My French Onion Soup For the:2nd Annual O Foods Contest for Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month

My French Onion Soup

Slow cooking gives the broth depth of flavor and a silky texture.

Makes 6 servings
( these are all approximations- I don't usually measure when I make this)

2 lb medium onions, halved lengthwise, then thinly sliced lengthwise

5 Tablespoons of unsalted butter
5 Tablespoons of olive oil
6 cups reduced-sodium beef broth
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
6 (1/2-inch-thick) diagonal slices of baguette
Gruyere Cheese


flameproof soup crocks or ramekins

Cook onions in butter and oil in a 4- to 5-quart heavy pot over moderate heat, uncovered, stirring frequently, until onions are very soft and deep golden brown, about 45 minutes. Stir in broth, and pepper and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, 30 minutes.

While soup simmers, put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F.

Arrange bread in 1 layer on a large baking sheet and toast, turning over once, until completely dry, about 15 minutes.

Remove bread from oven and preheat broiler.

Put crocks in a shallow baking pan.

Divide soup among crocks, then float a piece of bread in each.

Slice enough Gruyère (about 6 ounces total) with cheese plane to cover tops of crocks, allowing ends of cheese to hang over rims of crocks.

Broil 4 to 5 inches from heat until cheese is melted and bubbly, 1 to 2 minutes.

CONTEST RULES

O Foods Contest for Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month

September is Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month, and for the second year in a row, Sara of Ms Adventures in Italy and Michelle of Bleeding Espresso are hosting the O Foods Contest to raise awareness of this important health issue.

There are TWO WAYS to take part in the O Foods Contest:

ONE: Post a recipe to your blog using a food that starts or ends with the letter O (e.g., oatmeal, orange, okra, octopus, olive, onion, potato, tomato); include this entire text box in the post; and send your post url along with a photo (100 x 100) to ofoods[at]gmail[dot]com by 11:59 pm (Italy time) on Monday, September 28, 2009.

PRIZES for recipe posts:

• 1st: Signed copy of Dolce Italiano: Desserts from the Babbo Kitchen by Gina DePalma, Executive Pastry Chef of Babbo Ristorante in NYC, who is currently battling ovarian cancer, inspired this event, and will be choosing her favorite recipe for this prize;

• 2nd: Signed copy of Molto Italiano: 327 Simple Italian Recipes to Cook at Home by Mario Batali (winner chosen by Sara);

• 3rd: Signed copy of Vino Italiano: The Regional Italian Wines of Italy by Joseph Bastianich (winner chosen by Michelle).

OR

TWO: If you’re not into the recipe thing, simply post this entire text box in a post on your blog to help spread the word and send your post url to ofoods[at]gmail[dot]com by 11:59 pm (Italy time) on Monday, September 28, 2009.

Awareness posts PRIZE:

• One winner chosen at random will receive a Teal Toes tote bag filled with ovarian cancer awareness goodies that you can spread around amongst your friends and family.

———

From the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund:

• Ovarian cancer is the leading cause of death from gynecologic cancers in the United States and is the fifth leading cause of cancer death among U.S. women; a woman’s lifetime risk of ovarian cancer is 1 in 67.
• The symptoms of ovarian cancer are often vague and subtle, making it difficult to diagnose, but include bloating, pelvic and/or abdominal pain, difficulty eating or feeling full quickly; and urinary symptoms (urgency or frequency).
• There is no effective screening test for ovarian cancer but there are tests which can detect ovarian cancer when patients are at high risk or have early symptoms.
• In spite of this, patients are usually diagnosed in advanced stages and only 45% survive longer than five years. Only 19% of cases are caught before the cancer has spread beyond the ovary to the pelvic region.
• When ovarian cancer is detected and treated early on, the five-year survival rate is greater than 92%.

And remember, you can also always donate to the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund at our page through FirstGiving!

Please help spread the word about ovarian cancer.
Together we can make enough noise to kill this silent killer.

OUR SAD GARDEN UPDATE

Well I suppose it was just a matter of time before we got hit with this tragedy. All the rain this season has really taken its toll on our tomatoes and zucchini...

