One Local Summer: Week 7

We had thunderstorms all day yesterday and most of the evening, dropping the temperature roughly 20 degrees, making this meal possible. No way I'm boiling pasta when it's so hot I'm sweating in the house.

So I only make this a few times a year, because it isn't exactly healthy. But oh my is it good. My sheepnose pimientoes (those little red pepper looking things) are coming in pretty fast now, along with another kind of pimiento (the short, oblong to the left), and I think some Relleno chiles which are very sweet and mild. I combine these with a Pennsylvania Simply Sweet Onion (grown in PA but I don't know where), my garlic, my basil, and cook down until soft. Then it gets pureed and added to......cream (from Shady Acres in Etown). Served over pasta (not local ingred., but made and distributed by New World Pasta in Harrisburg, PA). And the freshly grated, aged Parmesan wasn't local either, but there just isn't a decent source. The Naughty Marietta red wine was local though, with the vineyard less than 5 miles from me.

Very, very, very good.

Special thanks to a former co-worker of mine whose wife is Italian and supplied me with some splendid recipes for ripe, red peppers several years ago. This is easily one of my favorite summer meals, and it just doesn't taste right the rest of the year.

Killer tomato

Dudes, check this out! Monster tomato, with a quarter for scale. And it was a suprise. I hadn't seen it growing. It was way, way inside a Constoluto Genovese plant. And I was reaching around in there and grabbing ahold of whatever looked ripe and pulled this thing out! Ha. It will be dinner tonight. I am picking serious tomatoes. In the last three days, 34 quarts and 4 pints. I have some serious canning to do with my deluge of San Marzanos. And I am making nice money with the tomato stand.

In other news, our Silver Maple was finally cut down on Monday. They didn't even give us any notice. So when I pulled out of the driveway Monday morning I had no idea it would be the last time I would see it. Our yard looks like it was bombed where that tree stood. And I feel very exposed. The sun really beats down in the morning and it just feels very open to the street. Husband is also freaked out about it and agreed to spend a good bit of money towards fall to have a substantial tree installed. It was for the best as almost all of the large limbs were hollow inside, but I seriously miss its leafy treeness.

Kitt tagged me for the seven random garden things meme and I am slowly compiling some items. Key word is slowly. It is 96 degrees here....feeling like 104. I break out in perspiration 5 minutes out of the shower. I don't like being sweaty. Still won't break down and get a.c. though husband is seriously tempted. It will be fall soon enough I'm afraid. I saw a garden center advertise mums on the way home. Good lord.