Easy enough for a child to make...

What's a great project for a child on a cool fall morning? No-knead rosemary bread, of course!

13 year old Monet, 9 year old Sweetheart and 5 year old Baby made their rosemary bread with verbal help from mama, from determining the right temperature of the water (warm, not hot or cold), to the measuring of the ingredients, to the harvesting of the rosemary, to the slathering on of the olive oil (what fun!) and finishing up with the eating of the final product. Monet even improvises a dipping oil which I will have him post for your enjoyment later this afternoon.

In the meantime, enjoy the photos of my previously posted No-Knead Rosemary Bread!

Mixing the yeast into the warm water.

Measuring the flour and salt.

Snipping in the fresh rosemary.

A pleasant goo.

After rising.

Place it in baguette pans, or...

...a cast-iron skillet (or other baking pan/dish), slather with olive oil, then sprinkle with kosher salt.

Snip some more rosemary on top.

Bake until golden brown!

It's not a tall loaf. Think of it as more of a thick foccacia.

Spread with real butter or dip in an olive oil mixture...

...and enjoy!

Genovese Basil Bread

On a cool, rainy holiday when Toby is out working on the cabin and the garden weeds will wait until the sun comes up, baking bread is at its best. And when there's an abundance of basil in the garden, that's the time to make Genovese Basil Bread.

This recipe is made in a similar fashion to french bread, so you'll roll out the dough with a rolling pin and then roll each piece up jelly-roll style.

The recipe makes four small baguette-type loaves, so if you've got a hungry clan, you'll want to make several batches!

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Genovese Basil Bread

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
2 Cups Fresh Basil Leaves, coarsely chopped and lightly packed
1 clove garlic, minced
1 package dry yeast
1 cup very warm water (105-115 degres F)
2.5 to 3 cups bread flour, plus a bit more for dusting
2 teaspoons salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Heat oil in a heavy, large skillet (I love my cast iron skillets!) over low to medium heat. Add basil and garlic and stir for 1 minute. Remove from heat.

Dissolve the yeast in water in a small bowl. Let it stand for ten minutes.

Mound 2.5 cups of flour onto your work surface or in a large bowl (I use my stand mixer); make a well in the center. Add the dissolved yeast, basil mixture, salt and pepper to the well. Mix the ingredients that are in the well, and then incorporate the flour. Knead on a lightly floured surface until it's firm and elastic, adding a bit more flour if it's sticky, for several minutes (on 4 on your KitchenAid stand mixer for 10 minutes).

Place the dough in a large, oiled bowl, turning once to coat with oil, and then cover it to let it rise until it's doubled, about 45 minutes, depending on the warmth in the rising space.

Grease a baking sheet. Punch down the dough. Knead it on a lightly floured surface until it's smooth, about three minutes. Cut the dough into four pieces (or two pieces, for a longer loaf) and then roll one out on a lightly-floured surface to an 8 x 5 1/2" rectangle (longer if you're making two loaves instead of four).

Roll it up jelly-roll style, starting at one long end. Transfer to the greased baking sheet, seam side down, then do the rest of the pieces the same way. Cover and let rise for about 30 minutes, until the pieces are doubled.

While they're rising, preheat your oven to 450 degrees farenheit.

When the rolls have risen, slash them from one end to the other with a serrated knife and a confident hand. Bake them for about 30 minutes, or until they're golden in color and sound hollow when you tap on the bottom of a roll.

Voila!

And a finished product! Yes! Delicious with REAL butter!

Growing!

The season is flying by, and the garden is shooting up! And even though there are a few snow peas on the vines, and I made my first chocolate zucchini cake of the season, and there are a few blossoms on the nasturtiums, I don't really feel like the garden is "ready" until the tomatoes are ripe and plump and plentiful.