Penn State Master Gardeners

Tomatoes Infected with Late Blight

Categories: Gardening

Posted by KarenMBern at 02:24:20 PM on July 31, 2009

Luke F. LaBorde, Penn State Department of Food Science

Late blight is a common disease in tomatoes caused by the fungus Phytophthora infestans. The disease thrives in cool, moist conditions and can wipe out an entire tomato crop within just a few weeks of infestation.

Symptoms of Late Blight

Infected tomato plants initially develop water soaked lesions on the leaves and stems. Under cool and moist conditions, the fruits may become infected initially with firm, dark brown lesions that rapidly become enlarged, wrinkled, and somewhat sunken.
The rotted areas are usually located on the top of the fruit and may remain firm or become mushy.
Both green and ripe fruits can be infected. Green fruit that is picked early and ripened indoors may develop symptoms before it is ready to eat.

Canning recommendations

The USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning (1994 ed.) recommends that canners select only disease-free, preferably vine-ripened, firm tomatoes for canning. Fruit that shows severe symptoms of late blight, especially internalization of the mold into the tomato fruit, should not be used for canning.

Although the USDA Guide recommends using only vine-ripened fruit for canning, tomatoes that have been picked green and allowed to ripen indoors may be canned if they show no symptoms of late blight.
This does not mean that the fungus itself is harmful to eat.

This recommendation is based on the fact that fungus infected fruit may have a higher than normal pH that could make it unsafe for canning. This is true for other fungal infections of tomato as well.

Tomatoes that are damaged by frost are also not recommended for canning because the softened tissue may be quickly invaded by fungus. If the canner insists on recovering a frost damaged crop, the fruit should be picked the morning after the frost and processed that day.

Late Blight spores can overwinter where there is living plant material, like potatoes that were thrown aside or that were missed in harvest. From what I understand, late blight can produce types of spores that can overwinter in the soil on their own if there are two strains that are sexually reproducing in the area, but it seems the experts believe that is not the case in the Northeast this season.

But yes, there always seems to be plenty of inoculum out there, and if we get similar weather, you can be pretty sure we'll get another outbreak. The question then becomes how early it will hit. This year's was unusually early.

Remember as always to follow the USDA Guide's recommendations for acidification:

To ensure safe acidity in whole, crushed, or juiced tomatoes, add two tablespoons of bottled lemon juice or 1/2 teaspoon of citric acid per quart of tomatoes. For pints, use one tablespoon bottled lemon juice or 1/4 teaspoon citric acid. Acid can be added directly to the jars before filling with product. Add sugar to offset acid taste, if desired. Four tablespoons of a 5 percent acidity vinegar per quart may be used instead of lemon juice or citric acid.

(Thanks to Linda Wiles, Extension Educator, Horticulture, Monroe County for bringing this to our attention!)

Late Blight - What Should the Home Gardener Do? - Rescuing Plants

Low Sugar Whole Wheat and Oatmeal Blueberry Muffins with Lemon

(Makes 9-12 muffins, depending on size of muffin cups or pan used, recipe slightly adapted from Oatmeal Blueberry Muffins at AllRecipes.)

1 1/4 cup rolled oats (regular or extra thick oats, but not instant)
1 cup white whole wheat flour
1 T baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt (I used fine grind sea salt)
1/3 cup Splenda or sugar (use Splenda for the South Beach Diet)
1 1/2 tsp. dried lemon zest or use 1 T fresh lemon zest
1 egg
1 cup milk (I used skim milk)
1/4 cup vegetable oil (I used canola oil)
1 cup fresh blueberries (for frozen blueberries, I would thaw them first)

Preheat oven to 400F. In medium-sized bowl, stir together the rolled oats, white whole wheat flour, baking powder, salt, Splenda or sugar, and dried lemon zest. (If you're using fresh lemon zest, add it with the wet ingredients.)

In a small bowl, beat the egg with a fork, then stir in the milk and vegetable oil. Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients and stir until barely combined, being careful not to over stir. When ingredients are combined, gently fold in blueberries.

Spray muffin pan or silicone muffin cups with nonstick spray if desired. (I sprayed the muffin cups I used.) Divide batter equally among muffin cups, filling about 3/4 full. (If your muffin pan has large cups, this may only make 9 muffins.)

Bake muffins 20-25 minutes, until tops are starting to brown and a toothpick inserted comes out clean. I baked my muffins 22 minutes in a small toaster oven.

