…the last taste of summer

Posted on September 24, 2013 by ripe ~ red ~ berries

It’s officially fall now.

The autumn equinox has come and gone and the leaves are beginning to turn here in Maine…apples and pumpkins abound, mums (the flowers) are being popped into the ground and into pots everywhere and the smell of smoke is in the air…but I’m still savoring the last taste of summer…

Vine ripened tomatoes,

fresh basil,

fresh mozzarella

and pesto.

Melt together between two slices of bread and you will taste summer in a way which no other sandwich compares…

Granted, my tomatoes have all been plucked from their vines (nights are getting a bit too chilly for them) and they now continue to ripen on my window sill and the basil (still in the garden) is starting to brown, but I picked as much as I could before the cooler nights settled in and I’m so glad I did! I’ve made batches of pesto, stored what I could in the fridge and am drying more…

So what to do with all those tomatoes, basil and pesto?

Bake some bread, buy a block of fresh mozzarella and get slicing….

Now it’s not a ‘cheap’ sandwich to make if you have to buy all the ingredients, but if you’ve been fortunate enough to grow the basil and tomatoes and have the desire to bake some bread (check this recipe out for a very simple and inexpensive recipe) all you’ll need to buy is the fresh mozzarella. The least expensive block I’ve found sets me back $4, but I can get at least 4 sandwiches from one, so that ends up being only $1 per sandwich (at least for the cheese), a far cry from what this sandwich would cost if it was to be ordered out…

Gather your ingredients;

A few leaves of basil, a few slices of fresh mozz., a couple pieces of bread, a tablespoon or two of pesto and sliced tomato. Add a drizzle of olive oil and balsamic if you wish, a bit of butter for browning and you will have the tastiest summer sandwich – ever!

Spread each half of bread with pesto,

top with a layer of basil, fresh sliced mozzarella and then tomatoes…drizzle with a bit of olive oil and balsamic (if you wish), a sprinkle of salt and top with other half of the bread…butter each side and place on hot griddle. Turn once browned and then cook the other side. Cut and serve!

These were so delicious, Michael and I agreed we each had to have a second!

Are you missing summer already? Then why not make this sandwich and be reminded…

What are your favorite summertime ingredients? What’s your favorite sandwich?

Enjoy.

love to garden

Posted on August 10, 2012 by ripe ~ red ~ berries

busy busy busy! Wow – August has taken off with a running start and shows no signs of slowing down… traveling for shows, making deliveries, meeting clients and then simply life in general, well, my time has been limited in my garden – but everything is thriving just the same!

Tomatoes look amazing – still vey green but growing heavier and fuller everyday.

Basil is just going wild – I have plenty of pesto for this fall and winter and more to make! Swiss chard is abundant as is the cilantro and parsley…my corn is doing well – what finally made it that is (I planted three separate times!) – but still unsure if there is enough for pollination (thus actual corn)…just have to wait and see I guess… The pumpkins are out of control and I will have pumpkin for months! They seeded themselves in my very rustic compost as well as one of my flower beds – the oversized leaves are a beautiful addition to my gladiolas and lily’s…I used some of my compost to feed my flower beds (the seeds were dormant and well, are now a welcome and unexpected addition to my flower bed). I also planted a few in my garden – we will have no shortage of jack-o-lanterns, pumpkin pie, pumpkin risotto, pumpkin penne or curried pumpkin soup this year!

Here’s a few pics I took myself the last time I was picking green beans and weeds…thankfully the mosquitos were forgiving – unlike lately!

enjoy!

growing and growing

Posted on April 19, 2012 by ripe ~ red ~ berries

The baby’s are growing up – the baby plants that is…the basil is becoming so incredibly fragrant (and big), the tomato plants have that wonderful green tomato smell which reminds me so much of summer, the parsley leaves are a good inch across, the sunflowers are getting taller, the marigolds are growing steadily, cilantro is just starting to take off and the cucumber seeds were just planted yesterday…Outside things are really taking off too – not at all like indoors, but seedlings are finally beginning to appear (I was beginning to worry…) the swiss chard is just popping it’s crimson head through the soil, the kale seedlings each have two leaves, the lettuce is really beginning to look like lettuce allowing me to know for sure, they aren’t just weeds growing, the beets are also pushing through…oh I love beets – homegrown roasted beet, goat cheese and walnut salad – YUM!

OK, I love most vegetables – roasted fennel, green beans slightly steamed and then topped with lemon butter (fennel + green beans planted when warmer), swiss chard sauteed with caramelized onions topped with ricotta on puff pastry, kale and potato soup, spinach with nearly everything, freshly picked corn on the cob, vine ripened fresh from the garden (not the stuff trucked across America) tomatoes sliced and sprinkled with just a bit of sea salt – WOW – or even better – the classic, thickly sliced just picked tomato topped with thinly sliced fresh mozzarella (not the shredded stuff) and then ribbons of basil tossed on top with a drizzle of balsamic and olive oil – divine – this is why I grow vegetables – it’s a labor of love – plant seeds, tend them, eat, be happy.

Baby basil then…

Baby basil now…

I use recycled cardboard egg cartons topped with plastic wrap (I re-use plastic wrap for additional plantings) to start the seedlings, then I transplant into plastic pots which I picked up at my local transfer station for free – recycling at its best. Even the plastic boxes holding all the individual boxes were recycled, as were the wooden crates I use to house other fledgling plants until the are ready to move outdoors…

I thoroughly wash each pot after each season and store away to use for the next season…even my garden shovel, wheelbarrow, hose and nozzle, the gate to the entrance of my garden and the posts on either side and some of my fencing have been free via my local swap shop…if you buy potted plants, give the plastic pots to someone who grows their own or try and re-use them yourself or ask the garden center when you purchase, if they recycle pots…get creative.

Spring green among the winter white

Posted on March 1, 2012 by ripe ~ red ~ berries

It’s snowing today – a lot. The first real snowstorm of the season and my little seedlings are stretching towards the muted daylight coming through the window…on a day like today it’s hard to imagine working in my garden, though I know it will come – eventually…Overnight these little seedlings thrive by the wood stove (I keep them on the stone hearth – warms them from the bottom and side) and by day they reach for the sun on a nearby window sill. I’ve started Black Krim tomatoes; an heirloom variety – beautiful dark purple-black fruit, old-fashioned flavor. A farmer friend recommended them to me – she grew thousands last year on the organic farm she manages, Carrot Top Farm. Below is a close-up of the basil I started last week – a basic Italian variety. Basil and tomatoes are the beginnings of my garden this year…despite the storm outside.