'Maters!

 

 

For five years I've saved this cover of Garden & Gun magazine's Aug/Sept issue, from their annual "The Southern Food Issue." 

 

 

And each summer I wait until a nice person gives us homegrown tomatoes and then make a tomato sandwich, something that was a favorite of my father's. No, I don't use Duke's mayo for it; Hellman's is my brand.

 

 

This summer two nice people have kept us supplied with homegrown tomatoes and they've been a delicious part of my menus. We've only grown cherry tomatoes for years now; just no luck with any other kind.

 

 

I made a small pot of tomato sauce to freeze for pasta with a few that were extra ripe. You can see a couple of Trader Joe's products behind the bowl that are favorites of mine. RH just made his first visit to TJ's since before the shut down happened and he found almost everything on my long list. 

 

 

Last July, Garden & Gun had an article about sterling silver tomato servers and I got out my only one and polished it up. The top one in their picture was valued at $500! Mine was much cheaper but pretty.

 

I use mine every time I make tomato aspic.

 

 

We've only had one good tomato so far off the one tomato plant our daughter planted for us but it was so good! I forgot to get a picture of it but I used it in a salad this week.

 

It was one of those nights when we were both exhausted. RH grilled two rib eye steaks that I'd smeared with brown sugar the night before and refrigerated uncovered [it seems to help]. I baked two large baking potatoes in the oven and added our lone tomato to the store-bought bagged salad.

 

That was it and we were almost too tired to eat. Almost.

There's an amazing tomato recipe I wanted to make this summer.

 

 

It's the Hot & Hot Fish Club's Tomato Salad and it looks magnificent!

Not sure I'm up to the challenge of this dish but if you are just Google it and take lots of pictures and let me know how it was. 

Meanwhile, let's keep enjoying homegrown tomatoes as long as we can! 

 

 

I Blame This On Mama

No, not expecting breakfast in bed,

although I do remember Daddy doing this for her.

I blame it on Mama that she taught me to love this

for breakfast....

Broiled cheese, tomato, and mayo sandwich.

Broiled on low to give the cheese time to melt...

Homegrown tomatoes peeled for a daughter who

once was a picky eater.

That's okay, Mama.

Homegrown tomatoes soon will be gone.

Sunday Morning Breakfast

Just a simple Sunday morning breakfast…

With the sports section for him….

to celebrate our Tennessee Titans' 

win last night over the Green Bay Packers.

Yes, it was only a pre-season game,

but a nice start for the new coach.

And the Portfolio section for me…

As a Super Fan of Johnny Cash

I have to read about the restoration 

of his childhood Arkansas home

while I eat my breakfast dessert of

one homemade buttermilk biscuit

and some Sour Cherry Jam. 

Getting ahead of myself though,

first there's BLT's on Publix's

5-Grain Italian Bread.

Simply because R.H. stopped by 

the Farmer on the Hill,

as we call our local neighbor who 

sells the best homegrown tomatoes 

in a roadside stand.

These tomatoes just beg to be made

into BLTs, so we do.

Our heavenly Father,

we thank you for our many blessings…

And I'm thankful for a husband who doesn't fuss

when at the last minute his wife says,

"Grab the camera, R.H., this table is

too pretty not to photograph."

And he, grateful that this is one table that

hasn't required hours of planning and staging,

does just that, even thought the bacon 

cools off a little bit.

It was a good Sunday morning breakfast.