ElainaA

Host's note: this topic is divided into multiple segments to reduce the load on our servers; the previous installment is here: Dinner 2016 (Part 7). I owe parts of both these dinners to various postings here - thanks to you all! Hamburgers with hamburger relish from the recipe linked to by @FauxPas, local corn microwaved, thanks to several posts here (this is a timely technique - our drought level has just been raised to 'extreme') and, in the background, the requisite tomato and cucumber salad. We really, REALLY liked the relish- and it is supposed to be better in 3 months. A grilled shoulder lamb chop with Julia Child's mustard marinade, the potato and zucchini torte that was also linked to here a while ago ( I just looked up the link and see it was again @FauxPas. ) and, of course, a plate of cukes and tomatoes.

As usual, my best "crop" are the volunteer morning glories - self-seeded descendants of 4 plants I put in many years ago. In a good year they climb all over the arch above the gate. This year is so dry they might not make it. And the tomatoes keep on coming - the majority are still green. This is 2 day's harvest. Some will become faux- V8 juice this afternoon, some of the cherries will be slow roasted tomato sauce for dinner and I'll probably can another batch tomorrow.

@shain Great garden. I love seeing how gardens differ based on geography - you have so many plants that would never grow in my climate. I will admit to long-growing-season envy. Are all your lupine purple? They are one of my favorite flowers and I love the way they reseed themselves. I have yellow, white and pink as well as purple here. Also, is your olive tree as ancient as it appears?

And the ketchup. And the salsa. And the faux-V8 juice. And I know I had some frozen tomato soup back in January. And there must be more options.

I wasn't referring to one specific company or brand. I simply mean that there are companies whose actions I find reprehensible and some who I know support causes that I strongly oppose. For example, a local grocery store that hires many teenagers - but teens of color shouldn't bother apply - there are never any jobs for them. I refuse to financially support such companies by shopping there or buying their products.

I don't give them publicity. And I don't give them my money either. That goes for both several brands also.

This meal tasted a lot better than it looks (partly due to my lack of photography skills): Mark Bittman's unstuffed cabbage over rice with some fried green tomatoes (because the branch broke off one of the greenhouse plants) that got cooked a bit too long. There was some home made ranch dressing for the tomatoes. A multi part meal: salad with beets, goat cheese and pecans (as well as other salady things), toasts with tomato and grated cheddar and very inauthentic but very good gazpacho - a recipe i have had since I was a 20-something graduate student just learning to cook.

The tomatoes are finally getting ripe. 11:00 Am today: 5:00 pm today. I used about 2/3 of the full size tomatoes. And ate a lot of the cherries. My husband has no idea how many cherry tomatoes I harvest.

Pizza night. For this, the crust was brushed first with garlic oil and then with pesto, Topped with sliced artichoke hearts (pretty much invisible under the cheese and tomato), sliced tomatoes, mozzarella and basil. A second pie with tomato sauce, sausage, sliced yellow pepper and onions and mozzarella..

OK - i really think that number 1 is the dried long beans . (I would not have gotten this without the hints.) (With the hints I can actually see it. It does resemble the dried beans in my garden that I need to pull and shuck.) So I am probably wrong?

Number 1 reminds my an awful lot of what the poor, dead vines of my winter squash plants look like after the squash vine borers got through with them. But i won't even put those in my compost much less in my kitchen! So, not.

Thanks Shelby!

Thanks! I'm planning hamburgers next week - with the relish. Looking forward to it. I'm glad I am not the only one who ignores the rules.

Lots of pickles here. I wish these were all cukes from my garden but, sadly, the squash vine borers did in the plants before I had enough cukes so a trip to the farmer's market was necessary. The sweet pickles and beans were made yesterday. Dill spears, mixed mustard pickles ( I would not be allowed in my brother's house at Christmas if I didn't bring some of these) sweet pickles - a new recipe so something of an unknown quantity, pickled beans with rosemary, oregano, garlic and red pepper flakes and hamburger relish using the recipe that @FauxPas posted up this thread. The recipe says to let the relish age 3 months before using it - I'm not sure I will wait quite that long. Here are the vegetables for the mustard pickles, just starting to cook:

The first tomatoes that are more than just a snack. Most of them are still solidly green. Very large, very green. A few other things I picked - fennel, a green pepper, 2 leeks, some basil and a zucchini.

Risotto with leeks ( the first from this year's garden!) and peas (not from the garden - the garden peas are long over - sigh.) with grilled calamari. And probably the first and last completely garden salad - the very last of the lettuce with the first of the tomatoes plus fennel, cucumbers and green pepper.

Quickles! Shelby posted a recipe last year (or maybe the year before? Time flies.....).

The prices for the jars are good but if you just need lids and bands go to Target. Wide mouth lids and bands (box of 12) : Ace: 6.99, Target: 4.39. Regular lids and bands: Ace: 4.99, Target: 3.14. I do like the 'pint and a half' jars. Luckily for me, the almost- local Ace is just across the road from Target.

@Shelby - It is all beaten together - 5 oz. of goat cheese, 1/4 cup sour cream, 1/2 cup cream, 3 eggs, salt and a pinch cayenne. Pour it into a baked pie shell and bake about 20 minutes at 375. While it is baking, sauté a bunch of veggies and spread them on top. I think I like the beets/carrots/ sweet potato best. I've also done it with sautéed tomatoes, onions, peppers and corn. I have never cooked with okra but I bet you might be able to work that in somehow.

Grilled shrimp, another tomato and cuke salad (all from the garden - we ate them before I thought to post on the gardening thread) and what the recipe calls a "summer tart" - pie shell filled with a goat cheese, sour cream, cream and egg custard which is baked then topped with sautéed vegetables - in this case zucchini, corn, red bell pepper, onions and garlic. I'll do this again later in the season topped with roasted beets, carrots and sweet potato. Here is the entire tart before it was cut:

Thanks! The cabbage recipe is 'stir fried shredded cabbage with carrots' - which is rather obvious. I do cut the carrots more finely than she calls for. After the chopping is done the cooking takes about 2 minutes. Kuo's book was one of the first cookbooks I bought, probably 35 years ago. It is still one of my favorites. (If you have never made the 'deep fried eggplant with curry beef filling' you should. I think it's my favorite recipe in the entire book.)

My dinner is posted on the Create My Meal thread - I was up tonight. Pork tenderloin with hoisin sauce, green beans with ginger and garlic, cabbage with carrots and rice. Probably more Asian inspired than actually Asian but good.

Here is my meal, based on @sartoric 's suggestions. Hoisin pork tenderloin - I found a recipe on Food Network and modified it a lot based on comments. The results was really good. Pork tenderloin, sliced in about 1/2" slices, dusted with 5 spice powder and s & p, sauteed. Out of the pan, garlic and ginger added to the pans for a minute or so, hoisin sauce and sherry added, cooked a minute and pork back in to coat. Green beans with garlic, ginger and sesame oil. The cabbage is a favorite recipe from Irene Kou's Key to Chinese Cooking. And just plain rice. The cabbage, beans and garlic were from my garden. I overcooked the beans a bit bieng distracted by Serena William's Olympic match on TV. (She won.) This was a really good meal, so thanks to @sartoric.

I'd like to second that request.

Nope, Not me. Yogurt is on thing I have not tried. There are several brands of locally produced yogurt easily available here so I stick to them.