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Sunday, August 21, 2011

two easy and delish summer salads-corn and tomato



two very easy salads that take minutes to make. the corn salad is one of the ways that i use the leftovers from 'corn on the cob'. the tomato salad is simple and more ingredients can be added but this version is quick and so good. the picture below is neither tomato nor corn but begged to be included...


cosmos, a future painting

i am still waiting for the large heirlooms to ripen. in the meantime, the 2 'glacier ' plants are producing an abundant supply of small, very sweet fruit. the cherry , black cherry and yellow pears are ripening fast also. for this salad, i chose the glacier and yellow pears. any combination of any variety will do


tomato salad
3-4 cups tomatoes cut into bite size
1 or 2 cloves of garlic sliced...or not
6 large basil leaves, sliced or slivered, i use scissors
3-4 tablespoon's good quality olive oil
1 tablespoon  white balsamic vinegar
salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

stir all the ingredients and set aside at room temperature. do not refrigerate. matter of fact, never refrigerate tomatoes unless they are cooked or dried.

i always try to make this an hour or 2 ahead to let the flavors blend. and i stir while i am preparing the rest of the meal. good bread is essential to dip in the juice!!

it is the height of the corn season in central new york. no more tiny ears with tiny kernels. we are into the meaty ears and it is so sweet this year. we always buy more than we eat and then cut the kernals off the uneaten ears for later use. i use it in soup most of the time but love the corn salad i have been making this year.

cooking corn: steam it or grill it! where i grew up, everyone steams corn. an inch of water in the bottom of the pan and 10 minutes after it comes to a boil it is done. i have seem cooks boiling corn. a real waste of time and energy, really, and it takes so long for all that water to boil. if it can be grilled, it is even better than steamed .

corn salad
3 cups cold corn, cooked and cut off the cob
2 cucumbers, peeled and cut in bite size pieces
1 sweet onion or 1 bunch of green onions chopped
3 tablesoons apple cider vinegar
3 tablespoons olive oil
8  basil leaves,sliced, slivered or torn
salt and pepper to taste

stir and refrigerate till it is time to serve it...it will be a hit!


ENJOY!

Saturday, August 6, 2011

this and that from the garden

where to start? it has been a busy couple of weeks in the garden. fortunately we have 400 feet of hose and could water during the hot dry spell. zucchini and cucumbers have been abundant. i have made 2 batches of open crock dills, bread and butter pickles and 2 batches of sweet relish. in the last batch, i added fresh dill weed just to try something new. the recipes are in my blog (july 2010)

sweet pickle relish and bread and butter


cleome
i first saw this flower at the philadelphia flower show at least 25 years ago. they did not have them at the nursery's that i  visited so i ordered some seeds and planted them in my perennial bed. in the fall, some of their seeds blew into the stones around the pool fence and i have had volunteers in the stones ever since. i never fertilize or water and here is what i have now...after all that dry weather. they will grow in any sunny location!

growing in the stones





tomatoes and zucchini planted the first week of june and photographed the last week of june
6 WEEKS LATER...



my happy gardener and a very happy heirloom black cherry tomato
i started these plants very late and they went in the ground the first week of june. i always wait until the soil gets a little warmer. tomatoes do not like cold feet! i think that newt will need a ladder and some taller stakes in order to continue tying this plant

i think that this is a black krim but it could be a cherokee...gotta look at the tag
 late start and not very many tomatoes. the purchased plum plants are starting to produce ripe fruit as are my heirloom glaciers.

i love phlox. my neighbor betsy gave me the white ones and they are magnificent this year.

this is what is waiting on my kitchen counter as i am writing this. i will slice and salt and ice them tonight and make my last batch of bread and butter pickles


whole wheat banana-blueberry bread with honey
this was an experiment. it is very healthy and a little heavy but i will share the recipe anyway...

ingredients
4 very ripe bananas, mashed
2 large eggs
1/3 cup oil
1/4 cup honey
1cup whole wheat flour
1 cup white flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup blueberries

mix first 4 ingredients, sift in next 4 ingredients and stir . fold in blueberries very gently. place in a greased bread pan and
bake at 350 for 1 hour

ENJOY!!!