But that doesn't mean the garden isn't plentiful already! It's bursting forth with loads of hollyhocks, tarragon, mint, parsley, swiss chard, rosemary and just the beginnings of a large crop of basil. The lettuce season is just about over, as is the broccoli and cauliflower, but I have yet to see a brussels sprout or eat a green bean, so we still have a long way to go (though I do see the sprouts starting to form and there are little tiny beans on the bushes!).

What else is in the garden?

Red Raspberries and Yellow Squash...

Plums...

Peaches...

Container Swiss Chard...

Hollyhocks and Scarecrows...

Radish-flavored Nasturtiums...

Lots and lots of tomato blossoms, and a few little bugs...

Bees...

And more bees...

Enough basil to feed and army...

Mammoth Snow Peas...

Climbing Nasturiums (well, you can't see them *yet* but they'll be there before you know it!)...

Red beets, yellow beets, cantaloupe and watermelon...

Fennel and flowers...

More and more and more zucchini (Did you ever hear the defnition of a person without a friend? Someone who has to go to the store to buy a zucchini!)...

And there's also Asian pears, kittens, blueberries, okra, pigs, eggplant, chickens, some heirloom melons, puppies, lots and lots of flowers, herbs and, of course, children. :-)

All-American Baked Beans

For my eldest daughter's graduation party, I made Grandma Jane's Special Potato Salad, Barbecued Chicken and All-American Baked Beans from a cookbook I bought years ago--The New Basics Cookbook by Julee Rosso and Sheila Lukens. On Saturday evening, I soaked the beans, and on Sunday morning, I cooked them, leaving them to drain while we were at church. When we returned on Sunday afternoon, I finished up the beans, adding the bacon and sauce and pouring them all into a big electric roaster. They were very well-received, especially by my mother-in-law Kathie who asked me several questions about the recipe throughout the afternoon. It wasn't until the next morning that she told me she'd never known that baked beans came from navy or Great Northern beans, and that she'd never seen baked beans made from scratch!

Because beans are so inexpensive, the addition of the more costly real maple syrup justifiable. These beans take a long while because you have to soak them the night before, cook them ahead of time, and then bake them for about three hours. Don't forget, like I did, to reserve the liquid in which you cooked the beans, but if you do, it's not a tragedy. If your beans are getting too dry, add a bit of water.

I multiplied this recipe by six for my party, and it half-filled my electric roaster.

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All-American Baked Beans
Serves 10-12

1 pound dried navy or Great Northern beans
8 ounces slab or thick-cut bacon, cut into 1/4" pieces
1 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 1/2 cups packed dark brown sugar
2 cups ketchup
6 tablespoons maple syrup
6 tablespoons dark molasses
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Rinse and pick through the beans. Soak them overnight in a large pot of water.
Rinse the soaked beans well under cold water and place them in a heavy saucepan. Cover with water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until tender, 45 minutes to an hour. Drain, reserving the cooking liquid.
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
Place a 2-quart flameproof casserole or dutch oven over medium heat and saute bacon until slightly crisp and fat is rendered, about five minutes. Add the onions and garlic, cooking until it's wilted, about 5 minutes.
Add the brown sugar and stir over medium-low heat until it has dissolved, about five minutes. Stir in the ketchup, syrup, molasses, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper. Add the drained beans and mix well.
Cover and transfer to the oven. Bake, stirring occasionally, for 2 1/2 hours. Make sure you scrape the bottom when you stir.
Add 3/4 cup of the reserved bean liquid, cover, and bake another 30 minutes. Remove the cover and bake, stirring once, until the sauce is thick and syrupy, another 10-15 minutes. Serve hot.

Chicken Bryan

There's a fancy restaurant near us that serves a dish that I crave come summer grilling time. After doing a little searching and experimenting, I decided that this was about as close as I could get to the real thing.

