Fried Green Tomatoes

Everyone has their own favorite Fried Green Tomato recipe and if I see a new one I'll try it, but this is the one I normally use.

Soaked first in buttermilk and then dipped in a flour-and-cornmeal coating before frying, these tomatoes come out hot, crispy,and jucy.

Fried Green Tomatoes
6-8 servings
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4 large green tomatoes
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup self-rising cornmeal
3 cups vegetable oil
Salt to taste

1. Cut tomatoes into 1/4 to 1/3-inch thick slices; place in a shallow dish. Pour buttermilk over tomatoes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

2. Combine flour and cornmeal in a shallow dish or pie plate. Dredge tomatoes in flour mixture.

3. Fry tomatoes, in batches, in hot oil in a large cast-iron skillet over medium heat 3 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Drain tomatoes on paper towels. Sprinkle with salt to taste.

Another Zucchini Casserole

Listen, I'm all for any recipe that will help use up some of this zucchini that everyone is just dying to give you. They are sick of it too.

This is a wonderful recipe that can be frozen for the long winter months. This works well with summer squash or a mixture of the two.

Zucchini Casserole
Serves 6
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6 medium zucchini
2 tablespoons bacon grease, yes, I said bacon grease
1 medium tomato, peeled and chopped
1 small onion (more if you like), chopped
1 rib celery, chopped
salt and pepper
pinch (1/8 teaspoon) of oregano or Italian seasoning
buttered bread crumbs
Parmesan cheese

Slice zucchini about 1/4 inch thick but do not peel. Heat bacon grease in a heavy frying pan' add tomato, onion, celery, zucchini and seasonings, in the order. Cover and steam until vegetables are crisp tender. (If you plan to freeze the dish, stop at this point and put the vegetables in a freezer container. Cool, then freeze.)

For immediate use, drain off excess liquid (it makes good broth), put vegetables in a greased casserole, and top with buttered crumbs. Sprinkle generously with Parmesan cheese. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until top is browned and vegetables are bubbly.

Southern Tomato Sandwich

I must be getting senile. How could I forget to post my favorite summer sandwich ever! Maybe I posted it and forgot. It doesn't matter it needs to be posted now with all the wonderful tomatoes at their peak. This is truly a Southern favorite.

The secret here is tomatoes fresh from the garden, never refrigerate your tomatoes, and a soft white bread, the kind that sticks to the roof of your mouth. If you want to get fancy you can peel the tomatoes but it's not necessary.

The fresh basil leaves are something that have been added in the past few years and were not in the sandwich I had growing up.

Southern Tomato Sandwich
2 Sandwiches
you don't need a printed recipe for this

1 Large ripe tomato
3 tablespoons mayonnaise, more if you like
4 white bread slices
8 small fresh basil leaves
Salt and pepper to taste

Slice tomato into 8 slices; spread mayonnaise onto 1 side of each 2 slices of bread. Layer with tomato slices and basil leaves. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Top with remaining 2 bread slices.

She-Crab Soup

This is a recipe that I came by when I lived in Charleston, S.C. I may have gotten it from the local newspaper. They always had such fabulous local recipes. The locals will tell you that you have to have she-crab and the roe to have really good She-Crab Soup, but I find absolutely nothing wrong with this recipe. I'm lucky to find crab meat without worrying about if it's a he or she with roe.

You don't have to have the sherry but it sure adds a lot of flavor.

She-Crab Soup
Serves 6
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1 quart half-and-half
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 pieces lemon zest
1/2 stick butter
1/4 cup crushed oyster crackers
salt and pepper to taste
2 dashes Tabasco sauce
1 pound white crab meat
2 tablespoons sherry

Put half-and-half in top of a double boiler with nutmeg and lemon zest and bring to a simmer. Cook for a few minutes at simmer. Steam should rise from milk, but not boil. Then add butter and continue to simmer for 15 minutes. Thicken with cracker crumbs; season with salt and pepper and Tabasco sauce. Add crab meat that has been looked over twice for shell particles.

Allow to stand on back of stove for a few minutes to bring out the flavor. Just before serving, add sherry.

This can be made with shrimp, which should be ground.

Lot's Wife

Today is a good day for a little Bible Study Humor, don't you think?

The Sunday School teacher was describing how Lot's wife looked back and turned into a pillar of salt, when little Jason interrupted. "My Mommy looked back once while she was driving," he announced triumphantly, "and turned into a telephone pole!"

Okay I said a little humor!

In Charge of Everything

I thought of Kim @ Kim's Dancing Eyes when I read this passage. She always ends her post with God's Got It, and does he ever. Let's all remember to keep Kim and Joe in our prayers.


Matthew 12: 15-21
In charge of Everything

Jesus, knowing they were out to ge him, moved on. A lot of people followed him, and he healed them all. He also cautioned them to keep it quiet, following guidelines setdown by Isaiah:

Look well at my handpicked servant;
I love him so much, take such delight in him.
I've placed my Spirit on him;
he'll decree justice to the nations.
But he won't yell, won't raise his voice;
there'll be no commotion in the streets.
He won't walk over anyone's feeling,
won't push you into a corner.
Before you know it, his justice will triumph;
the mere sound of his name will signal hope, even
among far-off unbelievers.

Please check in with Dianna at The Kennedy Adventures for more Saints and Scriptures Sunday.

Red Rice

How could you be from the South and not love rice? Dirty Rice might be my favorite, but a lot of people don't like the idea of chicken livers in their rice. Red Rice is another favorite. This is a South Carolina recipe, Charleston or Savannah I can't remember which.

Red Rice
6-8 servings
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6 strips bacon, cubed
4 tablespoons bacon grease
1 large onion, chopped fine
1 small can tomato paste
1 1/2 to 2 cans water
2 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 to 3 teaspoons sugar
good dash each of salt and pepper
1 1/4 cups of raw, long-grain rice.

Fry bacon and remove from pan, reserving grease; saute' onions in 1 tablespoon of the bacon grease. Add tomato paste, water, salt, sugar, and peppers. Cook uncovered for about 10 minutes until mixture measures 2 cups. Cool to room temperature.

Add mixture to rice in top section of rice steamer or a Dutch oven. Cover. Add 3 tablespoons bacon grease; steam for 30 minutes, then add crumbled bacon, and loosen rice with a fork. Add more liquid if necessary. Cook 30 to 40 minutes longer.