Okanagancook

Thanks Norm, those are seriously good looking ribs. I took a look at your blog, wow! Great job and a lot of work. cheers

Everyone, so inspiring! I wonder how many hours of kitchen labour these last few posts took! I'm making some roasted tomato soup with my excess tomatoes....was going to can them but just couldn't face all the work today. My freezer is maxed out and honestly how many packages of frozen tomatoes can one use in a year so all my excess tomatoes are going to get peeled and dried! Bah Humbug

Brandy Wine tomatoes. These are all from ONE plant and there are still three more on there! Weighed them: 8 1/2 lbs. Oddly, I have no spiders guarding my tomatoes this year. Maybe it's too hot for them.

Norm, did you cook them partially in the butcher paper a la Franklin?

Maison: that looks like an excellent program. Thanks for sharing. I have forwarded the link on to my friend who is taking on the project this winter.

The 'lurker' is out of luck. I stuffed him with wild rice, brown rice, pancetta, fresh basil leaves, parsley, hot sauce, mushrooms and grated cheddar. I'll save him for company seeing he is so big.

Found a 'lurker' this morning

ElainaA I grow hard necks and I don't really have a shaded area where I can hang them. They were pretty dry out of the ground as I had stopped watering for two weeks before harvesting them without any rain falling on them. So I was surprised when I got a couple of rotten ones. Do yours get any sun where you hang them? I could string them through the dog pen up high which has a north-east exposure so they would only get the morning sun.

My new way of cooking eggplant is in the microwave from Modernist Cuisine @ Home: Peel and slice 1/2 inch. Place on paper towels, then cover with paper towels. Microwave on full for 3 minutes. Perfectly tender. Put on rack to dry a little and they are ready for a quick grill or quick fry if you want some oil.

Nice garlic ElainaA! Mine are hanging in mesh bag in our cool wine cellar. I have run across a couple of bulbs with some rot already. Can't believe it. I hung mine an extra week and a half with two fans trained on them make sure they were nice and dry. Do you get that problem? Your look really dry like mine were only yours look like they were dried outside. I have mine in are double sized garage.

Apparently the roots and stems have loads of flavour. I have way too many plants out in the garden and so may try doing an oil infusion.

My post got hyjacked so here we go again, I love, love gravy, so much so, my late Dad nick named me "Gravy Charlie". Two Thanksgivings ago I made luscious turkey gravy from concentrated stock plus scraping the roasting pan, you know what I'm talking about. It was so rich, it felt "sticky" in the mouth. Our friend Bill had three servings of turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy. Must have had two cups of gravy all totalled! Luckily I had made around six cups of the stuff. Maybe I should rename myself as "Gravy Bill". Note, Bill is 66 and exercises twice a day and has a six pack!

Anna, the butter is a great addition. Comfort food redefined!

Gravy!

This is an interesting way of serving soft boiled eggs. Do you warm the glass serving dish and then scoop the eggs into it? How many are there in each serving vessel?

I refer to myself as the "garden slave"

Sounds like the stuffed zucchini we had for dinner. Baked in tomato sauce and topped with mozzarella .

magertz, oh my god, that steak looks very tasty. I liked the way you sliced it, nice and thick. I scored some trip-tips and they are perfect for the sour vide rig. I make my own steak rub which uses smoked salt...perfect for indoor treatments. For the record here is the recipe....just finished my second batch and need to make some more. For me, I really like the flavours of the rub. Brings out the 'meatyness' of the steak. cheers 1/2 c smoked salt 2 T cracked black pepper 1 T cracked white pepper 2 T granulated garlic 1 T red pepper flakes 2 t white sugar 1T dried thyme 1T cracked coriander seeds 1t cumin seed 1 t mustard seeds Mix the ingredients together except the cumin and mustard seeds which should be toasted until the seeds start to pop.

Yes, exactly. Black Widow which we have many here. Nasty girls.

Wow, those cookbooks must be very special to you. I have some from my mom but most of the recipes are for baked goods. She loved cakes, cookies, bars, desserts, etc. Me, not so much...can't really afford the calories. The mains aren't very inspiring but it is fun to look at the comments she had made and the VERY neat and tidy hand writing.

The Cherokee Purples aren't too acidic, kind of earthy, meaty as you can see by the picture and definitely very juicy. The plants are excellent producers and these tomatoes were starting to ripen first so we were eating them for at least a week before my other tomatoes were ripe. Here is a link to the Chef's Life episode where Vivian Howard searches out some of these tomatoes for a tomato sandwich like no other served to a special group visiting her restaurant. She also shows us how she makes a tomato pie, something I have never had and looks dreamy. Enjoy: http://video.pbs.org/video/2365099378/

And Dejah, where the heck does one get Thai Basil in Brandon Manitoba?!!

Hummus Kawarma with lemon sauce....lamb neck and hummus from Jerusalem. Very tasty especially with the weird looking lemon sauce that just made the dish sing. My hummus was too pasty....needed more water. I also should have drizzled some olive oil on top like the cookbook picture although the recipe says nothing about doing that. So very filling. I am not interested in dinner at all. It was a very healthy dish I might add. The lamb neck meat was cleaned up to be very lean and with the hummus, a great combo. Had some freshly made bread from my DH and a salad.

Thanks Shelby! Wonderful. I am tired just scrolling down the page. All day in the kitchen. Me too, dealing with various produce including tomatoes. I think Brandy Wine tomatoes are not as purple as the Cherokee variety. I have Brandy Wine tomatoes but they are a long way from being ripe compared to the Cherokees. I love the Cherokees. So meaty. This is the first year I have grown them...saw them on It's a Chef's Life. I also made a roasted cherry tomato sauce kind of like Elaina's but Spanish. It had saffron, smoked paprika, slivered garlic, olive oil, bay leaf and thyme sprigs. Turned out very interesting....very Spanish. Supposed to be served with grilled meats/fish or on pasta. Well, have a good rest up for tomorrow and enjoy your well earned glass or two of wine!

That's pretty big. The biggest for me was l lb 6 oz. But, my Brandy Wines aren't ripe yet. Yours looks like a Cherokee Purple?