Lunch Special

If I was still running the Bleu Plate what we had for dinner tonight would definitely be our lunch special this week.

It was with special fanfare we celebrated the end of our tomato season. The two last large green tomatoes were carefully sliced, dipped in flour, then eggs and finally seasoned bread crumbs. From there they were carefully dipped in simmering bacon fat in my cast iron skillet. Once fried they were layered between fresh local lettuce and some of the bacon which gave us the delicious frying oil. Crusty french bread, spread with a layer of homemade pesto mayonnaise, worked well to hold it all together and keep your hands somewhat clean.

Despite talking about how decadent and yummy this was, we didn't think to get any pictures until it was almost too late.

There were a few slices of fried green tomatoes that couldn't fit into a sandwich and had to be enjoyed on their own.


It was a good tomato season, though next year I will get the seedlings started earlier. Now I just have to chop away (literally) at the GIANT bucket of green cherry tomatoes I have sitting on my porch. Green tomato relish, green tomato salsa, bread and butter cherry toms... anyone else have any ideas?

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Bountiful weekend

Saturday morning found us trekking down for our weekly trip to the orchard. Last weekend we got some grapes and I made my first ever batch of grape jelly. It turned out amazingly well and I was hoping to get more grapes this weekend to add to the stash and have enough to share with others. Last week we came home with two pounds of grapes and I made 6 half pints of jelly, this week we picked 8 pounds and I made 6 half pints of jelly and canned 3 quarts of juice to either drink or make more jelly out of. Plus, we have a pitcher of juice in the fridge for the drinking pleasure. It is so delicious. Normally I am not a huge grape juice fan but this is not like anything you would ever get at the store. Isn't that that case with so many things? If you can make it at home, it will taste so much better. In addition to the jelly, I canned 6 jars of peach jam and 6 jars of peach butter (like apple butter, but with peaches). I also have a batch of mushed peaches pre-measured for a batch of jam in the freezer. It is a little kit, just heat, add pectin and process. It was a busy place our kitchen this weekend. Eric was a huge help with boiling and skinning the peaches, a thankless job. He also washed many of the endless sink-fulls of dirty dishes. This weekend was good practice because I have four cases of tomatoes coming on Friday. Next weekend will be more of the same. And then there are nectarines, and apples..... I am bound and determined to preserve it all this year. The kids eat so much fruit which is wonderful but in the winter the pickings are slim. You can get crappy looking organic fruit at the supermarket that was shipped in from god knows where making you question how "green" it is. Or there are canned fruits packed with sugars and colorings. My goal is to make it through much of the winter eating what I put up. We can still get apples and pears during the winter, but now hopefully we have a bit of variety to add to that. I also made 2 quarts of bread and butter pickles this week. I think I will make a few more jars of pickles this week but I am not sure what kind to make.

We took some beauty shots of the grapes because it is just too pretty not too.





The grapes are crushed and cooked on the stove then strained while hot. The steam coming off the pink juice was beautiful. I should mention that the jelly I made is all natural and hot pink. It honestly doesn't look natural the color is so amazing. Eric is going to bring home a spot so we can backlight some and show you.


My homemade juice strainer, cheese cloth, clothespins, a colander and a stock pot. Works great!


Dinner was simple and straight from the garden, tomatoes, basil and balsamic vinegar, (as of yet I don't make my own vinegar, but I can see myself starting some time). Speaking of basil, I also froze two large containers of homemade pesto today, our basil plants are going bonkers!


It was a very productive weekend which is nice, but I think tomorrow I am going to sit and knit during nap time.

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Peaches

I decided to break up all the photos I have to post into categories based on food, mainly since that how I think of things. Pretty much everything revolves around food, meals and what is coming next. A good friend of mine's mother and step-father just bought an orchard south of town. The orchard has been ignored for the past four years which makes it well on it's way to being organic, the goal of the new owners. Despite the fact that they still live in New England they are running the orchard on a small scale. It is open for "you pick" and the harvest is amazing. We missed the cherries but now there are peaches and plums with nectarines just around the corner. The fall will bring apples and pears and if I can pipe in suggestions, raw cider. Growing up my mom's parents had fruit trees growing around the farm and lived very near a large orchard. I have very fond memories of picking peaches and apples with my grandmother. Not much can compare to peaches warm from the sun over vanilla ice cream. I was pretty excited to head down to the orchard this past weekend. Sharing fun food memories with our children means a lot to me. I have to say the orchard was everything I wanted it to be. Not much. No fancy anything just trees, limbs heavy with fruit, open space, great views and warm sun. We got there early so we could get out before the warm sun turned into gross way too hot sun. I know Megan's mom and step-father will want to do more with the orchard, but I hope, for my own selfish reasons, that they keep it a bit wild and free. There is something about all those trees lined in rows, so planned, in contrast to the freedom of minimal structure and harvesting your own food. Regardless, I have to admit, I am pretty excited to be "on the inside loop" of an orchard. If I had any free time I would totally volunteer my time there. Even the mowing looks like fun.

The kids seemed to really enjoy it as well. It took about two minutes for them to start digging in.








We picked quite a haul of ripe peaches. So many in fact that I was afraid we wouldn't be able to eat them fast enough, so I made a pie. Because when life gives you too many ripe peaches, what else can you do? Despite the peaches being so juicy and making the bottom crust a bit soggy, I would still rank this crust as in my top 5. It was also a sneaky way to make dessert for Eric. Sunday was his birthday but he won't let us celebrate it so I have to bit a cleaver.








Otto is a true Storb child and a major pie fan. Waiting for it to cool was a tough job.





Stay tuned for Plums!

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Carrots!!!

We have been eating cucumbers from our garden every few days for the last couple weeks, but this has been our first BIG harvest. Otto helped me bring in carrots and one beet. Soon we will plant more to harvest in the fall.


Our little Joseph Gordon-Levitt look alike.


Being a small family farmer is a tough job.


Our harvest.


Yum!


And then there was this.... I haven't had the heart to cook her. I mean look, she clearly has places to go.


Our one and only beauty carrot.


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