Monday, September 25, 2023

Tomato Cheddar Dill Pie

Happy Fall! Have you been blessed with an end-of-summer harvest of green and red tomatoes from your garden that you would like to cook deliciously? With just a bit of preparation, you can make this savory Tomato Cheddar Dill Pie.

Our son has a "green thumb" and grew an abundance of heirloom-style tomatoes in his garden this summer. His family has been enjoying them in soups, sandwiches, sauces, and salads, but when he gifted me with the basketful above I decided to turn them into one of my favorite recipes: Tomato Cheddar Dill Pie!

Although I used this assortment of colorful tomatoes, the original recipe can be made with a combination of green and red tomatoes.

You can use your favorite pie crust or buy a pre-made pie crust, but this one is a perfect one for this pie, and easy to make:

PIE CRUST:

1¾ cups all-purpose flour
¼ cup plus 1 teaspoon plain yellow cornmeal, divided
1½ teaspoons kosher salt
½ cup cold unsalted butter, cubed
1 large egg, beaten
¼ cup whole buttermilk

In the work bowl of a food processor, place flour, ¼ cup cornmeal, and salt. Add cold butter, and pulse until the mixture is crumbly. With the processor running, add egg and buttermilk in a slow, steady stream just until the dough comes together. Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface, and shape it into a disk. Wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Let dough stand at room temperature until slightly softened, about 10 minutes. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into a 14-inch circle. Transfer to a pie pan or cast iron skillet. First, sprinkle the one tablespoon of reserved cornmeal over the bottom of the pan

Press the dough into the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Fold edges under, and crimp as desired.

I had lots of fresh dill growing in my garden so I used fresh dill in this recipe, but you can also use dried dill. I also buy cheddar cheese by the block and self-grate it but you can buy pre-grated cheese to make it simpler.

Tomato Cheddar Dill Pie

INGREDIENTS:

CRUST: prepare your favorite pie crust or see the recipe above.

FILLING:

2½ pounds red tomatoes
1 pound green tomatoes (I used a variety of homegrown heirloom tomatoes this time)
2½ teaspoons kosher salt, divided
1 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons chopped fresh dill, divided
1 tablespoon grated onion
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
1¼ cups shredded sharp white Cheddar cheese
¼ cup shredded sharp yellow Cheddar cheese

Instructions

Line 2 baking sheets with paper towels. Cut an ¼ -inch slice from the top of each tomato. Using a small spoon, scoop out tomato seeds. Cut tomatoes into ¼-inch-thick slices. Arrange tomato slices in a single layer on prepared pans. Sprinkle both sides with 2 teaspoons salt. Let stand for 1 hour. Pat dry with paper towels. This removes excess water from the tomatoes so your pie will not be soggy.

In a small bowl, stir together mayonnaise, 2 tablespoons dill, onion, pepper, and remaining ½ teaspoon salt. In another small bowl, combine cheeses.

Preheat your oven to 375° F

Arrange green tomato slices, overlapping slightly, in the bottom of the prepared crust. Spread with 1⁄3 cup mayonnaise mixture, and sprinkle with ⅓ cup cheese.

Repeat with half of red tomato slices, 1⁄3 cup mayonnaise mixture,1/2 cup cheese, and remaining tomato slices.

Bake for 25 minutes.

Spread the top of the pie with the remaining 1⁄3 cup mayonnaise mixture, and sprinkle with the remaining ⅓ cup cheese.

Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes more, covering crust with foil to prevent excess browning, if necessary.

Let cool on a wire rack for 45 minutes.

Sprinkle with the remaining 2 teaspoons dill.

Serve warm

My pie fresh out of the oven

A delicious slice of Tomato Cheddar Dill Pie!

We enjoyed slices of this pie as a lunch entree and as a side for dinner along with a piece of meat or fish. I hope you will also enjoy it!

