10 September 2010

Garden tomatoes

Here in Saint-Aignan our summery weather is returning, maybe for a last stand. We had some good rains over the past two or three days, including a hard downpour late yesterday afternoon that surprised us.

Tomato salads have been on our menus for a couple of weeks now. Fresh, ripe tomatoes cut into wedges or slices, and seasoned with salt, pepper, oil, vinegar, shallots, and basil are the basic salad, with or without some mozzarella cheese.

Tomatoes

Today, I'll be making okra and tomatoes, a southern U.S. classic. The okra is frozen, but tant pis — we haven't successfully grown okra here, despite a couple of good attempts. I think the weather is not consistently hot enough in a typical Saint-Aignan summer.

Okra

Okra isn't a vegetable we can find easily in France. Thank goodness for the Asian grocery in Blois. And for fresh tomatoes from the garden.

7 comments:

  1. I wish I had that tomato salad for lunch yesterday! Wish I had okra aka gumbo too.

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  2. I wish I had that tomato salad for lunch or dinner! But you can keep the okra :)) (more for you guys, eh?)

    Judy

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  3. We love the tomato salads we're getting these days, and are lucky enough to have them here. I am surprised you cannot grow okra. I can grow it here in northeast Ohio, USDA zone 5. Perhaps another variety than you have tried?

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  4. Great work on the 'maters, Ken! And the sauce. I'm firing up another batch here today.

    (Kristi - another Ohio gal? howdy from SE Ohio!)

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  5. Okra and slug. Maybe eaten together they cure coughing even faster.

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  6. Your tomatoes and your views from your new windows are both beautiful!

    BettyAnn

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