I have been eating tomatoes in every meal since the end of July. (and after they are over, i'm ok with waiting till next summer) This year I grew around 25 tomato plants, 8 or 10 different varieties. (favorites: green zebra and sungolds! ) Mostly eaten fresh, however yesterday I picked over the plants, and my season is on the outs and the fruits are showing it. Not so pretty, small, over ripe, under ripe and funny spots, so I brought them home and chopped them right up into my big pot!
I kept the skins on for this tomato sauce, so much flavor- tho I did run it through the food processor after things had cooked down. That way, flavor of the skins without the texture....if I did it again I may seed them. I used a third a bottle of chardonay that was not to my taste for drinking and fresh oregano and lots of thyme and basil after the cooking. (no onion, no gatlic, i swear) It reduced down to a thin sauce. Packed with flavor. And I thought, I could just keep sipping this off the spoon it's so good, after all, i was hungry for lunch, so: tomato soup (a dollop of plain whole fat yogurt on top) and grilled cheese! And a little endive salad. (and lots of pasta sauce for a later date!) happy September!
(and forgive me for being a flakey blogger!)

I get the best veggies! So much personality! Helps being friendly with so many awesome farmers on the north shore.

I have been playing around with various sizes and types of pies for the bake shop. The trouble is, they are really good and I can't resist eating them! This is a rhubarb and blackberry pie! The way rhubarbs flavors play around in the mouth is like nothing else. If I could eat one food for the rest of my life it would be pie. And I would be happy about it!

Melted chocolate smeared on toast sided up with coconut ice cream. Satisfyingly decadent, so simple. The essence of a mounds bar, with crunchy, melty, cold, hot, so good.

Three ingredients and three tools: toaster (toast your bread) microwave (nuke that poor chocolate on the bread so it can be smeared around) freezer (take out that pure coconut milk ice cream- coconut bliss- is my favorite- no dairy!) Dessert - done! You could make a sandwich but I think the ice cream is better served with a spoon and it is all assembled bit by bite so the chocolate does not harden up due to cold.

I have decided to try veganism for a while. Today is the first day. I support the cause and hardly eat dairy as is, and have not been wanting meat. I feel like it will be better for my body, and better for the planet (yes i know i have a very small impact, bla bla naysayers.) Theoretically I am on board, and will mostly just miss farm eggs and shellfish, but I just discovered my favorite independent cracker company has buttermilk in her crackers...things like that will be difficult for me. Let's see how I do. That's why the funky late night coconut-bread-chocolate snack. Try it!

I love photos of vegetables. Is it just me?

Made veggie curry from eveything in the fridge tonight. (purple asparagus, eggplant, collards (yup!) carrots, creamy potatos, cilantro, spring onions, and broccolini) You can really put anything in a curry.

This single picture of raw veggies reminds me i should be taking more pictures either durring or after to have some sort of intrest to any readers out there. Where is the proof i made veggie curry, huh? You dont believe me, it was creamy with coconut sauce and oodles of spices, tons of tumeric but it still came out greenish. The collards were chopped up small and you wouldnt even KNOW they were there.....sneaky greens!

Tomorrow i move my baking opperation to a new kitchen location! I am very excited about the extra space and larger ovens, and a little anxious about how the recipes will fare with the new enviroment. Hoping everything will run smoothly!

 

Spring is here....but sometimes you wouldnt know it! I had all the makings of a great salad in my fridge but it was such a chilly day that salad for lunch sounded like a terrible chore. So why not warm it up!

Purple asparagus, shrimp, frisee lettuces, dandelion greens, and preserved Meyer lemons. I think this took like 30 seconds to prepare and it was so good. In my cast iron pan, I quick pan fried the shrimp and asparagus in some olive oil (this also makes the oil part of the "dressing") and pulled out the shrimp when they were finished (I don't like my shrimp to be over-done!) After that asparagus was perfect, I threw the dandelion and chicory leaves into the pan, and threw in some farm made basil vinegar and tossed it all around until they give up and wilted! Off the heat, in went the shrimp and minced preserved lemons. A spring dish for a chilly spring day. And preserved lemons taste like California sunshine, and make me oh so happy!

Blogging and starting is business should go together well, in theory! Let me tell you, it is not easy! This was the first thing to go when my lists got long and days got full. Full and unorganized, with so little structure! I used to have a simple 4 am to noon shift, when I left, it was gone, it was not even possible to work from home! Now, I am always working, or there is the potential too, and when I am not, I feel guilt! I should be.... I could be.... it has become difficult to just BE! (perhaps i need more yoga)

I was looking through the new FLOUR cookbook by Boston bakery superstar Joanne Chang. Pretty book with easy to follow instructions. You know what I like most, she offers the recipes in weights along with cups. A rarity in baking books but I appreciate it! I baked the chocolate cake and really enjoyed it. It was an odd method, but it works. Optimum texture and chocolate flavor, and a real easy cake to slice into layers. My one failure in following directions was this: she calls for an 8" pan and does not specify height! So mine was 2" high and hers must have been higher like 3" or 4" because a bunch of my cake ended up escaping to the bottom of my oven!
I made a peanut butter chocolate frosting for it but wasn't enamored with it, so still working on it. Does anybody have a great peanut butter frosting?

I began this post a few days ago, life got in the way, as it often does. Last night we got more snow, 10 inches maybe? It drifts all around so I cannot tell, except that in total it rises above my knees, i know that. I shoveled for an hour or so outside, I have covered about half that I need to and just had to take a break. Another reason why women get married (to get help shoveling) and people have kids, I would looove to send some little kid out there to do that job. Or a snow blower may be a good idea!

