Author Archives: diary of a tomato

Summer Pea Soup, with Walnut Bread and Herbed Cream Cheese

Posted on August 1, 2013 by diary of a tomato

A day of rest and recuperation called for gently heated minty pea soup mixed with potato leek from The Soup Guy, seasoned with some good olive oil and saved just for this occasion; walnut bread made with Maine Grains and baked off … Continue reading →

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7.30.13 Garden Bouquets

Posted on July 30, 2013 by diary of a tomato

Vegetables are trickling in, beginning with carrot thinnings… …a mixed bouquet of radishes… …joined by the first of the cucumbers… …and summer squash, and the last of the peas. Harvesting this week: Salad greens, kale, chard, peas, favas, cucumbers, summer … Continue reading →

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Penne with Fava Beans, Summer Squash and Blossoms

Posted on July 28, 2013 by diary of a tomato

When the question of dinner came up, the garden answered loud and clear. This summery version of Vignarola makes use of everything starting to come in, and then some — the first of the fava beans, a mix of baby summer squash with … Continue reading →

Posted in cooking, garden | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

7.22.13 A Harvest of Garlic

Posted on July 22, 2013 by diary of a tomato

Once mid-July passes, we scan the weather reports for a run of warm, dry days to harvest garlic in. We pulled samples from each of the three varieties we planted last fall — Phillips (above), and Music and Rossa di … Continue reading →

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Mastering Food Preservation: More on Identifying Ball’s BPA-Free Lids

Posted on July 19, 2013 by diary of a tomato

For those concerned about the presence of BPA in the lining of lids for home canning, we posted previously on identifying Ball’s new BPA-free lids by looking for the serial number on the boxes they come in. Since that post in May, two … Continue reading →

Posted in preserving | Tagged , , | 15 Comments

7.15.13 Agretti, Invaders, and Other People’s Harvests

Posted on July 15, 2013 by diary of a tomato

This is the second time around with the radishes and agretti. The early spring plantings of both failed to thrive, and were replanted with enough success to be included in this week’s harvest. To get beyond the low germination rate, … Continue reading →

Posted in garden, preserving | Tagged , , , , , | 17 Comments

Macaroni Peas

Posted on July 14, 2013 by diary of a tomato

The reward for shelling ten pounds of peas for freezing is setting aside enough to make Macaroni Peas. A meetup of two English classics, mushy peas and macaroni cheese, this is the kind of seasonally vibrant dish that is completely of the … Continue reading →

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