viva

Ooh - those should make you happy. I did a batch of canned peaches last year, and cracked it open mid-winter for a totally-out-of-season peach cobbler. It made me so happy. Peaches here have not been plentiful enough to can. Grrr.

thanks. This thread inspired me to get off my butt and do pickles this year. I'm on my fifth patch of brined cucumber dills, and the watermelon rind and cucumber/onion/carrot pickles are quickly disappearing. The way I'm eating them, they won't last beyond summer... but that's all good.

ooh... Make-Your-Own Staph Bacteria. Nice.

You used to make your own? Is it labor-intensive? Is the finished product similar to GT's? I wish it wasn't so pricey here. 2 bottles for $5 limits me to one per week.

Ooh. Is the flavor kind of like a Chick'n-in-a-Biskit cracker? Which is a mighty fine chicken-broth-tasting cracker. ← The best way that I can describe it is as follows. Imagine the flavor of a nice, savory chicken stuffing with lots of sage . . . but with the crispiness and saltiness of a potato chip. The chicken flavor was not as pronounced as the sage flavor, but it was still there. I was rather surprised that it tasted as good as it did, since the thought of a "chicken" flavored potato chip didn't really jump out at me. The oregano flavor (which I forgot to photograph) was probably my favorite. ← All I can say is YUM. I'd eat 'em. Especially if Utz made them. Fried in chicken fat.

Ooh. Is the flavor kind of like a Chick'n-in-a-Biskit cracker? Which is a mighty fine chicken-broth-tasting cracker.

Okay... I'm salivating now thanks to that photo!!! Last night I roasted a boneless turkey breast and ate the skin off the top while slicing the rest for sandwiches. I had to... it just came off in the most wonderful perfect crispy piece.

If I need to sacrifice a dozen white t-shirts in the name of a tomato sandwich, so be it!

Has anyone tried this? Kombucha fermented tea. Maybe it's not tea. I don't know. There’s a bunch of wild health claims on the label, but I just drink it for the taste and the pick-me-up. It’s fizzy and sour – I like the ginger version which tastes like a really sour ginger ale.

I figured I needed to recover from the over-salted pickles, so here's a quick vinegar pickle of carrots, onions, and cucumber with oregano. I like this one on pork confit in a soft corn tortilla with hot sauce, as well as a sandwich filler along with turkey, mayo, and sriracha. There’s also my watermelon rind pickles on the left, sweet and salty with cinnamon and cloves. And my favorite way to eat the watermelon rind pickles: straight out of the jar wrapped in proscuitto.

I’ve got two from today…salsa with tomato, peaches, poblanos and other random hot and sweet peppers, red onion. The tomatoes are Celebrity (the red), Dr. Wyche’s (the yellow), and Japanese Black Trifeles (the green-red). The peaches and peppers get broiled, then chopped up along with the remaining ingredients and some lemon juice. …and tomato sauce with bell peppers, onion, garlic and basil. The tomatoes are Better Boy and Carbon. Roasted the tomatoes and peppers… then in a pot with sautéed garlic, onion & white wine. The immersion blender is the handiest damn thing ever. Added shredded basil after blending and simmered a little bit more. I can’t wait until it’s winter and I can pop one of these bad boys open.

Physics be damned… today’s tomato sandwich with the Japanese Black Trifele tomatoes, thick cut local bacon, and basil mayo on a salt baguette. Totally physically impossible to eat neatly. I wound up with squirts of tomato all over my white t-shirt. Ah, the sacrifices I make...

And here’s the Japanese Black Trifele on a salt baguette with garlic, basil & creamy goat cheese. This guy was excellent: juicy and firm with a subtle smoky flavor. Dr. Wyche’s yellow tomatoes. A really nice big-ass yellow beefsteak. I had to post about this one as I found this great anecdote at seedsavers.org about Dr. Wyche: “He used to own Cole Brothers Circus which overwintered in Hugo, Oklahoma. He fertilized his terraced mountain-top gardens with elephant manure and scattered lion and tiger waste to keep out deer and rabbits.” Wow! There’s a thought for some of you that are having trouble keeping the critters away from your tomatoes.

Calamansi... is the juice made into a hot beverage in the Phillippines? If so, there was a wonderful waiter in Manila who cured me of one of the worst colds in my life by serving me a constant supply during a business dinner. It was very tart and hit the spot for my poor aching throat. I'd bet they'd be a great part of a good ceviche.

Roasted cauliflower. Fifi's Lard recipe. <...raises glass in remembrance of that fine lady...> All the simple light recipes in the WW thread that helped me lose 40 lbs. And the pork confit that kept me from losing 45.

Nice. I've been thinking about doing the same in honor of the town of Pisco. <bitterness>Not that I'm betting the North Carolina ABC store will carry any Pisco.</bitterness>

Add crumbled sausage to the Velveeta & Ro-tel, and you've got yourself some Deer Lease Dip. Also eaten with Fritos or Tostitos. I love haute macaroni & cheese as much as anyone could, but there is something insanely comforting about ye olde Velveeta mac n' cheese as well. There's a certain comforting oozy goodness about it that the haute just doesn't have.

Most importantly, ceviche is the best in the summertime heat... no cooking required!

Heh! That's why I'm enjoying my jaunt here in the Southeast. But...as a silver lining... you can still look forward to Early Girls for your BLT, whereas I have missed out on them for the year already.

That's a relief Perhaps a half butter, half lard solution would work for you...so you can get the flakiness of the lard and the flavor of the butter. But I will let the pie crust experts answer definitively.

If you're not philosophically averse to it, nothing beats a lard crust. I personally like a half lard, half butter crust. Edit: real lard, that is. Not that shelf-stable hydrogenated crap at the supermarket. I get mine at the "Nahunta Pork Center... where Pork is King!" at a very reasonable price. If you are, then substitute in another tried & true pie dough recipe for the lard one. I would not trust substituting butter for lard ounce for ounce.

Open-faced. Then you can hold onto the tomato with your finger to preclude the TSB. Plus, you get the added benefit of a higher tomato-to-bread ratio. Mine: a halved baguette, cheese, and thick slices of tomato topped with kosher salt. Maybe a little basil.

My vote would be for one of the black/purple varieties - I liked how the smoky rich flavor of the tomato contrasted with the bright basil. My favorite here was the Carbon. Having said that, the Brandywine had a really great tomatoey flavor as well. As did Better Boy. I never saw any Early Girls this year... and I'm guessing from the name I won't be seeing any either...

Yes - it smells like vinegar. Not very pungent vinegar, but vinegar nonetheless. It's only been a month. Maybe I should leave her alone.

Sparrowgrass, you better be careful showing off all those nicely canned tomatoes. There will be people knocking on your door this winter after tomato season is over. Yay – one of my favorite tom growers is getting more of her black tomatoes in now. Two Japanese Black Trifeles on the right, a Carbon, and a Brandywine (which is, of course, not black, but I will make an exception this week): And here’s the Ananas Noir (Black Pineapple) from last week. This had a wonderful smoky rich flavor, but a bit too watery for my taste. Ate him in a salad along with a Black Krim and a Cherokee Purple. The Krim is still my favorite, but from what I understand the Carbon should give it a run for its money. Edited to add: the Carbon! Wow!!! Dense, smoky, and meaty. He's a winner.