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Chicken Bryan

Chicken:

6 large chicken breasts
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 tsp freshly-ground black pepper
8 oz goat cheese or Gruyere, softened to room temperature

Sun-Dried Tomato Sauce:

2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon finely-chopped garlic
1 tablespoon finely-chopped yellow onion
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup freshly-squeezed lemon juice
10 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 1/2 cup finely-sliced sun-dried tomatoes
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly-ground white pepper

Prepare the sun-dried tomato sauce. Place the butter, garlic and onion in a large skillet over medium heat and saute until the garlic and onion are tender and transparent. Add white wine and lemon juice. Increase heat to medium-high and simmer to reduce by half.

Reduce heat to low. Add cold butter one piece at a time. Add sun-dried tomatoes, basil, salt and pepper. Stir to blend ingredients. Set aside.

Prepare the chicken: reduce charcoal briquettes to white-hot coals. Brush chicken breasts with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill chicken over hot coals 15-20 minutes or until cooked through.

Divide goat cheese evenly between chicken breasts, placing on the chicken breasts for the last two minutes of cooking.

Place cooked chicken on serving platter and spoon sun-dried tomato sauce over chicken.

Serve hot.

Barbecued Chicken with Spice Rub and Memphis-Style Barbecue Sauce

For Taylor's grad party, we'll be making oodles of barbecued chicken with sauce and keeping it warm in the electric roaster. The best recipe for barbecued chicken I've ever found comes from Fine Cooking magazine. It features a spice rub before cooking, a Memphis-style barbecue sauce to slather on towards the end and serve on the side, and a foolproof method for cooking chicken on the grill without burning it. Check out that website for full directions. This chicken, along with Grandma Jane's Special Potato Salad and a couple of Zach's Famous Cheesecakes and some fresh greens from the garden will make this a fabulous graduation meal.

Spice Rub

1/4 cup sugar
2 Tbs. onion salt
1 Tbs. seasoned salt, such as Lawry's
1 Tbs. garlic salt
2 Tbs. paprika
1-1/2 tsp. chili powder
1-1/2 tsp. lemon pepper
1 Tbs. dried sage
1/2 tsp. dried basil
1/2 tsp. dried rosemary, crumbled
1/4 tsp. cayenne

Combine all the ingredients and blend well. Store in an airtight container.

To prepare the chicken -- Rinse and pat dry the chicken pieces. Sprinkle on the rub generously.

To prepare the fire -- (If you are using a gas grill, see the directions here). Using a chimney starter, light 40 to 50 pieces of good-quality lump charcoal. When the coals are glowing, transfer them from the chimney to one side of the grill. (If you don't have a chimney starter, stack the charcoal around some crumpled newspaper in a pyramid in the grill and light the newspaper. The coals will be hot in 20 to 30 min.)

If you have some pieces of apple or oak hardwood, feel free to add a couple to the stack of coals. Put a small foil or metal pan full of water next to the coals. Position the grilling grate so that one of the holes is over the coals so you can add coals and wood chips as needed.

When the coals are about 90% white, position the pieces of chicken, skin side up, on the grill anywhere except directly over the coals. Cover the grill with the lid, making sure that the air vent is opposite the fire. Cook the chicken for about 30 min., maintaining a temperature of 230° to 250°F by adjusting the vents. (Opening the vents lets in more oxygen and raises the temperature.) Add more charcoal if the temperature drops below 230°F. You'll likely need to add 15 to 20 pieces about 30 min. after putting the chicken on.

After a half hour or so, baste the chicken with some of the apple juice. Continue to cook the chicken until it's cooked through -- this will take about 3 hours -- basting it and checking the temperature of the grill every 45 min. or so. As the chicken cooks, you can move the pieces around the grill if those closest to the fire seem in danger of overcooking. But keep the chicken skin side up for the duration.

Check for doneness with an instant-read thermometer after 2-1/2 hours. Cooked chicken should read 165°F in the meatiest part of the thigh or breast. You'll also know the chicken is done when its juices run clear after being sliced into with a knife.

