LiveSTRONG 2010 With A Taste Of Yellow

This one is for Barbara of  Winos and Foodies.  Who is surviving with such grace.  If you haven’t already seen her blog check it out here.

The challenge was to make something with food, that’s yellow.  I was ready.   Several recipes ready to go.   And a cheat, just in case I was pressed for time.  I had tried several recipes and taken cell phone pictures that weren’t too bad.

And then Barbara announced this years challenge. The 2010 LiveSTRONG With A Taste Of Yellow – Heart Series. With.  Hearts.  Wait.  I don’t have any thing hearts except the cookie press.  And my oven just isn’t working well enough to do cookies.  Every store I went to, the response was something about heart shaped stuff comes in around Valentines day.  My brain just kinda went a bit funny.  I could pipe cookies, or decorations.  It would have been fine.  Really.  But in honor of Barbara and all the cancer survivors I decided to cook a few other dishes.

So I’ll post this one.  Courgette Risotto.  In a heart shape.  For courage.

Courgette Risotto

Heart shaped courgette risotto

LiveSTRONG With A Taste Of Yellow — Tomato and Corn Pie

This is my first time making something for A Taste of Yellow.

Winos and Foodies is in year 3 of  LiveSTRONG With A Taste Of Yellow.

For many this is not a new recipe. It probably has been done many times each year. But it is really good. It is “comfort food”. And many of us grew up reading the works of Laurie Colwin. Which makes her recipes just a bit more special for some of us. (And maybe I’ll figure out how to rotate my pictures)

This is her original recipe:

LAURIE COLWIN’S TOMATO PIE
2 pounds homegrown tomatoes, thinly sliced
2 cups flour
1 stick butter
4 tsp. baking powder
3/4 cup (or thereabouts) milk
1 1/2 cup sharp cheddar cheese, grated
1/3 cup mayonnaise
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
Chopped basil, chives or scallions to taste
Make the biscuit-dough crust by blending flour, butter, baking powder and milk either by hand or in a food processor.
Roll out half the dough on a floured surface and line a 9-inch pie plate with it. (This dough is thicker than a normal pie crust.)
Layer the tomatoes on top, scattering with scallions and/or herbs.
Sprinkle 1 cup of the cheddar over the tomatoes. Thin mayonnaise with lemon juice and drizzle on top, followed by remaining cheddar.
Roll out remaining dough, fit it over the filling and pinch the edges of the dough together to seal them.
Cut several steam vents in the top crust and bake the pie at 400 degrees for about 25 minutes.
Pair this with a salad and a glass of wine, and you have an awesome, easy summer supper. (Good-quality chopped tomatoes from a can will do in the off-season, too.)
This is one of those dishes that tastes even better as leftovers the next day. (Reheat in a 350-degree oven till the cheese is soft and gooey).
-from Laurie Colwin’s “More Home Cooking: A Writer Returns to the Kitchen.

I made a few changes. I use a combination of soft young Asiago Pressato and Comte or Petit Basque with 1/3-1/2 cup Manchago.

Peel the tomatoes by dipping into boiling water then ice water (the skin slips off if they are ripe) remove the seeds and let drain before thinly slicing. Yes I usually use yellow tomatoes.

I add 1-1 1/2 cups sweet corn and layer it with the tomato.

I add 1/2-1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard to the mayo/lemon juice mix.

Laurie’s recipe is a biscuit type dough which I love because it is so forgiving, but you can use your favorite savory pie crust recipe if you like. It can be made as small pies, or as a “slab” in a square or rectangle. I have no problem making it for a crowd as a cobbler in a 9″ x 13″ pan layering tomato, corn, mayo and cheese twice and using all the biscuit dough on top.

Happy Day!

Merry Christmas, Happy Holiday and Peace to everyone.

Charlene Butterbean looks so happy and hopeful in her Christmas Greetings picture!

Albert and Elvis are getting so lanky and looking so fluffy and sweet.  I am sure they would have enjoyed going on an adventure to visit Cori’s mom and family.  But the weather didn’t allow it.

It seems like Agnes and Henry are all grown up but I know they aren’t.  Still enjoying kittenhood. Such a clever pair, and so stunning in their holiday collars.

It is good to know that Virgil is doing well, his neighbors Matt and Richard have kept up on his family.  Seems he wants to play with his older “brother” who isn’t the least bit interested. I’ve been through this one. Evelyn has lots of pictures but can’t get cooperation from (insert whatever isn’t playing together here) on getting them onto her blog.  Also been there, that’s why I switched to WordPress.  So I am not the only one being challenged by blogger.

Thank you to Richard and Matt for sharing the wonderful pictures of Renatta, Rosalie and Phyllis. And the absolutely hysterical video! And notes about Evelyn, Virgil and Leo.

Karen, Hester and Enid get special thanks.  Hester and Enid are so active! And my anecdote of Naji the wonder cat who could get 3 of his legs caught into any collar I tried to put on him in less than 2 seconds Blogger ate. Karen–dog chew toys,  Anniecat still has lots of Dr. Noy dog toys.  They have a pocket for a squeeker, which Anniecat really likes, and I can put catnip in them. She never outgrew trying to liberate any kind of bead or bauble from anything she could reach. Did outgrow trying to liberate all buttons.  Still occasionally tries to chew on electrical cords.  I used to put a few drops of ivory dish washing soap on my fingers and very thinly wipe the cords.  Probably something better to use but that’s what I used.

I have been trying to comment on several of the Itty Bitty Kitty Committee forever homes blogs but can’t get Blogger to show me an image to verify (captcha) One blog has been eating my comments for a week now.

I thought I had posted patterns

Really. But it turned out I didn’t. And I couldn’t get to my blogger account. Finally sort of backed into it. Copied all the posts and tucked them where I can get them re-posted here. I am working on getting the crutch covers in a down-loadable form. seems like everything just takes longer than it used to.

sort of back

Still very short of time. Trying to get every thing sorted out.  May have a way to get the patterns down-loadable. It really wasn’t until last week that I realized the switch from blogger to wordpress hadn’t completed. May have lost everything that I put on blogger. Darn it. My leg was broken and now is not progressing as well as it should. Need to move. Again. And it is not a good time for those of us who are not rich in the old school style rich.

John O’Connor Moving may be the best movers in the world…

I went with a new company in Kansas City. John O’Connor Moving. Oh my, they are the best I have ever hired. Really absolutely the best, I have used a national chain, twice. There used to be a moving company in Nebraska that was good, but they aren’t around anymore. But in Kansas City it is John O’Connor Moving. They will even help pack as they go. It helped so much. I will be hiring them again when I move the rest of my stuff and furniture. They were so quick and everything was out and into storage so fast. The web site is http://www.oconnorsmoving.com