Okanagancook

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?

November 2008 for me. This is an extraordinary association of people. Not to be redundant but I too have learned SO MUCH. eGulleters are very generous with their time and knowledge. Cheers to many more years of learning and sharing.

Lindacakes, thanks for taking the time to make a number of very good points about recipe collection and use. I find I am using EYB much more these days. I also use it with new cookbooks and magazines in the same way you do to organize recipes I want to make. I probably have enough cookbooks that I don't need to organize recipes clipped from newspapers, magazines, etc. many moons ago. I also find that my eating preferences have changed and many old recipes have become undesirable. I am spoilt for choice these days and there is a certain amount of anxiety about what to cook!

Shelby, it's the amount of garlic in those roasted cherry tomatoes that make them special. I've got three batches in the freezer...think'n pizza sauce/ravioli sauce and 18 egg yolk pasta tossed with a batch with copious amounts of freshly grated Parm/Romano! They also make a nice sweet sauce just simmered alone then strained and reduced a bit...pure tomato summer. I've looked up some canned tomato recipes using citric acid because that's what I have and a trip into town (30 min round trip) for lemons is not going to happen tomorrow. Are you going to can some of your bigger 'mater's?

Wine and 'maters! or should I say 'thoughts of 'maters' and wine. Oh heck, wine goes with anything, I think. Hey, I have a pile of those little beggars. I shall be interested to see what you come up with. There is always that roasted tomatonand garlic recipe over in the garden thread. Don't know who to do a link to there but here is the recipe from Elaina: I always grow too many cherry tomatoes. Here's one of my favorite uses: Slow Roasted Tomato Sauce with Basil and Parmesan. It takes along time to cook but it is worth it. Preheat oven to 250. Heat 1/4 cup olive oil. Add 1 large onion, diced and 6 cloves garlic, diced. Cook about 4-5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in 18 (yes! the recipe is this specific! You don't have to be!) shredded basil leaves and 1/8 t. red pepper flakes. In a deep roasting pan, combine 50 cherry tomatoes (I told you the recipe is specific - and I use more) with 2 t. sugar, 1 t. salt and onion mixture. Drizzle with 1/4 c. olive oil. Roast in 250 degree oven for 3 hours, stirring once. Serve over pasta with 1/2 c. parmesan and 1/4 c. basil ribbons. I like this with a mix of different colored cherry tomatoes - I grow red, orange,black and white cherries. None ripe yet so I'm still waiting. Enjoy. Elaina Host's note: ElainaA's original post is here.

BBQ'd pork ribs on a cheap and nasty BBQ in the wind.....fire got away from me. The ribs were literally crispy bits of very, very charcoal bits which were like dust in your mouth. As I recall we all looked at each other and said 'inedible' all at once. Pizzas were ordered. Ha, ha

They hit the spot. I sous vide them before freezing so a quick defrost and into a screaming hot convection oven. Nice and crispy but done inside. I have a few more packages stashed away

Thanks heidih, I couldn't find that link earlier. To everyone out there in eGullet land, this is a MUST MAKE

Bloody hell. Sorry folks. Should be 2 cups of yogurt not 1 cup. So, here it is done right: 3 medium cucumbers, peeled, seeded and whizzed in the food processor until finely chopped but not pureed. 1 medium onion, finely diced 2 jalapeños, seeded if you like, finely chopped 1 T olive oil 1.5 t salt 2 cloves garlic, minced with salt on a board 2 T cilantro, chopped 2 cups plain yogurt 1 to 1.5 cups water chopped chives for garnishg AND DON'T FORGET THE TOMATO CHUTNEY

Shelby, those okra look lovely. Thanks doing this. Looking forward to seeing your techniques and hoping to get inspired to do some canning of my tomatoes which are taking over the countertop. I tried freezing some grated cucumber for use in my spicy cucumber soup. Shouldn't matter that they are not super crisp...what the heck else is one to do with 10 cucumbers (there were 20 but I gifted away 5 and the other 5 are in the freezer).

of course, should be 3 medium cucumbers