I captured this stunning photograph during a recent drive with my husband and daughter that I shared on my personal Facebook page. However, I wanted to share it here as well. As we were driving westward, we witnessed the sun slowly setting beyond the Rocky Mountains in the distance. A large cloud bank loomed above the mountains, and suddenly the sun shone through, illuminating the clouds with a breathtaking golden hue. It was an absolutely beautiful moment worth sharing!

I hope all our days will be full of golden color as fall advances.

I wish you a wonderful season ahead!

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Sunday, September 17, 2023

Farewell Summer!

“There shall be eternal summer in the grateful heart.”

~ Celia Thaxter

The fall season is just a few days away, and although it is my favorite time of the year I'm always a little sad to see summer end. After a cold and rainy spring, our summer weather was mild and our lives were quiet as we stayed home most of the time and cared for our gardens.

Although the deer--and even squirrels--ate many of our tomatoes our patio container pepper crop was a good one. I roast them and save them in my freezer for chili, soups, and sauces.

This morning I was greeted by a deer convention being held on my front lawn. They were enjoying the shade and drinking from our birdbath.

Even though they ate all my flowers and many of my tomatoes, I can't help but think they are cute!

Our grandsons are both busy playing sports--high school football for the oldest and Little League Fall baseball for the middle school child. Our oldest grandson accompanied one of his best friends from childhood to a high school Homecoming Dance this weekend. They have been friends from their baby days as they were born a week apart and both their mothers are also best friends.

Our oldest granddaughter, along with two of her classmates, was chosen to take down the American flag and the Colorado state flag at the conclusion of their elementary school day. With great care and respect, they folded both flags and stored them until the following day. Each morning, the students recite the Pledge of Allegiance and receive general announcements.

"I am beginning to learn that it is the sweet, simple things of life which are the real ones after all.”

~ Laura Ingalls Wilder

I hope you all had a wonderful summer!

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Sunday, September 10, 2023

In Remembrance of 9-11

The Pueblo, Colorado, a 9-11 Memorial is located along the historic Arkansas Riverwalk, in front of the Center For American Values, which is dedicated to the delivery of high-quality civics-based education for our nation's youth (K-12) and houses one of the largest Medal of Honor Portraits of Valor. You can read more about this center in a blog post I wrote in 2013 on this link and my post about the historic Arkansas Riverwalk in Pueblo, Colorado on this link.

A piece of steel from one of the World Trade Center buildings is part of the Pueblo, Colorado, memorial and is facing toward New York City.

It's hard to fathom that 22 years have passed since the terrorist attack on the United States that took place on September 11, 2001. At that time, my husband and I were residing in the Brooklyn borough of New York City, where we had a clear view of the top of World Trade Center Building 2 from the front of our home. My husband worked in building 7 of the World Trade Center complex, and we frequented that area of NYC often. Our daughter was studying in college in NYC, while our son was living in Washington, DC for his college education and subsequent work. The memories of that day are still vivid in our minds.

I have written many posts about 9-11 since I began my blog--many, many memories and photos that I took in New York and also my reflections about the day after we moved to Colorado in 2013. You can find all those posts under this link for the posts with the 9-11 label--keep scrolling for more after each post--there are 17 posts in total.

We will never forget!

All 50 states of the United States have memorials to the Terrorist 9-11, as well as many countries around the world. You can see many of them on this link on the 9-11 Living Memorial Website.

