Come January we’ll be longing for these tomatoes. The taste of summer.
My friend R stopped by the other evening and shared these fresh-from-the-garden tomatoes. Just picked!
Olive oil, chunky chopped onions and a couple of garlic cloves. Threw in the remaining cherry tomatoes (we’d been popping them in our mouths, unadorned)
Black beans and rice. Mmmmmmmm.
Nell Miller’s Poor Man Meatballs
Three zucchini, grated and drained
Add a couple of eggs and a cup of Italian bread crumbs -salt and pepper
I tilt the bowl so excess liquid pools and can be removed
Mince by hand or whir a few garlic cloves in the food processor
Heat up the cast iron skillet. Add olive oil.
Shape and brown.
Tonight I added fresh grape cherry tomato sauce on the side. Grate some Parmesan
tastes like summer
All come together in this recipe-
I love zucchini but this recipe is my favorite. It’s from my next door neighbor in Clarion PA. (C.1980)
Nell Miller called them Poor Man Meatballs.
The key to success is getting as much moisture out as you can -which is a challenge. And I like using the cast iron skillet.
You grate or process about three (not the large seedy kind) zucchini
Tilt the bowl for a time to capture the wet. Drain off. Squeeze as dry as you can.
Add egg, dried Italian bread crumbs or plain with your own seasoning, salt and pepper. Toss with fork -add minced garlic. Mmmmmm can smell them now. Shape like potato pancakes not too big. My gluten-free friend used crushed Rice Chex instead of bread crumbs. Drain on paper towel.
You can eat them plain (my choice) or add to marinara sauce over pasta.
Our neighbor got his weekly delivery of Community Supported Agriculture of Southwestern Pennsylvania and since his wife’s away so tonight he brought up all of this bounty from local farms.
I’ve been photographing lots of ingredients lately so this one keeps with the theme.
Roasted beets on the list of things to do
and I see myself trying the method of microwaving the spaghetti squash the way I’ve seen Erika do it in her kitchen.
Splits open so easily.
Not sure about that enormous zucchini. The peppers are just beautiful as are those yellow tomatoes. Mmmmm. Inspirational.
And the guest photograph by Roberta, who made Garlic Mashed Potatoes with the leftover roasted garlic.
(organic garlic grown by my brother David in Okanogan WA)
My artist friend J gave me a dozen stems of dried Allium from her garden.
(“Allium species are herbaceous perennials with flowers produced on scapes.”) you know the family- onion, garlic, chives and leek……)
J knew that they’d be great for pictures.
The kids enjoyed arranging them and taking photos of the outer space orbs.
After school I tried putting one into a glass globe my neighbors had given me (minus the crazy centerpiece, which has since been trashed).
The top flower had broken off from the stem but didn’t take away from the dried flower end.
The round glass globe creates some interesting effects in the images. I see that you need to plant bulbs if you want Allium in your garden next Spring.
I’d always wondered what they were when I saw the tall purple alien- looking flowers.
Some of the flowers were gigantic. The stems are called scapes.
And if you want a recipe for scapes, (which aren’t available now but you can plan ahead for next season) check out recipe from Bartolini Kitchens Chicago John’s calling for “6-9 garlic scapes“ or Rufus Food and Spirit Guide for Stir Fry with Chicken, Zucchini and Garlic Scapes
My food blogging friends know allium well. I just didn’t know what they were named. Shot with iPhone.
What I discovered is I shoot a lot of red.
I blurred my eyes to spot purple in the archives.
Yes, I made the rainbow jello to photograph. It took 5 hours. I got the recipe from my daughter Laura who found it on the web here
The one pictured is not spiked and no one ate it either. It is still in my freezer to slice and photograph with light coming through the jello like stained glass.
Purple views, white balance setting askew but it works for the challenge.
A compendium of purple.
Fellow bloggers links are at the Daily Post at WordPress. (Thanks to Jo I know how to get on the list now.)
and the cake is by Aubrey’s Bakery in Steubenville Ohio for Justin and Vicky’s wedding
Remember the garlic our brother sent from Okanogan WA? Well, today our friends S and C from FL were in town and schools were closed due to Rosh Hashanah and Mary made us a delicious lunch. Forty Clove Garlic Chicken! There are a ton of different recipes online but she used 4 large chicken breasts with bone-in and then cut them in half. Rice and steamed green beans with a touch of butter. And her balsamic fruit salad. It was delicious. We finished the lunch with a scoop of Jeni’s Salty Caramel ice cream (made in Columbus OH but bought in Whole Foods) and a Gingersnap.
Wednesday’s mail brought a box with holes punched in it. I knew no one was shipping a guinea pig to me.
The postmark was Okanogan WA- It was a box of Chesnok Red (originally from From Shvelisi, Republic of Georgia) David had packed it in gray egg carton parts, They arrived in perfect shape.
When I spoke to David on the phone he was hoping that Mary and I would cook with it for Laura’s Bridal Shower in Columbus. We’re making lasagne. He told me it’s Hardneck garlic (can’t braid it, Greg– you can see Greg braid his garlic harvest here)
This particular type is supposed to be great baking garlic. I shared some with my neighbor as he is a great cook.
David told me about the organic farm where he got the original seeds to plant years ago. Filaree Garlic Farm. They have photos and descriptions of the different types of garlic and you can get a catalog. Planting season is real soon. Last week of September, first week of October for Okanogan’s zone.
I sat on my side porch and photographed the beautiful purple striped skins. Thought about our brother David and we’ll be thinking of him as we cook and eat this wonderful harvest.