***Note: I used cupcake papers to make these cupcakes and they stuck to the papers...next time I will spray my muffin tin and put the batter right into the tin...no papers!

ZUCCHINI PARMIGIANO

Fresh zucchini from the garden (sliced)
Tomato sauce
Parmesan cheese
Mozzarella cheese
Fresh from the garden basil (chopped)

I layered all of the above ingredients and put it in a 350 degree oven.
When it was bubbling and toasty on top I took it out- let it rest a little bit and served it.
It was delicious!

Artichoke Heart Casserole

I made a wonderful casserole the other day.
I found frozen artichoke hearts at the food store the other day and decided to try and make a casserole with all the fixings that I usually use to stuff my regular full size fresh artichokes.
It came delicious and was so simple.


I used:
2 bags of frozen artichoke hearts (thawed)
garlic (fresh minced)
parsley (fresh)
olive oil
bread crumbs
Parmesan cheese

I mixed everything together and tossed it into a greased (with olive oil) casserole dish.
I covered it and baked it at 350 degrees until it was bubbling.

It was really good- try it!

My Garden Update

It is finally time for a GARDEN UPDATE.
Everything seems to be growing beautifully - we have been harvesting lettuce regularly and I have given away bundles.
We finally started harvesting our Swiss Chard and it is a fantastic crop. This is one crop that I plan to grow every year!
We picked our first zucchini yesterday. They are gorgeous and they taste delicious.




The cucumbers are coming along and we are expecting several days of rain so Im sure Ill be harvesting them very soon.


Overall it is the best garden we have ever had...I sure love square foot gardening!

CUCUMBERS

CUCUMBERS

TOMATOES AND SWEET PEPPERS IN FRONT

MUSK MELON IN THE FRONT
THEN SOME LETTUCE AND CUCUMBERS IN THE BACK

BLACK EYED PEAS IN THE BACK
SWISS CHARD AND LETTUCE
THYME AND SAGE

BASIL LETTUCE AND PARSLEY

ROMANO BEANS IN THE BACK
HOT PEPPERS -FRONT REAR
LETTUCE AND MARIGOLDS UP FRONT

SWISS CHARD

ZUCCHINI-GREEN ON THE LEFT AND YELLOW ON THE RIGHT

The morning glories and doing terrific. This is the first year I actually was able to grow them and Im so excited...now I just need a few blooms!

Hope you enjopy the little trek through our garden...stay tuned for future updates~

Watermelon Granita

recipe & instructions from foodnetwork.com

1/2 seedless watermelon
1/2 cup white sugar
juice of 1 lemon

Cut up watermelon flesh into chunks and then puree in a blender. If your watermelon isn't seedless, make sure to remove the seeds first before putting in the blender or you'll get mashed up seeds which may taste bitter.

Combine the watermelon juice with the sugar and lemon and mix well.

**I poured mine into my ice cream maker and let it run until it was done-I then put it into a tray and put it into the freezer to set**
You can also...

Pour it all into a shallow wide pan and freeze for 1 hour. When the mixture is frozen, remove from the freezer and rake with a fork all the way through. Return to the freezer for another hour and then rake again. Return to the freezer for one more hour. Rake again with fork then serve. Add a sprig of mint to up the coolness factor!

Ratatouille at my house...

"FOODIE FRIDAY"

hosted by our very gracious friend at
Designs by Gollum.
Please visit her delightful blog after your visit here,

to feast your eyes on whatever she and the other participants are cooking up for today's event!

The basic components that define my ratatouille are:

plum tomatoes
zucchini
eggplant
garlic
onions

scallions
herbs
These ingredients are traditionally sauteed in olive oil and can be served over rice or potatoes, preferably with a crusty French bread (and a glass of wine for the chef.)

Recipe for my simple ratatouille
Ingredients:

1 medium sized onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced

3 diced scallions
2 medium eggplant, diced
3 plum tomatoes diced
2 medium zucchini diced into large chunks

add herbs as desired (I used basil)
olive oil (enough to sauté veggies)
salt and pepper to taste

I add a splash of balsamic vinegar

Directions:

Sauté the onion and garlic and scallions until tender
Add eggplant and zuchinni

then and tomatoes, bring to a very light simmer

Simmer, covered for 15 minutes

Simmer for 10-15 more minutes with the cover off until the vegetables are suitably soft
Remove from heat
Stir in the herbs, splash of balsamic and season to taste.