Ever since I was in Louisiana I have been daydreaming of the shrimp n' grits i ate. Probably having dreams at night too, but I have so much trouble remembering those!
I did some Grit research. It appears we have limited brands in the north and the best are found by mail order. What you should look for is corn grits, or polenta.  An old fashioned, stone ground, coarse (coarser the better), whole grain (not de-germed) I used a blend of Hodgskins Mill corn meal, and some King Arther polenta.  Its what i had, and did good. (Say a big no-no to any instant versions.)

I cooked my grits, 1:4, corn to liquid. 1 cup grits, and 2 cups water and 2 cups milk. And a pinch of salt. Bring liquid to a boil, turn down to a simmer and slowly pour in the corn, whisking all the time, and continue to whisk until it thickens back up and hits a boil again. Turn it way down low, next time I am doing mine over a water bath because the bottom of my pan scorched. stir occasionally, cook for an hour or an hour and a half is better. They get more silky the longer they cook! I didnt but some people might like to add butter when the grits are done.

While I got the grits going, I shelled my shrimp, thinking I would make a quick shrimp stock with the shells. Shells went into a pot, with water, parsley, celery and a bit of onion. I simmered this for 20 minuets. (beef and chicken stocks can simmer for hours but fish stocks should only take 20 min of the flavors gets too fishy.) I assumed shrimp shells were like fish, so i kept it short, strained it after 20 min. It was a very light flavored stock that helped the dish but was not much on its own.

For the sauce, I diced onion and celery, and softened them slowly in olive oil on low heat, i didn't want them to brown. Amid the onion and celery I cooked my shrimp, and when the little shrimpys were done, i took them out and put them aside. That way, I can do it all in one pan. (I suppose you could do the shrimp first before the onion.) When the onion was soft and translucent, in went some minced garlic, once that had cooked up, I deglazed the pan with a good full glass of white wine. Red pepper flakes, and oregano. Here it is key to cook out that wine until there is very little liquid left in the pan! Then in goes some stock and some diced tomatos from a can. Simmer that up, put your shrimp back in to warm em up, a grind of fresh pepper, a pinch of salt. a knob of butter perhaps. Should taste very yummy here.

And plate it in a big bowl, grits in a big mountain, spoon out your shrimp and everything on top and ladle that broth all around. It was so good. I also topped mine with a bit of avocado. Because I love avocado, and eat it with everything, especially love its flavor with shrimp! It was very good. And I made it all for myself but is definitely a dish I would make for others. Was very cozy and comforting.

Single cook's note- this made a lot of grits, I ate grits for like four meals afterward. Just so you know. Especially good at breakfast with eggs. Or more shrimp, not a bad idea.

I have had a few days to rest after the marathon drive. Catching up with friends, family, and snow is also a good excuse to lay low. We got a nice seven inches here, on top of much more, lovely snow banks of many feet high. It has a sunny winter north pole feel. The most beautiful type of winter.

My car is emptied out. But not clean yet, but lets give it time! Meanwhile, I have been reflecting on the adventure.

--Some Things I Learned On My Road Trip. (Besides bringing the usual jumper cables and first aid kit.)

1. Caution taking photos one handed out the window while driving! Easy in the flat country...the windy hilly roads, the picture probably isnt worth it!

2. Books on tape, ahem, CD. 4 books, got me through many hours, many days. Music can get tedious as ones own company can, and sometimes nobody answers the phone when you call.
- Here is a tip- Cracker Barrel lets you rent audio books for about $4 a week, you get them at any one cracker barrel and drop them off at any other. pretty good, cus there are Cracker Barrel's all over this big ol' country. I would have saved like $40 on used audio books if I had know this before i got to Georgia.

3. Pack a variety of foods in your snack basket. Crunchy, salty, sweet, vegetable, fruity, nutty, meaty, spicy. Granola and other dry things are ideal, no spills less sticky messes. Eating while driving is a skill. Chocolate. Bread. I ate chocolate sandwiches, peanut butter sandwiches, and peanut-chocolate sandwiches. Jerky is perfect because you can spend many miles just chewing, chewing, chewing. And cheese is lovely but i found slicing while driving was not safe, so all maners go out the window, and you may find yourself nibbling on the block of cheese itself, why not? 4. Finding restruant gems, the perfect peice of pie, the best ribs....is a great idea. If you have the time. If you want to drive 4,000 miles in 8 days, this is not an activity that will easily fit into your schdule. 5. evaporated soy milk powder. Honestly I bought this product to make a soy frosting, I have not made the frosting yet, but this came in so handy, and was quite yummy. I can't drink cows milk, so that is why it is soy, but most mornings I put three spoonfuls of milk powder into my mug, added the water, stirred up, and plopped a bunch of granola in. Easy to eat on the road. For extra yum, some mornings I used coconut water instead of just plain old water, so sweet and so delicious, so hydrating.

7. Dont bring a big cooler, it takes up space. I wish mine was smaller. And easier to enter with only my right arm. And it is the biggest pain, buying ice, then everything is too cold, then it melts and water somehow enters all your ziplock bags. And you are dumping water out in parking lots, hoping to water a tree, and by the end of the week it began to smell a little funny. All for some cheese, hummus, bean salad and some rice (but rice isnt very good cold.) Small cooler, because it does not turn out to be the best friend you thought it would be!

8. Many many good CDs and more albums than mixes. As a good album is a spectacular thing to get lost in. Sometimes you can play it three times in a row and the hours just slip by. 9. Sun tea. A secret you may not have thought about! I had a big jar, some tea, and water. Stick it all in a sunny spot in your window, and wha-la...tea

10. A butt pillow. I have not perfected this, and cannot advise on shape, puffyness or color, but was in sore need of one by day 5. Oww, I am not accustomed to being seated for 6 to 12 hours a day. The truckers must have much better seats then i do in my Passatt. I slept on my stomach for a while! Happy travels!