Our cucumber basket runneth over.
Our cucumber basket runneth over.
Southern Hospitality To Go: Casseroles Atlanta
Vegan Biryani
Yum Report: Just met some new “neighbors” in Atlanta – Hunter and Betsy, who’ve opened Casseroles in Morningside. My, oh my, does this shop ever take me back to the days when Joan Brooks would whip up some type of casserole concoction to feed her six hungry kids – something usually along the lines of cream of whatever poured over canned vegetables or meat from a jar. (Poor mom. Cooking was just never her thing.) But Hunter and Betsy do casseroles right: Chicken and Biscuits, Tuna Noodle, Vegan Biryani (whatever the heck that is!), Shrimp and Grits, Mac and Five Cheese, Eggplant Parmesan, and plenty more. The next time you feel like staying out of the kitchen, give them a call or just walk on in. www.casserolesatlanta.com And be sure to ask about their resident ghost, Walter John Payton. 🙂
Tuna Noodle
(: First Harvest :)
Rick Bragg’s Traveling Food
In this month’s Southern Living, Rick Bragg reminisces about some of the greatest meals he’s had on the road. Not fast food, mind you, but “traveling food.” And among his favorite stops are Tweener’s Cafe, started by Pee Wee Johnson and now run by his daughters, and Cecil’s Place – both of which happen to be right near our farm.
“It was always dusk and, it seems, always summer. My aunts would steer their Chevelles and Monte Carlos onto the gravel at Pee Wee Johnson’s joint. Change purses clutched in their fists, they would step into line with mill workers, pulp-wooders, and downy-faced soldiers destined for Vietnam. That takeout window in Jacksonville, Alabama, united us all with a common desire: the perfect footlong.”
Come for a visit this summer and we’ll go grab a footlong or a chocolate shake!
Grama’s Tomato Jam
Yesterday, Lisa Schoolcraft, who’s a long-time friend, and I got to talking about tomato jam. Why? Because I’d just tried it for the first time in my life, and Lisa told me she had her grandmother’s old recipe which she makes from time to time.
Now that the tomatoes are starting to get bigger and ripen in our gardens, Lisa shared her Grama’s recipe for tomato jam. Simple and classic, this basic recipe sounds delish…but feel free to improvise!
Tomato Jam
From the Kitchen of Margaret Quick
5 cups tomatoes
5 cups sugar (but don’t worry, Lisa says you can cut this amount by half at least!)
Cook 20 minutes. Add large box of raspberry flavored gelatin (or strawberry). Boil another 5 minutes. You can add a little lemon juice and/or substitute unflavored gelatin for flavored. Be sure to dip the tomatoes quickly in boiling water first to remove the skins, or else you’ll be pulling out curled-up tomato skins from
your jam. 🙂
Once cooled, put the jam in glass jars. (You can also can it if you like.) Keep refrigerated and the jam will last a long time. This recipe makes plenty so you’ll have lots to share. Enjoy!
