What does fall require?

well, it certainly requires some tomato recipes! Tomatoes, to. mate. o's. We wait for months....we deprive ourselves of supermarket red balls of mushy goo....that ain't no tomato.  Here's a mess o' pics of my tomatoes...... I only planted 2 varieties this year.... weird I know. the Heirloom Russian Krim, and the simple old-fashioned tried and true, Cherry tomato.

Just a sample of the first tomatoes this year.... splitting because we had a big rainstorm as the biggest toms were ripening, so they soaked up a lot of water very quickly. I have in the past, covered the whole tomato patch with a makeshift cover of a wood frame and plastic. This is unslightly but it does work!
I didn't do it this year because I was busy being on vacation and swimming, and generally enjoying summer.... a very short season.

I've been growing heirlooms all my life...my parents were gardeners, and the vets that lived at my dad's hotel also had big gardens. Most often, they were planted with seeds that had been saved from last season! Take that Monsanto!
If you can do nothing else.....I implore you to never ever buy a Monsanto seed. Here's a list of companies that are independent and believe food is too precious to make it a corporate property.  Garden of Eatin' blog is a wonderful and detailed resource for quality seeds.

I have bought a lot of heirloom seeds in the 80s and on, from these companies... Totally Tomato, Tomato Growers Supply, Seymour’s Selected Seeds, R.H. Shumway, Park Seed, Territorial Seed, Shepherd's Seeds, and lots of seeds from European companies.
My mom used Burpee seeds a lot. So, I'm naturally drawn to them, and they are very sentimental.

One of my favorite cookbooks is The World In Your Kitchen, by Troth Wells, pub. 1993. It's all vegetarian.  It's a delightful book with lots of pics of people from all over the world cooking the food they and their families and tribes have eaten for centuries.
That is kickin' it Old School! If you want good food, go back to basics and learn what the classics are....then venture out to Thomas Keller....et al.
;-)

from the Middle East, stuffed tomatoes, Mahasha. this is really great because you probably have all the ingredients right in your cupboards.

Cut your 4 big tomatoes in half and scoop out the seeds and pulp. Turn on the oven to 325 degrees. Heat up oil in a frying pan and add 2 tbs of cilantro or coriander leaves, and crisp them. Add 1 tsp. of curry powder, 1/2 - 1 tsp of chili powder, 2 tsps of cumin seeds, 1 tsp of mustard seeds, 1 clove of crushed garlic to the cilantro and cook for 2 minutes, then remove from the heat, and add salt.
Add 1/2 pound of mashed potatoes, or the same amount cooked bulghur, 1/3 cup of peas, to the reserved tomato pulp.
Stir it together, and fill the tomato halves and place in an ovenproof dish. Bake for 15 - 20 minutes.

A simple relish from Africa.  A peanut and tomato relish.  We substitute walnuts, or cashews for the peanuts, because we are allergic! Again, simple ingredients you have on hand.

a favorite picture from the book......look at those tomatoes!!

and........when you just wanna eat some of those many many many green tomatoes....
I took this picture and the rising steam fogged my camera lens!

You can just slice and fry in oil, or coat them with flour..... and there are a lot of variations.... do a search on TEH InterWebs!

October Peppers !

I love bell peppers....cute little balls of spicy goodness...and they come with a hat!
Orange bell peppers are a natural for October meals ! You can treat them like a pumpkin....slice the top hat, clean out the seeds, cut out the face, and stuff and bake.

I've made stuffed bell peppers many many times. I do think they may not agree with everyone...but I love how easy they are to make and how good they taste.
I saw this cute Idea on pinterest....it is exactly what I've done for years.....cut the top off  so it has a hat, with a handle...and then clean out the inside seeds, and stuff with vegetarian meatloat-type stuffing. So, what a fantastic idea....to make them look like Jack O'lanterns!


You can stuff lots of things inside...here's a few things I've done over the years.
mash up leftover burgers, rice, cooked vegetables, cheese chunks, stewed tomatoes, cooked sweet potatoes.......it's a great way to use up a few days of leftovers for stuffed peppers....They're easy to prepare and cook ..put them in a pan, lightly greased, in a 350 oven, for about an hour until the peppers are soft.
I usually pre-cook the peppers for 10 minutes in the microwave....let them cool....and then cut & stuff. Then, it only takes about 20 minutes to heat up in an oven.

I changed the top hat style of stuffed peppers because I knew my family wouldn't eat a full stuffed pepper....I cut them in half lengthwise, after clipping the stem short, and then ....I cut the eyes and smile Jack O'lantern style!!

