kayb

My garden continues apace. I harvested the two eggplants today. They're the length of my outstretched hand. Two will make a nice meal; not certain yet how they'll be prepared. I've decided I need at least two more 4 x 8 beds, so I can devote one to crucifers and lettuces, radishes and spring onions, to be followed in June by purple hull peas for fall harvest. The other will be to spread out the "viny things." Having been overrun with zucchini and cucumbers before, I went with one plant of each, and it needed to have been at least two; maybe two zucchini and four cucumbers, about the capacity of a 4 x 8 bed. The other can hold the yellow squash (I think I wouldn't mind four of them) and eggplant. I'm also putting in the blueberry and blackberry plants this fall -- three of each, which should supply what I need. OK, maybe four of each. Those will go along the east fence, where they'll get good most-of-the-day sun. I'm thinking the two new beds just in front of one of those rows. Then I'm adding a pear tree and a fig tree, and I'm done. The yard is very nearly a full acre. But there are two giant oak trees, and a couple of good-sized maples, a very productive apple tree, a big magnolia, a birch and two pecan trees. Lots of shade! Has anyone tried growing morels? It appears one can cultivate them beneath oak trees. So I'm contemplating....this one oak is maybe 60 feet tall, and it would take two adults to reach around its trunk. Nothing grows in a sizeable circle, except some moss. We have a swing hanging from one limb, and a hammock and a couple of lawn chairs, but I'd love to add a morel bed....

We'll celebrate a day late, on Sunday, as Child C and her hubby are gone to the lake Saturday. I have a pork loin I think I'm going to throw on the smoker. I've had success before with sous vide and a later smoke. I'll make cole slaw, potato salad, baked beans and corn (as the SIL likes neither potato salad nor slaw, the heathen). There'll be rolls, in the event anyone wants to make sandwiches with pork loin slices. Should be plenty of tomatoes for slicing, or for a tomato salad. I've done one with tomato, watermelon and fresh mozz that's pretty wonderful. I'm thinking dessert may be a blackberry cheesecake, as I have not made one in a good while, and I can make several smaller ones and freeze them without topping. A gracious plenty of beer and hard cider.

I'm good with that. I guess mine is charcuterie, cheese, wine.

I love that hash brown breakfast bake. Make it often. Try it with corned beef and grated swiss!

I suspect it would be good with zucchini, too. I plan on trying it with eggplant this week when mine get big enough.

Yes, it is exactly that technique you linked. I followed it exactly through the initial cook, let it cool a bit, stirred in the eggs, cheese and Ritz crumbs, saving some crumbs back to sprinkle on top. Rough proportions-- I used a medium Vidalia (large for any other onion, medium for a Vidalia; I'd guess a cup, diced); a half stick of butter; 4 medium yellow squash; 4 oz Cheddar, grated (standard Kraft sharp), 2 eggs, 1 full sleeve crackers, crushed and divided. Baked at 375 for maybe 40 minutes. As close to a recipe as I can give you.

Last nights planned dinner got moved forward to today, as the kids wanted to eat Mexican last night, so we went to a favorite spot, only to find it closed, so we went to another favorite (if non-Mexican) place, where, despite it being not a Mexican place, I had tamales and chili. Today for Sunday lunch, we had veggies: Two noteworthy things about this lunch: 1. I made the best squash casserole I ever made, thanks to @Shelby mentioning and linking to @Jaymes' squash technique. I cooked the squash per that technique -- sauteeing an onion in butter, adding the diced squash (mine were young and tender, from my garden, so I didn't peel) and cooking on low as they stewed in their own juice. I then let it cool, added a cup and a half of grated cheddar, two eggs and a sleeve of crushed Ritz crackers, saving some of the crackers to dust on top. I put it in a baking dish, sprinkled the remaining Ritz crumbs on top, and baked it at 375 for about 45 minutes. Squash were seasoned with Lawry's seasoned salt and pepper. Just superb. 2. If you have one of those brownie pans that allows you to bake square individual brownies, that creature is magnificent for baking cornbread. Great proportion of crust to crumb, and ideal to split horizontally and make, say, a breakfast sandwich out of.

Beautiful view. Beautiful kitchen. Pizza doesn't look bad, either.

