Fried Green Tomato...Salad

This summer has been rough on our tomato plants. First we had scorching heat. Then we got a full month of rain. Now summer is dragging into fall and our tomatoes are limping to the finish line. After getting a pretty good initial crop, a good deal of which was lost to thirsty squirrels and birds, the second wave of tomatoes were splitting as soon as they even considered turning red. I finally gave up on about half of the plants and pulled them out to make room for some fall greens.

One of the ways I have been coping with these tomato challenges is to embrace the fried green tomato. There are countless recipes and techniques for making these little treats. But the basic idea in all of them is to dredge the slices in some combination of milk, egg, breadcrumbs, flour and/or cornmeal and then fry them up in vegetable oil. I think I probably use a different "recipe" every time. I only have two pieces of green tomato frying advice: 1st Salt the tomato slices, let them sit for 15 minutes or so and blot off the water and 2nd double dredge them (i.e. coat them in flour, then a milk/egg, then breadcrumbs/cornmeal).

The last time I made these treats, I put them on top of a salad. Amazingly good. I used the recipe for the cilantro lime dipping sauce to make a salad dressing.

The First Greens of the Season

The lettuce is up! Woohoo! After being a little tardy in my planting and after a very cold spring, we finally have lettuce to fill our salad bowls. Last night we had a delicious and simple salad of greens, green onions (also from the garden) and shredded carrots (from Trader Joe's).

Aside from the fresh from the garden greens, the two things that make this salad are the shredded carrots and the vinaigrette.

You can buy shredded carrots in a bag at the store and they are perfectly good. But you can also buy a Julienne peeler. I happen to have two, oddly. One my mom gave me after I had been coveting hers and one Dave bought me because I had been coveting my mom's. These little tools are great. Instant fancy salad without the fuss on getting out your mandoline.

As for the vinaigrette, the basic formula is 3 parts oil to 1 part acid, usually vinegar, but citrus juice and soy sauce count too. I usually  make vinaigrette in a small mason or jelly jar. Start by adding 2 inches of oil, 1 inch of vinegar and then add any of the following to suit your tastes: mustard, brown sugar, maple syrup, soy, lemon/lime/orange juice. For an Asian variation use rice vinegar and add any or all of the following: soy, hoisin, sriracha, mirin, fish sauce, ginger.

Next time you are contributing a salad to a potluck dinner, make your own dressing too. Homemade dressing is like homemade whipped cream; it invariably impresses folks and has the power to mask a less than impressive salad or dessert. Trust me.

Lupines and Literature

After a long an cold winter and a really long and cold lead up, it appears that spring may finally be here. The Phillies are back in action. The daffodils are up. And the seeds I started in the window have sprouted.

This year Kara and I started a bunch of flowers again. (If you are looking for a great end of year teacher gift, start some Morning Glory of Zinnias, and by the time June is here you can transfer them to a bigger pot so your kid's teacher can plant then in his/her garden. Cheap, homemade, fun to do with kids.) We put in Morning Glories, Zinnias, Shasta Daisies, Phlox. But we are the most excited to see what happens to the Lupine seeds we planted.

Now up until a year ago, I had never even heard of Lupines. But then Kara and I read Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney. This book is fabulous. A great story, wonderful message and gorgeous illustrations.

The narrator, Alice, it tells the life story of her aunt, Miss Alice Rumphius. We see the elder Alice go from working with her grandfather in a coastal town to helping children as a librarian to traveling the world to settling down in a coastal town of her own.

It is in this last chapter of her life that Miss Rumphius figures out how to fulfill the mission her grandfather gave her as a little girl, "Make the world more beautiful." Sprinkling the town with Lupine seeds and watching them grow over the generations, Miss Rumphius, beautifies her town and teaches its children that whatever you do in life, make sure you leave the world a little more beautiful in the process.

Admittedly, this particular children's book has sentimental meaning to me as it was a gift from Libby, one of the best students I ever taught. When I was at the end of my pregnancy, the girls in my senior English class gave me a basket of books; one from each girl and each inscribed with a message to me and my soon to be born daughter. In the history of teacher gifts I ever received, this one remains the clear winner.

So thanks, Libby, for the great book. Looking forward to seeing our how our Lupines do this year. Just one step towards making our world a little more beautiful.