If you plant it, they will sprout

I've planted Cherry Tomatoes, Lavender, and String Beans! So far, the beans and tomatoes have sprouted (those pics coming later) but the lavender remains dormant. I plan to transfer these babies to bigger container soon and will hopefully have a nice crop of veggies and herbs this summer. My compost pile is coming along very nicely and I plan to implement it in growing these plants.

My Tomato Pie Recipe

This is my version of Tomato Pie. I use 2 pie crusts because more pie crust = more love. Enjoy it!

• 4-5 cups' worth tomatoes, peeled and sliced
  
• 10 fresh basil leaves, chopped (or 3-4 tbsp of "Italian seasoning")
• 1/2 cup chopped green onion (or regular onion, lightly sauteed)
• 2 (9-inch) pie crusts (top and bottom!) (You can find them next to the croissant tubes at the grocery store)
  
• 1 cup grated mozzarella
• 1 cup grated cheddar
• 1 cup mayonnaise (I use light mayo -- it's just as tasty and has less calories)
• Salt and pepper
  

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Place the tomatoes in a colander in the sink in 1 layer. Sprinkle lightly with salt and allow to drain for 10 minutes. (The salt helps "shrink" the tomatoes and the draining keeps your pie from turning into soup while baking.)

Layer the tomato slices, basil, and onion in pie shell. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Combine the grated cheeses and mayonnaise together. Spread mixture on top of the tomatoes, cover with pie crust and bake for 30 minutes or until lightly browned. Let sit for a few minutes, then cut and serve.

Hint: Cover the edges of the crust with tinfoil. This will keep them from burning.

Paula's Tomato Pie

Last night I made this recipe for Tomato Pie. It turned out pretty well, but not because I followed Paula's recipe. First, the temperature is way too low to finish baking a pie stuffed with 4 large tomatoes in 30 mins. You should set your oven at 400 degrees and wrap the edges in foil so they won't burn. I ended up baking at 350 for 65 minutes. Way too long to wait for dinner.

Second, you should layer some of the cheese/mayo spread on the bottom of the pie, not just on top. This will spread the flavors around better and the pie won't separate so much when you cut it.

Third you should add a bit of garlic to the recipe for a stronger flavor. The green onions only add so much. Overall, this pie is a damn tasty one, but the recipe needed some work.

Strawberries and Tomatoes

Last night at HEB I tried to be a "local" produce buyer, but I found only Californian tomatoes and strawberries. Yes, I admit August is a little late to be expecting local strawberries, but for Pete's sake, Texas tomatoes are surely still around! The strawberries smelled so damned good I couldn't not buy them.

I had promised the kids a homemade Tomato Pie for dinner tonight, so I bought the West Coast tomatoes anyway. I honestly tried to buy local, but it just didn't pan out. Looks like I'll have to head to the farmer's market for actual Texan produce.

Adventures in Canning, Part Trois

I aided in the process of canning tomato sauce this weekend!! My best friend, Tricia, made several jars of tomato sauce that we were going to use on homemade pizzas but it was a little runny so we opted for some readymade Bertoli sauce. However, several jars await the winter. Tricia forgot to add lemon juice (for proper acidity) so she had to reseal the jars but all was not lost.

Canning tomatoes was a lot more extensive than canning jam. The tomato sauce needed to be on the stove for a few hours, there were more steps because there were tons more ingredients, but everything worked out. Huzzah!!

This past weekend was spent in Oklahoma with said friend. She is very adept at cooking wonderful foods so I will post pictures from her Flickr account of some of the foods we partook (is that a word?) of:

We grilled the buttered bread and it was wonderful!! Tricia's husband Matt grilled yummy yummy steaks and the bread was exceptionally wonderful grilled. It was from a local bakery!

These little jalapeno peppers had real big bite! They were stuffed (by me!) with a cream cheese and bacon mixture. We also stuffed some other kinds of peppers that were very light in spice which added a nice flavor without killing us. Matt ate a whole jalapeno and then promptly drank lots and lots of milk for the rest of the night. :)

I have to tell you: I LOVE THIS DRINK! It's called a caipirinha and it is made of Brazilian rum (called cachaca or Cachaca Khan as I like to call it), half a lime (sliced into quarters and crushed to get the juice out, a tablespoon of sugar, crushed ice, and add the rum! I always add water because I can't take the rum straight. I LOVE IT! It's like alcoholic limeade. I'm a huge limeade fan but this drink is to die for. Some info about the drink is available here.

We also had homemade pizzas with eggplant and caramalized onions on one and sausage on the other. Oh! and mousse:

I never have to worry about eating well at Tricia's house. It's always tasty and made with love. So cheers to you!