Tomatomania

Tomatomania, a massive sale of heirloom and interesting tomato seedlings, comes to LA every March and it is one of my favorite garden events of the year.
Even though I always have plenty of plants started (too many I suppose) I can never resist a few more with their colorful fruits and not quite lyrical names.
This year I was easily seduced by Green Velvet, Nebraska Wedding, Black and Brown Boar, Snow White, Pink Ping Pong, Black Mauri and Tess' Land Race Currant tomatoes to name a few. I can hardly wait for summer.

A Bright Yellow Wedge

It's actually possible to walk in the door and less than 25 minutes later have hot cornbread for dinner, if James will preheat the oven for me. I just pop 1 TB of butter or bacon grease, if I have it, into an iron skillet and let it melt in the pan in the hot oven. Meanwhile I mix together 2 cups of cornmeal, 1 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp salt, and a couple good grinds of pepper. In a separate bowl I beat together 1 1/2 cups of buttermilk, 1 egg and 2 TB of vegetable oil. I mix the wet ingredients into the dry, pour it all into the skillet with the hot fat and bake at 450º for 18-20 minutes. Crispy, fluffy, delicious and just the thing to go with my slow cooker BBQ pork ribs. Pretty good with butter and jam for breakfast too.

Wilted Lettuce Salad

I started by sautéing a pan of mixed mushrooms in olive oil and butter, having no idea what was next. I thought those mushrooms might go well with cauliflower so I steamed a head and thought again.

We still have garden fresh lettuce so I grabbed a head and let the warm mushrooms and cauliflower act as the oil for the dressing and mixed in some of our own homemade tart red wine vinegar. Next time, for a real full meal salad I will add some chopped bacon into the mushroom mixture and top the wilted leaves with shredded gruyère and soft, runny poached eggs. Sort of a wilted cauliflower lardon -- might just catch on.

Do As Zuni Does

One line in The Zuni Cafe Cookbook has been ringing in my ears. It's an offhanded quip where Rodgers (the chef/ owner of the San Francisco restaurant James and I love) mentions she uses leftover mignonette (the vinegar, shallot and wine sauce used to top raw oysters), butter, bay leaves, thyme, and "lots of lemon zest" to steam mussels. So, I figured, why not clams and why not tonight. A perfect dinner with warm bread to dip in the slightly tangy sauce.

"Farm" To Table In Fifteen Minutes

Tucked away in our front yard, behind the sprawling, floppy fava beans is a tidy row of lettuces. Walking in from work I thought "Why not?" and grabbed a couple heads of sweet, tender Boston Bibb. Our front yard salads are so delicious they don't need more than a wash and a light dressing. I tossed our precious home grown greens with white beans I cooked for a polenta dish that's still unmade, tangy sheep's milk cheese, balsamic vinegar and fresh oregano leaves.

James ate his salad first.

Family Time

James and I have been running in opposite directions all week. Finally we got a chance to slow down for a pasta dinner together. James set the water to boil while I sautéed garlic and Italian sausage in olive oil. I added in crushed red peppers, oregano, chopped (cooked) potatoes and cooked until the sausage was browned. About 3 minutes before the pasta was al dente I added the broccoli florets to the pasta water and added a good sized splash of wine to the skillet with the sausage. The wine cooked down as I drained the pasta and broccoli and then added it to the frying pan along with a knob of butter. A couple stirs around the pan and a shower of grated cheese made Saturday night dinner ready to go.

Pasta for two.

Crock Pot Lentil Soup

While rushing to get out the door a crock pot can be dinnertime's best friend. I chopped an onion and a couple carrots and tossed them in the crock pot along with 2 cups of dried lentils (I happened to have yellow lentils), a heavy tsp of thyme, 3 chopped cloves of garlic, salt, and 8 cups of vegetable broth. Eight (maybe 10) hours later we had dinner.