Harvest Corn Side Dish Recipe

The Corn Picking Moon (named by Native American tribes) is often the brightest full moon of the year.

Farmers call it the Harvest Moon because it's almost like a second daylight, allowing them to work well into the night, harvesting crops.

Harvest Corn Side Dish Recipe
(My Grandma used to make this.)

• 18 oz. sweet corn
  
• 1.5 cups shredded Swiss cheese
• 6 oz. skim milk
• 1.5 cups minced onion
• 1.5 cups seasoned bread crumbs
• 1 beaten egg
• 1 Tbsp. melted butter
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Stir together: corn, egg, milk, onion, salt, pepper and 1/2 cup Swiss cheese.
Place in a shallow baking dish.
Create a topping with the melted butter and bread crumbs. Sprinkle over the casserole.
Cover with the remaining Swiss cheese.

Bake @ 350 degrees for about a half hour.

Oven-Fried Green Tomato Recipe

There is so much bad news in the local paper* that I often wonder why I subscribe. Take this morning, for instance, when a sneaky little note in the corner of the front page warned that night temperatures would drop to 24 degrees (F). Oh, I know there are plenty of bigger problems in the world than frozen green tomatoes but I had sort of crossed my fingers that we'd have a long, leisurely autumn since it snowed in June. This is why containers are oftentimes a mountain gardener's best friend.

If you have an abundance of good fresh tomatoes, freeze them whole. Just wash, dry, and put them in freezer bags. They'll retain their flavor ~ great for all sorts of recipes (too squishy for salads.)

OVEN-FRIED GREEN TOMATOES:
[Bake in 400 degree oven]

• 6 green tomatoes, cut in 1/4-inch thick slices
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2/3 cup skim milk
• 1/3 cup water
• 1.5 cups seasoned bread crumbs
• 1.5 cup Parmesan cheese

Mix beaten eggs, milk, and water in a shallow bowl. Mix bread crumbs and Parmesan in a separate shallow bowl. Dip tomato slices into the egg mixture, then into the bread crumbs. Arrange tomato slices on a cookie sheet and bake uncovered in 400° oven for about 10 minutes. Flip all of the tomatoes, to brown on the other side, and bake for 10 more minutes.

Watermelon Pickle Recipe

You gotta be quick. When Levo's melons are ripe, it's a free-for-all, kind of like Filene's Basement. Perhaps it's a secret in the soil. Or, maybe it's just good old-fashioned know-how. Whatever the case, when Levo turns the lights on at his stand, summer is officially over and the pickling season has begun.

Turns out old Levo knew what's what long before the rest of us. Watermelons are one of the world's healthiest foods - higher in cancer-fighting antioxidants than any other fruit. Make this recipe with your kids. It's a fun time and a whole lot sweeter than taking them to McDonalds.

Watermelon Pickle Recipe
*Quantity: Makes 2 1/2 pints
*Prep Time: Takes forever (Hey, it's a labor of love.)

Ingredients:
2 pounds watermelon rind
1/4 cup pickling salt
4 cups water
2 cups sugar
1 cup white vinegar
1 tablespoon broken stick cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons whole cloves
1/2 lemon, thinly sliced

Day One:

• Trim the dark green and pink parts from the watermelon rind.
• Cut into 1-inch cubes and measure 7 cups.
• Soak watermelon rind overnight in a mixture of the pickling salt and water.

Day Two:

• Drain and rinse watermelon rind.
• Cover rind with cold water in a large saucepan; cook just until tender.
• Combine sugar, vinegar, cinnamon, whole cloves, and 1 cup water in an 8-quart kettle. Simmer mixture 10 minutes, then strain.
• Add drained watermelon rind and lemon slices.
• Simmer until watermelon rind is translucent.
• Fill half-pint jars with watermelon rind and syrup mixture, leaving 1/2-inch space at the top of the jars. Adjust the lids.
• Process in boiling water bath for 5 minutes.

* Find Levo's historic watermelon stand along route 37 in South Dakota. By the time I arrived, most of the goodies were gone. Slackers get to explain to the kiddies why they're roasting pumpkin seeds instead of cookin' up pickles.

Bacon & Tomato Irresistible Dip

This is a face only a Mother could love...

...Which is why I'm dicing him up for the Labor Day BBQ. Heirloom Tomatoes can win, hands down, in a blind taste test but they don't score many points in a beauty pageant.

I live in a boom town and - just between you and me - the Californians are makin' us a little nuts. They quite seriously show up at a Labor Day BBQ with some kooky Tofu recipe and call it a 'dish to share.' Dish to scare is more appropro.

We're Utahns. We're light years behind the rest of the country with respect to social development. (Haven't you seen Big Love?)

