalapenos, seeded & minced

3 c sweet onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, crushed

1/4 c cider vinegar

1 T salt

1 1/2 c sugar

1 T chili powder

This year I added cilantro and cumin.

Yum.

♥

It was foggy this morning!

The moisture hung on everything, even the tomato plants!

♥

Oven Roasted Garden Tomatoes

This is a nice way to use up tomatoes from your garden!

Quick, easy and very yummy.

Lay thick sliced tomatoes on a parchment lined baking sheet.

Sprinkle generously with salt, sugar, Italian seasoning and garlic powder.

Drizzle with olive oil.

Bake 3 hours at 250 F degrees.

Beware, though, your house is going to smell wonderful!

I used them to top a pizza crust.  No sauce needed...just cheese!

I used a ready-to-bake crust and followed the baking directions on the package.

The flavor is intense and delicious.

These tomatoes are also wonderful chopped into pasta

or layered in sandwiches.  Enjoy!

I've linked up to Marsha's blog 

for The Weekend Potluck!

Click HERE for more recipes!

Summer's First Tomato

It was delicious! :)

Garden Tomatoes

One wonderful way to enjoy them!

Tomato Zucchini Pie

Crust

1 1/4 c flour

1/2 c corn flake crumbs

1/2 t salt

1/3 c oil

2 T cold water

****

Preheat oven to 375

Mix flour, flakes and salt.

Stir in oil first, then stir in water.

Press into greased 9" pie plate.

Bake 10 minutes.

****

Meanwhile...

Filling

1 T olive oil

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 clove garlic, chopped

1 small zucchini, small cubes

1 small tomato, seeded and chopped

1 t Italian seasoning

2 eggs

1 c milk

1/2 t salt

pepper

1/2 c parmesan, divided

****

Saute onion in oil until tender.

Add garlic, and zucchini and saute 2 min.

Add tomato and seasonings. Heat through.

Place veggies in crust.

Whisk eggs, milk and 1/4 c cheese.

Pour over veggies. Top with remaining cheese.

Bake 35-40 minutes ~ brown and knife comes

out clean in center. Let stand 10 minutes

before cutting.

**** (I substituted Corn Chex for the flakes the last time I made it and thought the crust was crispier...yum!)

Shown here served with pan fried catfish and mixed greens.

BTW...I combined 2 recipes from Tyler Florence

and Emeril Lagasse for the catfish and it was

the best...succulent, flavorful and very crispy.

A quick marinade and Panko Japanese breadcrumbs

are the secret! I may post the recipe in the future!