I never thought about green tomatoes in salsa. My off-the-top notion is that one ought to dice them somewhat large, then run them under the broiler for a bit. They're hard and somewhat dry until some heat gets to them, which softens them, releases whatever makes it taste green tomato-ey, and also releases moisture. I'm not sure how long; guess you'd have to experiment.

@Paul Bacino -- gorgeous. I'm already plotting where to put another couple of raised beds so I can accommodate a couple more squash vines, some cabbage and some crucifers, which will bear early and which I can then replace with purple hulled peas, which do fine planted in June and harvested in September.

Bountiful haul today. Massive bunch of glads, sunflowers, zinnia. ( I am NOT a flower arranger.) Peaches, green beans, new potatoes, okra, tomatoes. Could have had cucumbers, assorted squash, lettuces, but i had all that here. Veggie dinner tonight. Squash casserole, zucchini fritters, green beans with new potatoes, fried green tomatoes. Peaches over ice cream. Y'all come on.

Your husband and I may be related. Handwriting looks just like my mother's.

Huh. Didn't know that. Thanks.

What temp are you baking at? Looks like there's a distinct differece in texture in a "rim" of about 3/4 of an inch all the way around the loaf. I would think that would come from the temp being too low or too high, but I'm not certain which. You are, I presume, pre-heating the oven before putting the loaves in?

If you want a sandwich loaf, the best one I've found is America's Test Kitchen's White Sandwich Bread. Link here. You might also want to look into getting a Pullman pan (one with a lid that slides on) for those great, perfectly shaped slices. Seems like the crumb is somehow softer, too. I think the pullman loaf recipe I use is the one from King Arthur Flour. Their site has great recipes, too. I think their Harvest Grains Bread may be my very favorite.

Had to spring for the sauces. Thanks.

Minty cucumbers? I have cucumbers. I have a mint plant that's about to escape its pot and eat the house. Details? One of my favorite dinners at any provocation. Bourbon sloppy joes? Please tell me more. Sounds marvelous.

Hello, Lee. Yeah, you'll likely find your answers to that and any other questions on here! My off the cuff guess is that it might need to cook a bit longer. Do you have a thermometer to check interior temp on your loaf? You want at least 190F (88 C), and I often go to 200F (93C).

Take about 2/3 of a roll* of paper towels, use your sharpest knife, and cut it in half. Pull the cardboard core out of the center. Stuff it down in your empty wipes container, and douse it with a solution of bleach and water. Pull the towels out of the center as you would wipes. That's presuming you can find paper towels, which I've been finding since the initial flurry the first few weeks of the pandemic. * I find a full roll is too fat to fit in my wipes container.

A good one for starters is Artisan Bread in Five Minutes A Day. From there, I like Rose Levy Berenbaum's The Bread Bible.

Welcome! Great folks in here who are, to a person, always willing to help. I've learned a TON here.

Shall I just go ahead and send you my address? I believe I could eat a dozen of these, gluten be damned.

Welcome! I'm with you on the Scotch, though my knowledge is rudimentary. Right now I'm drinking Glenmorangie.

I have two eggplants! I am quite excited. Never grew eggplants before. I also have a host of green tomatoes, but no signs of color yet.

I will confess to entirely plebian tastes in salsa. Likely my favorite is the single product I will specifically look for in Walmart, their Great Value brand white corn and black bean salsa. It's a mild, sweet salsa, with, of course, white corn and black beans in it. I can grate up cheddar or co-jack cheese in it, eat it with chips and make a meal. I'm also fond of another "store bought" salsa, a regional favorite originally made and served only at a Mexican restaurant chain in the Memphis area -- Pancho's. @Thanks for the Crepes and I have had fond reminisces about that restaurant's cheese dip and "hot dip," which were best when mixed together. Pancho's now has a commissary style kitchen that makes the dips for both their Memphis-area restaurants as well as in regional supermarkets. They also have a mustard-based taco sauce/salad dressing that I could just about drink. We didn't call it salsa when I was a kid, but we canned gallons and gallons of "ripe tomato pickle," a pickle, onion, green pepper (I use sweet banana peppers, because I just refuse to use the GBPs) and hot peppers (I usually use serranos, because I don't like the taste of jalapenos). Simmer all that with vinegar, sugar and pickling spice, and can it. Marvelous. We ate it on purple hulled peas, and I love it on a burger.