This is why I'm cookin' up my favorite BLT Dip. B = bacon!

These days, bacon is so unhealthy and taboo that this dip gets everyone excited ~ including the new neighbors from LA.

BLT Dip

• 1 c. mayonnaise
• 1 c. sour cream
• 1 lb. bacon
• 2 heirloom tomatoes

Cook bacon until crispy, drain fat. Crumble into bite-size bits. Dice two majorly ugly heirloom tomatoes. Stir together sour cream, mayonnaise, bacon, and tomatoes. Serve with Bagel Crisps.

Click here for another favorite Heirloom Tomato Recipe.

What's so great about Heirloom Tomatoes?

Chokecherry Jam Recipe

Chokecherry Jam was a breakfast tradition at our house. It defined Sunday mornings for as long as I could remember. After a few dozen phone calls, I managed to track down this most precious recipe from childhood.

Once I retrieved it, though, I felt kind of foolish. There's nothing to it. Have you ever gone back to a childhood haunt and noticed how everything is smaller than you remembered it? Well, I guess this recipe is kind of like that. Bigger than life for sentimental reasons and nothing more.

Chokecherries blossom in May and ripen throughout the summer. The time for picking chokecherries is... right.. about... NOW.

Picking your own? Look for big, plump berries, dark purple or black. Toss in some light red and green ones, too. They add extra flavor.

The Legendary O'Fahey Family
CHOKECHERRY JAM RECIPE

Remember to stir, stir, stir. Cherries and sugar can get pretty sticky and may burn to the sides of your pot.

• Add 1 cup of water to every four cups of cherries.
• Simmer over low heat until fruit is very tender.
• Use a large spoon to press the chokecherry pulp through a sieve. (Three cups of pulp make about 3 half pints of jam.)
• Add an equal amount of sugar to match the amount of chokecherry pulp.
• Put sugar/chokecherry mixture back on the stove and cook over medium heat until the sugar is dissolved.
• Cook to a temperature of 9 °F higher than the boiling point of water. *According to Aunt Lillian, this temperature check will deliver a rich flavor and thick consistency.
• Pour into hot, sterile jam jars to approximately 3/4 full.
• Seal and process in a boiling water bath for about 15 minutes.
• Give the jam 24 hours to slowly cool.

* Are you a newbie at making jam? Click here. These guys can fill in the blanks.

Heirloom Tomato Appetizer Recipe

Just because I managed to lose all of my own veggies this year, (Memorial Day frost) doesn't mean I have to go without.

Early morning at the local Farmer's Market is a colorful, bustling, fun-filled affair. This week, I came home with more luscious tomatoes than I really need.

So, now it's time to get creative in the kitchen. Here's a tasty recipe I just discovered.

It's so delicious, it easily doubles as dinner.

You'll need a loaf of crusty bread (garlic or rosemary are great choices,) olive oil, shredded Parmesan cheese, thinly sliced proscuitto, and one fresh-picked, vine-ripened tomato.*


Heirloom Tomato Broiled Appetizer

• Fire up the broiler
• Cut the bread in half-inch thick, sandwich-type slices
• Brush with olive oil
• Add thinly-sliced proscuitto
• Add thinly-sliced tomato*
• Cover with shredded Parmesan cheese
• Broil for 5-10 minutes, until bread is toasty and cheese is melted and bubbly.

Enjoy!

* Please don't wreck this fabulous recipe by using a crummy, store-bought tomato. :-)

Chocolate Drop Cookie Recipe

My daughter is moving home for the college summer break. Aside from the fact that I miss her, an important benefit of L living at home is that she hardly ever has 2 dimes to rub together. That means each time she tries to borrow money I can put her to work pulling weeds! Seeing as how my weeds outnumber my flowers 10 - 1, I'm getting more excited by the minute!

Comforting traditions tie us together more so than any of the 'defining moments' of our lives. My Grandmother made this recipe for her daughters. Mom made it for me. I make it for L. And, though she swears it will never happen... Someday, she will be walking down the hallway, to deliver a plate of these cookies to her own daughter, who is pulling an all-nighter on a term paper she should have started weeks ago.

Chocolate Drop Cookies
Preheat oven to 350. Bake for 12 minutes. Makes just enough for a study break.

Combine:
1 Egg
6 Tablespoons Butter
6 Tablespoons Dutch Cocoa
6 Tablespoons Milk
1 Tablespoon Vanilla
1/3 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 Teaspoon Baking Powder
1/2 Teaspoon Salt

Mix in:
3/4 Cup Sugar
1 1/4 Cup Flour

* Don't even think about lowering the fat in this special recipe.
** Looking to satisfy a sweet tooth? Double the sugar. This family loves chocolate, but not sweet treats.