When the chicken is cooked, pour some of the barbecue sauce into a separate container (to avoid contaminating the whole batch) and brush it onto the chicken. Cook it an additional few minutes so that the sauce adheres to the chicken in a sticky glaze; watch the chicken carefully at this point and pull it off the grill if the sauce starts to burn.

Remove the chicken from the grill and serve with some of the barbecue sauce on the side, if you like.

Memphis-style barbecue sauce

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 Tbs. chili powder
1 Tbs. finely ground black pepper
1 Tbs. onion powder
2 tsp. garlic powder
2 tsp. celery salt
1/4 to 1/2 tsp. cayenne (optional)
2 cups tomato ketchup
1/2 cup prepared mustard
1/4 cup cider vinegar
3 Tbs. Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp. liquid smoke (optional)
2 Tbs. canola oil

In a medium saucepan, combine all the ingredients except the oil. Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. (You may want to have a lid handy to protect yourself and your kitchen from any sputtering.) Reduce the heat and simmer for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. With a whisk, blend in the oil until incorporated.

My Current Obsession: Concord Grapes

In my endeavor to eat as locally as possible this year, I've been searching out local growers of foods that can be processed and preserved for eating throughout the winter. Finding local tomatoes was a cinch. Finding local peaches was a bit more of a challenge, but it could be done. Finding local apples isn't a problem at all. And then I started thinking about grapes. I remember as a child seeing grape vines in all of the neighbor's yards, but I haven't seen grapes offered at the farmers' markets. Grapes! A staple! A standard! Whose grandmother didn't make grape jelly thirty years ago?!?

So I started inquiring of my friends who all said that they just buy their grape juices, jams and jellies and don't bother with the mess. While I do have access to a local manufacturer of jellies and jams that don't contain high fructose corn syrup, I don't know where the fruit comes from. I kind of doubt that it's exclusively locally-grown. It's not that we wouldn't eat things that weren't local, but I felt pretty sure I could find someone who could point me to some locally-grown grapes.

After thinking about it for a while, I remembered a former co-worker who'd mentioned that she and her husband had a vineyard of Concord grapes. I stopped by her office and she took me to the kitchen where she had some vine-ripened grapes just waiting to be tasted. We set a time for me to do some picking.

What a fabulous way to start the Labor Day weekend. A beautiful day and a beautiful drive through the countryside, Natalie Merchant on the tape player (thrift store find--25 cents), my husband by my side and the three youngest children tagging along--who could ask for more?

But we were given more.

Have you ever seen 2,000 grape vines up close? When Kathy lead us to the vineyard, I was overwhelmed by the abundance! Grapes hung in pregnant clusters under twining vines and protective leaves. Armed with half-bushel boxes and clippers, Kathy, Bo, eight-year-old Sweetheart and I started harvesting. After about an hour of picking, we'd filled eight half-bushel boxes. And we'd only moved about ten feet down the first row. Kathy told us that the big Concord harvest will take place on Saturday, and they'll have less than a dozen people doing all the work.

A sun-warmed grape is a beautiful thing, and these grapes were breathtaking. I was tempted to crawl under the vines and stretch out on my back, just staring up at the full and perfect light-bathed fruit. But even a beautiful thing has its limits. One can only eat so many fresh Concord grapes (and I did eat so may fresh Concord grapes), and I wasn't about to down four bushels. The plan was to make juice and maybe a couple of jars of jam or jelly. With my new toy and a special grape seed spiral for my new toy, I planned to turn out quart after quart of delicious grape juice concentrate.

And then, a serendipitous moment arose. Just after our grape-picking venture, we headed for our friend Sara's house for a hot-dog roast. When I told her what we'd done with our day, she said, "Then you have to see what I have!" She led me to the basement, to rows of purple liquid in quart Ball jars, beside which stood a gleaming, stainless steel Norpro Krona Steamer. Sara beamed, "Just put water in the bottom, grapes in the basket, and the juice comes out the tube, straight into your scalded canning jars! Wanna borrow it?"

