Thursday, July 15, 2010

Baking in the Midwest


No, the kitchen oven is not on... we are in the oven... or so it feels!  This is the hottest summer I remember in a long time.  It will be interesting to see how many 90+ degree days we end up with this year.  I know many of you can commiserate.

It is a hot summer when you feel a cool down with 80 degree temperatures.  I made a peek-a-boo stew when the weather was just a tad cooler and I found stew meat on clearance at the grocery.  I'll add it to the recipe blog soon (it is really the old fashioned no-peek stew but Stephanie changed its' name for this family when she was little).

It is good to be "out and about" again even when I'm still getting tired much quicker than usual.  I met a friend for coffee on Tuesday (chatting for almost two hours!) and then grocery shopping Wednesday... more than running to Wal Mart (which is closest to me) for milk and bread.  My favorite grocery store had veggies on a 10 for $10 sale, including excellent lettuces and English cucumbers.

My tomatoes are just beginning to ripen and they are highly anticipated for summer meals.  Hopefully by this time next week we can harvest them?  One of my favorite summer sandwiches is a grilled cheese with sliced tomatoes (added cold to the hot sandwich).  My mother worked in a "diner" which was part of a drug store for years (remember when neighborhood drug stores had a soda fountain section?).   This was one of the sandwiches regular customers would request.

I have a few vegetarian recipes put back to try including one which features garlic, pasta, and beans.  I was served a similar dish in a restaurant a long time ago, having been encouraged to try it by a friend and remembering at the time it was amazingly delicious.  Since then, I peruse Italian pasta recipes to find something which has the same ingredients (the restaurant went out of business or I'd try to get the recipe from them).

Christopher will be moving to campus in less than a month.  With him not being home at dinnertime, I'll become more adventurous with bean meals!

Kristi - I'll check to see what kind of oregano that is.  I think the plastic tab thingy should still be there.

Picture:  Early morning sunlight through the lace curtains;

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Your little place looks like such an oasis though...what is it about lace curtains in the summer time??!!

Just a hint about the cheese and tomato sandwich you mentioned. Add just a smidge of pesto to one side of the bread and oo la la...it will make a dull cheese sandwich Pop!

I just discovered the Classico brand of pesto in the spaghetti sauce section of my local Walmart. I bought it to add to a pasta salad, but have found many other uses!

Anita said...

One of our favorite summer sandwiches is grilled cheese and tomato slices! Also BLT. Fresh tomatoes make the difference.

Deanna Rabe - Creekside Cottage Blog said...

I know what you mean about the heat! Wowie - it is one hot summer!

We are hoping our tomatoes ripen soon! Can't wait to eat them fresh off the vine! Yum!

Thickethouse.wordpress said...

I wonder if that oregano isn't marjoram. See http://www.sallybernstein.com/food/columns/gilbert/oregano.htm

There is a description of the leaves before they bloom which sounds like your picture. I LOVE marjoram, but haven't grown it myself for a long time. The fragrance is wonderful.

Vee said...

Very pretty filtered light there in your photo. Ahhh, that kind of baking. Yes, it really has been hot. I've run the AC for days just to unload some of the humidity.

I so hope that you can harvest some tomatoes just so I can gaze longingly at them. It'll be awhile here yet. I love them plain, but also with olive oil drizzled all over them and sprinkled with sea salt...yummy!

Anonymous said...

I make a sandwhich I found in a magazine. Grill the one piece of bread. I just put it in a non stick pan without butter but can use butter or a little olive oil. Top with 1 mozzerala cheese slice, slice of tomatoe and some fresh basil. Course there is always the classic same bread topped with yellow cheese and some pinnapple broiled till golden brown. Very good. Today it is to get to 105..and humid..yesterday 103.The cooler in the house cannot keep up so is hot and humid inside too. Fall is looking better and better! :)I have had two nice peppers but that is all so far this year in the garden. I am glad everyone is geting lots of veggies this year! :) Sarah

Thickethouse.wordpress said...

a summer favorite:

a perfectly ripe tomato with a slice of mozzarella on top (fresh if you can find it) and a few basil leaves on top of that. Yummmmmmmmm!

Brenda @ Its A Beautiful Life said...

Is that cinnamon toast you have ready to go in your banner photo? Yum... I could just sit down and be very comfortable with you in that picture.... especially if we each had cinnamon toast to munch!

A treat to visit, as always!

sherry said...

oh. and heat? today it's 105 with a bit of humidity. ugh.

sherry said...

Mmm. How 'bout carmelized onions and plain havarti cheese on sourdough? Thud worthy.

-or-

jack cheese and green chili slices on rye. also thud worthy, lemmetellya!