Does anybody read these?

Southern Living

So, sometimes I think I have truly become a product of my current Southern living situation. Or at least I know how to take perfectly good, good-for-you fruits and veggies into fat-laden Southern delicacies.

People love my fried green tomatoes. I made those Thursday night, using the last green tomato my mother left me when she was here. (She didn't get to come for her scheduled trip because of grandma being sick.)

They were delicious. Definitely my best effort. I'd like to say the recipe is my own creation, but I found it on the Martha White web site. Anyhow, here it is if anyone would like to try it.

Actually, the frying part is my recipe. The sauce is all Martha.

Make the sauce first. It needs to sit at least an hour in the fridge.
Mix together: 8 oz. sour cream (can be low-fat), 2 tablespoons mayonnaise, 1 tablespoon dijon mustard and 1 tablespoon horseradish.

Then
Slice 3-4 green tomatoes about 3/8" thick (I don't put much science into that part). Sprinkle them with salt and pepper.

Dredge the tomato slices in flour. Then dip them in a beaten egg, coating both sides. Then coat both sides with corn meal mix. (The recipe says to use white, but I use either. And don't use Jiffy, because that shit has sugar in it.)

Heat oil in a large skillet on medium-high heat. Place tomato slices in the skillet until they cover the bottom. Flip when they are brown, and brown the other side.

Drain on paper towels. Repeat as long as you have tomato slices. Add cooking oil when needed. Serve warm with horseradish sauce.

The other two things that are very Southern that I made recently that have been delicious were peach cobbler (super easy recipe I got from an NPR broadcast many years ago) and squash casserole, which is good but not the Amish recipe my grandma uses.

Peach cobbler

Yellow squash casserole

This recipe isn't Southern, but was a very delicious way to use all the tomatoes I've been getting. It's a tuna and tomato pasta dish. I don't even like fresh tomatoes, and I ate it for three days, so that tells you something. Do not skimp on the fresh basil. That made it. Click here for the recipe, from Food & Wine magazine. Next time I'd use whole-wheat pasta, to make it healthier. And maybe less olive oil, even though it's a good fat.

Right now, I am thinking of recipes to make on vacation. We've got some food allergies so this could be very interesting... I'm leaning toward just throwing shit on the grill.

This was the first farmer's co-op week without my grandma to decipher what's in my box and help me come up with meals, so I think I'm managing OK. I just wish she'd get better soon, because her squash casserole is so much better than the recipe I used.

Up next: Apple crisp!

P.S. I tried fried okra, and it was OK but not the best. Jane says my breading is off, and she's emailing me a better recipe. I will report back if I get more okra in my box next week. This week I gave it to Julie, because I just couldn't eat it again, and she loves it.

posted by Laura at 7:22 PM