Did I ever!

Watching the steamer at work was a lesson in appreciating the simple things. Basically, the steamer works like a double-boiler with a steamer basket on the top and a clear lid over that. You wash the grapes, drop them into the basket (the instructions say that you don't even have to remove the stems, but we did), and boil the water until the steam extracts the juice from the grapes. Within about forty minutes, light-purple juice appears in a clear tube that's held closed by a clamp at the end. When the juice is ready, about an hour after you begin steaming, the grapes look pale and slightly empty. Open the clamp, empty the juice into a prepared, sterile, hot quart-sized jar leaving 1/4 inch headspace, wipe the rim, top with a two-part lid, hand-tighten and then process in a boiling-water bath for 10 minutes. Set the jars in a draft-free place and listen for that satisfying "POP!" that means the lids have sealed properly.

We saved a bit of the juice out, of course, and found that we could use about one part juice to two parts water, a bit of sugar to taste, to have a very delicious drink.

The pulp that was left in the top of the steamer looked like it still had some use, so we put it through the Roma strainer and ended up with a very substantial puree. I added some sugar, froze a bit of it and then brought the rest to a boil, poured it into prepared quart jars and boiling-water bathed them for 15 minutes. That grape puree will be used to flavor vanilla yogurt, will be poured on pancakes, and might even find its way into a batch of ice cream.

I was thankful for my husband's help and companionship in the kitchen as the grapes were being processed. I asked him what he thought he'd be doing with his Labor day weekend if he weren't married (certainly not canning grape juice, I thought), and he wasn't really sure. A camping trip, maybe. Something outdoorsy. "What would you be doing?" he asked me. I thought about it for a moment, and then realized with a giggle that I probably WOULD be canning grape juice. It's just part of who I am, what I love to do, what inspires me. It's a beautiful thing to see those multi-colored jewels marching along the fruit-cellar shelves, promising sustenance long into the winter. When a child complains because he's come to the bottom of the jar of home-made applesauce (when he'd never TOUCH the commercial version) or proclaims the grape juice better than store-bought, it's just icing on the cake.

Tomorrow, a bit about butter--apple butter, that is.

Tomato-Basil Biscuits

The basil keeps coming, even while I'm working in the kitchen freezing corn with my new toy (I'll post on that soon) and making apple butter with my other new toy (that post is also in the works), but as soon as I'm done with all of this other bounty, I'll bake a batch of tomato-basil biscuits, maybe even freeze a few, though I haven't tried that yet. For sure we'll eat a batch warm with real butter.

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Tomato-Basil Biscuits

1 cup unbleached flour
pinch of sugar
pinch of salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
4 tablespoons cold butter, in small pieces
1/4 cup half and half
2 ripe tomatoes, coarsely chopped
1/3 cup fresh basil, chopped

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. In a large bowl, sift flour, sugar, salt, baking powder together. Cut butter in with two knives until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add the milk and the tomatoes and stir. Work in basil and mix thoroughly.

Transfer the dough to a lightly-floured surface and knead lightly for about 30 seconds. Pat out the dough to about an inch thick and cut into rounds or squares, about 2 inches around. Arrange one inch apart on a baking sheet. Bake until puffed and golden, about 15 minutes. Cool and serve with real butter.

Tomato-Basil Tart

When summer heaps its blessings of real garden-fresh tomatoes and pungeant basil upon me, I find as many opportunities to use them in the kitchen as I can. This recipe, using a pate brise crust and your choice of cheeses, is easy to make and delicious to consume. Plus, its beautiful, simple presentation inspires hungry awe in your family and guests. I made two of these tarts for a local houseconcert a couple of weeks ago and they were very well received.

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Delicious Summer Duo Tart

1 pate brise crust, pressed into a tart pan and baked in a 450 degree F. oven until crust is lightly browned and thoroughly dry.