For my birthday party dinner, I mashed up a carton of tofu, a can of stewed tomatoes, italian seasoning, a teaspoon of honey, and the bits of the pepper eyes and smiles. I pre-cooked the 5 peppers in the microwave for 10 minutes, and let them cool. I snipped the stem short, then cut them in half lengthwise, and cleaned out the seeds. I cradled the half pepper in my hand, and with a sharp knife, I cut the eyes and the smile....I only cut a slit for the nose, thinking it would split and be too "holey"....I think I shoulda just cut the noses. (next time).
Then I turned them over, still cradled in my hand, and packed them full of the vegetarian tofu mixture, and quickly placed them face side up, in a greased pan. I put them in a preheated oven for 20 minutes.
The family ate about half of them....so success! It was a very yummy dinner with a mixed green salad, potato salad, Jack O'Lantern peppers.....but....
They really went crazy for the Taco Pie.....that's the next foodie bloggie post!

Vegan Skip It Hoppin' John

Feeling nostalgic, I wanted to make something with my bag of black eyed peas. You don't grow up with Oklahoma Okies and Indians and an Idaho country girl without eating your share of Hoppin' John and lots of greens.
I don't do bacon, nor do I do meat....and all the substitutions didn't harm the stunningly delicious flavor....Yes, that's a White Russian......with dinner. A gal has got to keep up her spirits !

*****Vegan Hoppin' John*****
1 T Olive or canola oil
1C chopped onion
1/2 C chopped celery (I had to sub with chopped bok choy and cabbage)
1/2 C chopped bell pepper (I used 3 colors)
1 T minced garlic (I love my garlic mincer)
1 lb of Black Eye Peas
1 Qt stock or buillon (I used 2 vegie soup cubes and some left over kale water)
1/2 t each salt and pepper
1/2 t poultry seasoning
1/2 t liquid smoke
1/4 C maple syrup....(these last 2 ingredients were swapped out for the same measures of Worcestershire sauce and brown sugar) (be creative)


Cook the black eye peas in enough water to cover for about a half hour, in a big pot, and set aside.
Saute the onions, celery or vegetable subs, garlic and pepper in the oil, until soft and gently browned.
Add that to your big pot of cooked peas, the qt. of stock, s & p, seasonings (or the subs) and the syrup (brn sugar)
Bring to a boil, hold it there for a minute, and then simmer for about 45 mins until most of the stock has been absorbed.
Serve with hot (brown) rice and your favorite vegetables.........kale, hot potatoes, cabbage...whatev!

...the nasty snowy weather drove me batty....the only good thing about cold weather is cute sweaters!  When 7 layers of clothes didn't keep me warm enough...I turned on the stove...and baked dozens of cookies, and ate them, and then shoveled a lot of snow to work off all that cookie-fat.
I made a lot of yummy food. I stocked up the day before the snowstorm with lots of coffee, booze, baking supplies, dried beans and fresh vegetables....

right now it's sunny and warm at 50 degrees and the snow is melting....
these pics are from when it was 27 degrees and too damn much snow !! my bamboo was iced over...but he recovered when it melted..

Grilled Kale....

so, I had lunch/dinner at M + M's home....they always put on a good spread and the beer flows like watah!
I love meeting their friends....we always have lots in common. Which is not the most profound statement. Of course...friends of friends have lots in common....Fun ensued!
So, Wolfie's mom made Grilled Kale. Yes. Why had I never thought of that before?? I love love dark green leafy veggies. I want you to eat...turnip greens, endive, poke salad, dandelion greens, kale, broccoli leaves....They are soooo good for you and they taste so good.

So, Wolfie's mom is also Mrs. Bluebeard's Coffee...(which is almost an oxymoron/thing).....anyhoo...she grilled Kale. It was so damn good. It really brought out the deep sugary taste and relieved any tendency to bitterness that can sometimes rile up deep dark greens.

She just put the kale on M's grill and that was pretty much it. She made a dressing of tahini, sesame seeds, mayonnaise, lemon juice...and a bit of oil I think, if  I remember correctly....
Here's a recipe...for the non-believers like ME!

So I got to hang out with nice Tacoma people, and their sweet kids and babies. And drink beer until my head started to hurt ...and I needed to go since I'd left my doggie at home for hours and I didn't want his bladder to burst or to leave me a Present in my sewing room....blech.

Bluebeard Coffee...Tacoma....

and..guess what else....We have this service here now........Doorstep Veterinary Medicine, Kathryn Cutting, DVM.
Yes, that's right, Kate will come to your home and fix yr pet/children/things with 4 legs.
Is Tacoma awesome...Or What !?