Look What I Came Home To!!

[cjs]

Yipee! I'm going to have tomatoes SOON!
Yellow Cherry Tomato


Lemon Boy


AND LOOK AT THE BASIL I CAME HOME TO!!!


Thank God for the happy garden I came home to, 'cause the road trip was nothing to shout about...while truck was being worked on and up on the rack (meaning no access), this is how we had to make coffee till we could rescue our coffee thermos thing...



The way the sun is shining, we should be able to pick those yellow cherries tomorrow. and a good time was had by all...

P.S. I need some help - I've been looking for an hour for a pasta salad Bill/old bay posted just a couple days ago and I can't find the darn thing!! Was it a dream? Anybody remember where it was? If I remember right ( ) it used a lot of basil and I need to do exactly that. thanks anyone -

[Roxanne 21]

I am SOOOOOOO jealous!!! Some of my favorite ingredients---do you all know how LUCKY you are???

Great pics Jean, what a treat to come home to!!!

[Harborwitch]

What a beautiful sight to come home to! We've got a load of green tomatoes - but so far only one ripe one.

[MUSICMAKER]

Ohh, Jean, I'm green with envy! Everything looks so good and healthy! Everything in our garden is still wimpy...to embarrassed to post a picture, especially now!!! All of our tomato plants have 1 to 3 golfball size, (well, maybe just a tiny bit larger but not by much) tomatoes on them and the basil, oregano, etc., look like "starter" plants.
Really sad looking...don't know why, either!

Fried green tomatoes sound good about now...hummmm....

[DFen911]

Seeing your basil made me weep!! Mine just will not grow I'm hoping with our backyard make over and new watering system I can try again.

Oh my taste buds are humming now

[Harborwitch]

I've been threatening - but Bob keeps telling me to keep my paws off the tomatoes. Then yesterday I found this in Bon Appetite:

Courtesy of McCormick spice company.

Fried Green Totato Soup with Cornbread Croutons

4 servings

2 TBS olive oil
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
2 large green tomatoes, coarsely chopped (3 cups)
3 cups water
1 tsp salt
1 tsp dried thyme
fresh ground black pepper (5 twists)
1 cup cornbread croutons (recipe follows)

Heat oil in 2 quart saucepan on medium heat. Add onion; cook and stir 10 minutes or until softened. Add tomatoes; cook on medium low heat 25 minutes or until tomatoes are softened, stirring occasionally. Add water, simmer 30 minutes or until tomatoes are tender.

Pour 1/2 of the tomatoe mixture into blender container; cover and blend until smooth. Strain and return to saucepan. Repeat with remaining tomato mixture. Add salt, thyme, and black pepper. Simmer 20 minutes or until slightly thickened. Serve with croutons.

Cornbread Croutons

Preheat oven to 350F. Cut prepared cornbread into 3/4" cubes. Place on baking sheet and bake 10 minutes or until toasted.

Soup can be served chilled or hot.

I might go raid the tomato plants! Maybe I'd better just get some at the farmers' market???

[pjcooks]

Hi, Jean, great tomatoes, great basil, too bad your trip was on the crummy side. My tomatoes are coming along nicely, have lots of ripe grapes right now, time for a CAH Perfect Pasta recipe.

I've search for Bill's pasta salad also, to no avail. It must be hidden in some post that has nothing to do with pasta salad, or anything remotely connected. Now that I've jinxed myself, I'm sure someone will find the thread, and the subject will be "Bill's Pasta Salad"

PJ

[bjcotton]

Did you do a search for "pasta salad"? That might locate it. Never mind, I tried it and couldn't find one. Why don't you send him a PM and ask him?

[cjs]

PJ, if you're thinking of the same one I was... it wasn't Bill's - it was Labrador's....as Roxanne nice pointed out to me.

Tried it last night - it was good, tasted like a margarita pizza

[pjcooks]

Thanks. We've all getting it now.

CRS, that is

PJ