1 1/2 cup shredded baking or melting cheese, like gruyere, swiss, mozzarella, queso fresco or feta (reduce the amount if you use feta)

4 garden-fresh roma tomatoes, cut into thin wedges and drained on paper towels

1/4 cup loosely packed basil leaves

4-5 cloves of garlic

1/2 cup mayonaisse

1/4 cup grated aged cheese, like parmigiano reggiano, pecorino romano or cotija cheese

Sprinkle 1/2 cup of the baking cheese into warm tart crust. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 375 degres F. Arrange tomatoes on crust. Process basil and garlic in a food processor until finely chopped. Combine garlic, basil, mayonaisse, aged cheese and remaining cup of baking cheese in a bowl and spread over tomato wedges.

Bake for 25 minutes, or until cheese is melted and golden on top.

Let rest for five minutes before cutting and serving.

No-Cook Cucumber Relish

This recipe was originally given to me by an Amish friend whose family uses it as a sandwich spread. For me, it reminds me of the bread-and-butter pickles my mom used to make around this time every year. While this doesn't take as long as those pickles did, the basic ingredients are the same. I make a couple of batches and freeze it. Some I eat on sandwiches and hot dogs and some I eat straight out of the jar. ;-) If you want to use it like bread-and-butters, just slice instead of grating or chopping the cukes.

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No-Cook Cucumber Relish

7 cups unpeeled grated, chopped or sliced cucumbers
1 cup diced green peppers
1 cup diced onions

Make a brine using:

1 cup vinegar
2 cups sugar

Stir to dissolve the sugar, but do not heat! When sugar is dissolved, add:

2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon celery seed

Pour over cucumber mixture and refrigerate in a covered container. Let it stand for 24 hours in the fridge before using. Freeze some for later.

Vanilla Ice Cream

We've tried a lot of vanilla ice cream recipes and certainly none of them have ever been rejected, but once we'd tasted this recipe, we realized we'd never need another. This recipe comes from The New Best Recipe book from the people from Cook's Illustrated, and it's a custard-style ice cream, which means it's made with lots of egg yolks. So if you're in the country and have access to fresh, free-range eggs (and there is a difference, believe me) and raw milk, this recipe is the way to go. We use a hand-crank ice cream freezer because we like for everyone to earn their ice cream, but the same outcome can be had with an electric ice-cream freezer.

1 1/2 cups whole milk
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
3/4 cup sugar
1 vanilla bean, split in half and scraped out, or 2 teaspoons of pure vanilla extract
4 large egg yolks

Fill a sink or large bowl with ice-water and have a strainer ready over another large bowl that will fit inside the sink or large bowl. Heat the milk, cream, 1/2 cup of the sugar and the vanilla seeds and pod (if you're not using a vanilla bean, wait until later to add the extract) in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring to bread up the vanilla seeds, until steam appears and the milk is warm, about 175 degrees, which takes around five minutes. Do not boil the milk.

Meanwhile, whisk the yolks and remaining 1/4 cup sugar in a medium bowl until combined and pale yellow. Whisk half the warm milk mixture into the beaten yolks, 1/2 cup at a time, until combined. Whisk the milk-yolk mixture into the warm milk in the saucepan over medium heat amd cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until steam appears, foam subsides and the mixture is slightly thickened or measure 180-180 degrees. Do not boil or eggs will curdle. Immediate strain the mixture into the bowl you have ready and set it in the ice-water bath. Cool and stir until it comes to room temperature. Cover, refrigerate, and chill until it gets down to 40 degrees, 3-24 hours.

Remove and discard vanilla pod. If you're not using a vanilla bean, add the vanilla extract now and stir well. Pour the custard into the ice-cream freezer and churn following the manufacturer's instructions. Transfer to an airtight container and freeze until solid, at least a few hours, depending on the freezer. We usually wait until the next day to serve it. It will keep up to two days.

