The garden is doing great. So far I have canned 13 pints of bread and butter pickled squash and 36 quarts of green beans. I am going to have a truckload of tomatoes, if they ever decide to get ripe. Momma Said, “I think I will have to break down and sacrifice one or two for green fried tomatoes.”
I did have a scare this past weekend. I was in the garden picking green beans. I got to the last row and looked over and what did I see? Green beans hanging everywhere in the rows I had just picked. Then it hit me, I have been struck down in the prime picking season with bean blindness. You know when you have been working on a particular item for so long that you just can’t see it anymore.
It is a common ailment with gardeners and I am sure some of you have been afflicted with this at one time or other. Momma Said, “It is easily remedied by just walking away from the garden for awhile.” Your eyes will readjust, the brain will reset and you will be as good as new.
I hope everyone got through the latest round of storms unscathed. It just seemed to hit our area in isolated pockets. It hit the middle of one community and didn’t touch either end. Momma Said, “Grab your socks cause the end is a comin’.” I do tend to believe we are in for a very early Fall because the weather pattern is off from previous years. Gran always said it was going to be a bad winter if the harvest was bountiful and so far it is looking that way.
I just finished making a vegetable lasagna using zucchini instead of the noodles and it turned out pretty good. I just used my regular spaghetti sauce recipe and substituted zucchini for the lasagna noodles. Try it sometime for a refreshing change. I will leave you with an easy recipe for fried green tomatoes. Mom always just rolled them in four and fried in butter but this is a little different.
GREEN FRIED TOMATOES
Ingredients
· 1 large egg, lightly beaten
· 1/2 cup buttermilk
· 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, divided
· 1/2 cup cornmeal
· 1 teaspoon salt
· 1/2 teaspoon pepper
· 3 medium-size green tomatoes, cut into 1/3-inch slices
· Vegetable oil
· Salt to taste
Preparation
1. Combine egg and buttermilk; set aside.
2. Combine 1/4 cup all-purpose flour, cornmeal, 1 teaspoon salt, and pepper in a shallow bowl or pan.
3. Dredge tomato slices in remaining 1/4 cup flour; dip in egg mixture, and dredge in cornmeal mixture.
4. Pour oil to a depth of 1/4 to 1/2 inch in a large cast-iron skillet; heat to 375°. Drop tomatoes, in batches, into hot oil, and cook 2 minutes on each side or until golden. Drain on paper towels or a rack. Sprinkle hot tomatoes with salt.