In the Colorado neighborhood in which I now live we have a memorial to Jason Dahl, the pilot of Flight 93, the flight the passengers bravely fought the terrorists that took over the plane and it crashed that day in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

Jason Dahl lived here --just a few blocks from where I now live--and the community erected this stone that has an eagle figure and the words: "'May he soar with the eagles." In the photo collage above you can see that memorial on the right and on the left is his name on one of the two 9-11 Memorial Fountains, in NYC, that now stand where each World Trade Center Tower once stood. As another memorial, there is a scholarship that has been established in Jason Dahl's memory to help young aviators achieve their dreams,

The 9-11 Living Memorial Project was launched in 2006. The Living Memorial Digital Archive Project is an online collection of photographs that chronicles the 2,977 lives lost on 9/11 and the 6 individuals and an unborn child that died in the 1993 bombing and also documents stories of responders and survivors. Today, the 9/11 Living Memorial is an extensive online collection of over 87,000 photographs that will expand over time. Through their partnership with the 9/11 Memorial Museum in New York City, the 9/11 Living Memorial is now a core component of their "In Memoriam" exhibition, which commemorates the lives lost in the attacks and provides visitors with the opportunity to learn about the men, women, and children who died. There are also survivor stories as part of the website. Please take some time to read some of the stories today if you can.

"No day shall erase you from the memory of time" Virgil

Is there a 9-11 Memorial where you live? I'd love to learn about it in your comments below.

To all our friends, neighbors, and work associates that we lost on 9-11...

We will never forget!

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Monday, September 4, 2023

September Joys: Peaches, Tomatoes and Football!

A beautiful sky over the foothills near Boulder, Colorado

Happy September!

Colorado experiences an early autumn due to its high elevation, however, there are still a few weeks of summer remaining to enjoy.

One of the joys at this time of the year is Palisade Peaches from the western slope of Colorado. They are juicy and sweet freestone peaches and every year I look forward to them. Last year our daughter had a business trip to Palisade and purchased a box of peaches for us. I made many delicious dishes with them which you can see on this post.

This year, our oldest grandson entered high school and his school orchestra has a fundraiser where Palisade Peaches, and honey from peach grove bee hives, could be purchased. We bought 20 pounds of peaches and a jar of honey-- both so wonderful!

I recently made a lifestyle change to eat a low carbohydrate diet from now on--see why on this post--but, happily, peaches are one of the healthier fruits that I can consume in moderation. The first meal I made was a Tomato Peach Fig and Burrata Salad, with arugula, basil, and prosciutto added and a balsamic glaze on top. We enjoyed it on our deck as we watched the sunset. It was the perfect meal for a warm evening!

This year I tried a Peach Quick Bread recipe from the blog "Sally's Baking Recipes" for my husband. It was delicious! It had a cinnamon crumb topping and as well as cinnamon-swirled peaches inside the cake's interior.

I had less success with attempting a low-carb version of a peach loaf using almond flour, coconut flour, and monk fruit sugar substitute. It did not rise too high despite having both baking powder and baking soda added. It may have been because of my area's high elevation as I live at 6,200 feet (1889.76 meters) and baking is often a challenge here. It did taste good, and I hope to get better at baking with substitutions so that I can also enjoy some low-carb treats. Does anyone have any low-carb baking hints for me?

A savory dinner with peaches was this one called Balsamic Peach Pork Chops with Blue Cheese from the blog "Closet Cooking."

It was fabulous!

I used extra peaches since I had more pork chops than the recipe called for. I doubled the recipe and served them separately so I could regulate my portion size.

Additionally, I still have an abundance of zucchini and zucchini blossoms growing in my garden this September, so I made zucchini fritters for my husband to enjoy.

As far as gardens go, a disaster hit my patio tomato plants!

If you look at the collage above you can see the photo in the lower left corner of my plants a week ago. I was picking many red tomatoes every day, as you can see by the basket of ripe ones. I came out this week to find that a deer somehow squeezed past the chicken wire fence around my plants and ate all the tops and tomatoes it could reach! AGH!!! I lost so many tomatoes. Knowing it would probably come back I pulled all the remaining tomatoes and will allow them to ripen inside by a window. The season for tomatoes was coming to an end, but it was sad to lose so many.

Finally, another September joy is watching our oldest grandson play football on his high school freshman team. It is nice to see the team learn sportsmanship and for them to be kept busy in the afternoons after school with practices. He also hopes to play lacrosse in the spring.