Black Raspberry Cobbler

The previous owners of our little cabin in the woods christened the acreage by which it's surrounded "The Thicket" because of the thick growth of brush and cane fruits throughout the woods. All around the cabin grows berries of all kinds, mostly red raspberries, blackberries and black raspberries. Our first year in The Thicket, I was pleased to find that I could fill many baskets with blackberries and black raspberries, and we seized the opportunity to eat as many fresh berries as we could. But we also made Black Raspberry Cobbler, a fabulously delicious treat that we topped with homemade vanilla ice cream.

You'll notice that there are several steps in between which you do not stir your ingredients. Folow these directions and you'll end up with a moist cobbler with a delicately crispy top crust.

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Black Raspberry Cobbler

1/2 cup melted butter
3/4 cup milk
1 cup sugar
1 cup flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 cups black raspberries
1/2 cup sugar

Pour the melted butter into the bottom of a 7"x11" baking dish. In a separate bowl, mix together the milk, 1 cup sugar, flour and baking powder. pour this mixture over the butter but DO NOT STIR.

Pour the berries over the batter and butter but DO NOT STIR.

Pour the remaining sugar over the berries but DO NOT STIR.

Bake the cobbler at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes, or until the crust is browned and set. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream!

Bruschetta

My daughter requests this as soon as tomatoes begin to ripen. When we start to tire of Pico de Gallo, we bring this to the table. This would be delicious with Genovese Basil Bread!

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Bruschetta

Ingredients for sauce:
12-14 ripe plum tomatoes, fresh from the garden, diced into bite-sized pieces
2 tablespoons minced garlic
2 tablespoons minced shallots
1 cup fresh basil leaves, coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
Salt and coarsely ground black pepper to taste
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

Combine these ingredients together in a bowl and set aside.

Prepare the bread:

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic, slivered
thickly-sliced rustic bread

Heat the olive oil in a small skillet. Saute the garlic until golden, 2-3 minutes. Throw away the garlic and keep the oil. Toast the bread in the garlic oil then cut each slice in half. Top with room-temperature sauce.

You can also sprinkle this with a bit of parmesan and pop it in the oven for a couple of minutes until it's hot and toasty.

Enjoy!

Nettie's Pico de Gallo

Summer isn't officially here until the first heaping bowl of Nettie's Pico de Gallo hits the table. Garden fresh tomatoes, onions, peppers and cilantro, a shake or two of salt and a squeeze of fresh lime, and you've got it. I keep a gallon jug of this stuff in the fridge for as long as the seasonal ingredients can be had locally, and then we settle for second-best in the dead of winter; with each huge batch I make, I freeze half for later.

This recipe is totally improvisable, though the original was written out for me by my sister-in-law's mother, Nerita, who grew up in Mexico. She, too, improvises, but gave me some idea of proportions. When it comes down to it, it's all about taste, so do what you like. Add more lime, less lime, cut back on the onions, add more peppers. If it's good for you, you've done it right!

Nettie's Pico de Gallo (or "Garden Fresh Salsa")
(This will make a small batch. If you're smart, you'll make a big batch.)

Garden Fresh Tomatoes--about four large ones (I use a combination of romas and heritage types. This will NOT taste as good if you use store-bought tomatoes, unless you use grape tomatoes, which taste most like real tomatoes and not like water balloons)--cut into bite-sized pieces either by hand or with a food processor
One large onion--sweet or storing--diced
One or two jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped (be careful when doing this not to get seeds on hands or put hands in eyes!). Add more jalapenos or a stronger pepper if you like it hot.
A small bundle of cilantro, chopped finely (tip: if you have a food processor, add the cilantro to half of the onion, quartered, and chop them together in the processor. Do the same with the jalapenos and the other half of the onions)
One lime, juiced
Kosher salt to taste

Mix all of these together, adding a bit of olive oil if it seems too dry, and serve with good chips!