Bon appetit!

Pico De Gallo

Now I have to admit- I don't have a recipe...
I sort of put this together based on a friends recipe.

5 plum tomatoes diced tiny
half of a red onion tiny dice
half of a red sweet pepper tiny dice
5 slices of jalapeno pepper diced
cilantro
salt to taste

Thank you Justin it came delicious- we ate it with crackers and we also used it as a topping for
our Rib Eye steaks....yum!

Update on the MYSTERY plant

Here are a few new pictures of the mystery plant.
If anyone has a clue as to what this is - I would love to know.
It is odd and the blossoms are tiny - but they are really gorgeous!

Bloomin Tuesday

Today is Blooming Tuesday at Mrs. Green Thumb Jean's blog.

A few flowers that are bloomin in my yard today...












A few weeks ago I posted a picture of an odd sort of plant growing in my flower bed...one that I never planted. I asked for some help ID'ing it....well I guess no one knew what it was and I still don't either ,but take a look at the flowers that this weird plant made. They are absolutely gorgeous and there are many of them on each stem. Anyone have a clue now?




Now Im asking for a little more help- this little fellow was on my deck today
and I really dont know what he is...do you?

Blue Monday

It's time for Blue Monday .
A big thank you to Sally for hosting such a wonderful event.
Please feel free to pay a visit to Sally at Smiling Sally for more Blue Monday's posts.

Mellow Yellow Monday

We went to NYC to pick our son up at the airport...
as we drove I kept noticing yellow cabs everywhere...
All I kept thinking about was Mellow Yellow Monday-
so Im sharing my cabs with you!

Go on over to Mellow Yellow Monday to find other participants.

Happy 4th of July

Outdoor Wednesday

It's Outdoor Wednesday time..

Hosted by the Sweetest Georgia Gal at

Susan @ A Southern Daydreamer

Click on the Button below and join us for some outdoor fun!

Blue Monday

It's time for Blue Monday .
A big thank you to Sally for hosting such a wonderful event.
Please feel free to pay a visit to Sally at Smiling Sally for more Blue Monday's posts.

Mellow Yellow Monday

Go on over to Mellow Yellow Monday to find other participants.

Park Seeds New Contest -

Tempting Tomatoes Photo Contest!

Just how tempting are your tomatoes? Are they healthy and juicy and just bursting with scrumptious flavor and rich, eye-catching color? If they are, we'd like you to prove it! Enter our Tempting Tomatoes Photo Contest and let us see just what a perfectly gorgeous tomato you've grown.

The photos will be judged on more than the simple awesomeness of the tomato; we'll also be looking at photo quality, which includes composition, color, etc. So, start studying those beautifully delicious fruits (they're probably beginning to ripen about now!) and break out the camera! We'll choose 1 Grand-prize winner, who will receive a $50 Park Seed Gift Certificate, and 3 runners-up, who will each be given a $15 Gift Certificate. The winners will have their names and photos published in an upcoming issue of Park News!

When entering, please include your name, hometown and state, and email address. Also, please be sure to tell us the variety of Tomato you are photographing. You have until July 28 to get your pictures in. More info on how to enter can be found on ParkSeed.com. Good luck!

Outdoor Wednesday

We really need to thank Susan at A Southern Daydreamer for hosting Outdoor Wednesday. She gives us a reason to get outdoors and explore nature!

Canadian Steel Head Trout

Picked up some Canadian Steel Head Trout ...I absolutely love this fish.
It is tender,delicate and not as fatty as traditional salmon.

I really didnt do much to it. Lemon,Parsley,Old Bay and a little black pepper.
It came perfect.

I also made what I call a vegetable medley rice .

I saluted onion,shallot,scallion,carrot,celery and sweet red pepper.
Then I add the rice and saute.
Add the water and salt and bring to a boil.
Once it reaches a boil I turn down the heat to the lowest setting and I let the rice simmer...never lift the top until its done and never ever stir the rice. Just let it be!

I also saluted onion,shallot,garlic and some mushrooms...once translucent I added diced yellow squash.

I let it cook slowly. It came perfect! Not mushy- firm yet still tender.

Did I mention I made a loaf of bread...It was all very yummy!