¡Adios!

I’m on the eve of a 2-month blogging hiatus! My folks are going to give my plants a few squirts and enjoy the rest of the summer bounty: spicy peppers, bulbous eggplants and heirloom (deeelicious) Colorado River beans. In a few hours I’ll be zipping southbound to Guatemala where I’ll be spending my summer eating corn tortillas, immersing myself in Guatemalan culture while beefing up my Spanish and spending the final week of July farming on a banana and coffee plantation in the highlands. Wishing you all wonderful summers (and culinary & gardening explorations) in the meantime.

Xo, Regina

short squash blossom tutorial

Found at the ol' veg-blog.

Along the squash-lines: My summer squash (growing in 2 large-ish pots) have just about died. I harvested one little guy several weeks ago and my mom attempted to pick another one last night, that turned out to be squishy and inedible. The leaves on each plant are half-dead and the whole thing droops. I wonder if this happened because a) I haven't fertilized and the soil is lacking nutrients? I tend to doubt this because I used good compost for the bulk of their pots. Or b) because the root growth is too extensive for the pots and they need larger pots? Or c)...?

in case you thought I was exaggerating:

... in the last 24 hours ...

a photographic ode to the squash blossom

what to do when tomatoes are growing out my ears:

I am taking any and all suggestions to help make a dent in my tomato pile. A few days ago I made stuffed tomatoes - nine of them - and, with the help of my obliging family, we polished them off in two days. I hacked up three of them in a tabbouleh salad and another four in the aforementioned bean salad... I might try stewed tomatoes next, but today I had a REVELATION.

ROASTED TOMATOES.

I preheated the oven to 450 degrees. Meanwhile, I hacked up zillions of cherry tomatoes and some large, beefy guys, too. I arranged them side-by-side, cut-side-up on a baking sheet and drizzled a little olive oil, a generous splash of aged balsamic vinegar, minced heirloom garlic, sea salt, pepper and a scant teaspoon of evaporated cane sugar. Baked for 25 minutes while smoke billowed out of the sides of the oven (thank you, vinegar!). DA-Ang. I'm telling you, this might be my favorite tomato recipe to date. Smoky & savory - I nearly polished off the whole sheet pan!

oops!

I didn't mean that crappy "Smile" song - totally not swoon-worthy. I meant THIS one!

cilantro & lime bean salad WITH TOMATOES!

I think I'm turning into a tomato. We have HUNDREDS of yellow flowers speckling our plants so I know we're really going to be inundated in no time, but I've already been eating handfuls of cherry tomatoes (and a couple big ones) each day! Ayayay! I finally had the heart to use one in a recipe and not just enjoy it out-of-hand with a couple cranks of fresh pepper.

In this bowl: 3 tomatoes, 2 avocados covered with 4 tablespoons lime juice, 1/3 cup chopped cilantro, 1/4 cup chopped basil, 2 cups black beans, 2 cups corn, 1/2 cup scallion, shallot or early onion (plus the green part), sea salt, pepper, 1/2-1 tsp. evaporated cane sugar, and a glug of olive oil.

P.S. On an entirely unrelated note: I just love this.