The Week's Groceries

This is the organic produce we bought today at the Hollywood Farmers Market.

We ran out of eggs on Friday. Tragic. So we bought 2 dozen this week to make sure that doesn't happen again.

I have a meal plan for the week including a potato curry, mushroom barley risotto, and something excellent with fennel that I don't remember in this moment. The pumpkin and zucchini are extra vegetables to round out the week's meals.

10 small red potatoes
2 shallots
2 onions
celery
1orange pepper
5 fennel bulbs with fronds
3 small zucchini
1/2 cup cremini mushrooms
1 hand oyster mushrooms
3 shiitake mushrooms
1 pint cherry tomatoes
pistachios
3 golden plums
2 cantaloupes
radishes with leaves
7 empire apples
3 pears
6 cups and 1 quart plain yogurt
green olives
1 bunch arugula
3 cups mixed winter salad mix
3 grapefruit
2 dozen eggs
1 small pumpkin

Mmmm Tofu

Sometimes I get a craving for tofu. My local grocery store carries it, so I can easily pick some up on my way home.

And then it's quick to fry up for dinner.

Make sure the tofu you're buying is from organic soybeans, otherwise they are genetically modified. Tofu is a good source of calcium, helps alleviate menopausal symptoms and reduces the risk of cancer. It also helps lower bad cholesterol. Quite the excellent dinner food.

Here's how I cooked it the other night.

Fried Tofu
2 tbsp tamari
2 tbsp roasted sesame oil
1 tbsp water
2 tbsp minced ginger root
2 tsp minced garlic
1 tbsp sesame seeds
1 lb firm tofu

Whisk together all ingredients except tofu to create a marinade.

Cut tofu in 1/2 inch slices.

Heat cast iron skillet. Add marinade, then tofu. Cook 5-10 minutes until the tofu is slightly browned. Flip the tofu and continue cooking another 10 minutes or so.

Serves 3-4

Leftovers are great. Just re-fry them, or eat them cold.

Greek Salad with Farro

This is a very untraditional Greek Salad. It has the requisite cucumber, olives, feta and tomatoes. But the foundation is farro -- an ancient form of hard wheat that cooks up similar to brown rice but with a firmer and nuttier texture.

It is full of fiber, magnesium and B vitamins, and its chewy texture is a good foil for the salad vegetables, and a solid counterbalance to the strong lemony-mustard dressing.

It made a wonderful dinner salad on a cooling summer evening.

Greek Salad with Farro
1 cup farro
1/3 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp lemon zest
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup packed parsley leaves
2 tsp fresh oregano leaves
2 tsp dijon mustard
4 oz spinach
1 cucumber
1/4 cup chopped red onion
8 kalamata olives, pitted
2 tbsp feta, diced or crumbled
1-2 tomatoes, seeded and diced

Cook the farro in 3 cups boiling water with 1/2 tsp salt until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain and set aside to cool.

Purée the olive oil, lemon zest and juice, parsley, oregano and dijon in a blender or food processor. Add salt and pepper to taste. Toss the farro with most of the dressing.

Wash and stem the spinach and tear into bite-sized pieces. Peel the cucumber and cut it in quarters lengthwise. Cut out the seeds and membranes and discard. Chop the cucumber into bite-sized pieces.

Line a serving platter with the spinach. Pile the farro on top. Arrange the remaining ingredients decoratively on top. Sprinkle with the remaining dressing, or serve it on the side.

Serves 2-3

Groceries for the Week

Here is the beautiful organic produce we bought at the Hollywood Farmers Market yesterday:

1 red onion

3 yellow onions

baby spinach

cilantro

2 poblanos

5 ears corn

3 red peppers

2 orange peppers

3 granny smith apples

2 small pumpkins

2 mountain peaches

1 O'Henry peach

1 bunch arugula

1 bunch beets with tops

heirloom cherry tomatoes

lettuce

12 oranges

3 grapefruit

3 cremini mushrooms

1 dozen eggs

2 lb black beans

2 lb chickpeas

1 sweet potato

1 cantaloupe

1 quart and 5 cups plain yogurt

4 green plums

12 oz pistachios in the shell

3 bartlett pears

3 avocados

2 empire apples

2 summer elf (?) apples

Red Pepper and Lentil Soup

It's still hot during the day, but it's starting to cool off in the evenings. Last Sunday I made a lentil soup in the slow cooker that didn't heat up the kitchen, but warmed us up after dark.

I added a couple of the vibrant red peppers currently in season. Unfortunately they fade to brown when the soup is cooked, but they still add plenty of nutrients, including lycopene which helps prevent cancers of the lung and prostate. They've also been found to boost the metabolism, a boon to weight watchers everywhere.

I added chipotle chiles in adobo sauce to give the stew a smoky kick. Use less for a milder dish. For a different but good soup, throw in some diced fresh jalapenos or serranos when you sauté the red peppers. Or skip the chiles and stir a teaspoon of smoked paprika into the cooking peppers.

A bowl of this soup is a good light dinner. Serve it with a salad and some bread and cheese for a more substantial meal.

Red Pepper and Lentil Soup

1 tbsp olive oil

1 small onion

6 cloves garlic

1 chipotle pepper in adobo

2 red peppers

1 cup brown lentils

2 tbsp red wine vinegar

Heat olive oil over medium heat. Dice onion and warm in oil until soft. Add chopped garlic and cook 1 minute. Chop the chipotle pepper, add to the pan, and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Dice the red peppers and add them to the pan. Cook 3-5 minutes until beginning to soften.

Scrape into slow cooker. Add lentils and 5 cups water. Cover and cook on low 7-9 hours.

Add vinegar and season with salt and pepper. Serve hot.

Serves 6.

Orange Spiced Rice

I picked a couple of oranges on my way in from the garden the other day, and used the rinds in this wonderful rice dish inspired by a recipe in Chris and Carolyn Caldicott's beautiful book World Food Café. The pictures in this book are of the people and lands they visited in Asia and the middle East, Africa and Central and South America. And the recipes are all vegetarian, so it's quite inspiring.

I adapted a more complicated recipe into this simple rice cooker dish which had a bright flavor that went well with the leftover white bean and tomato stew. I used white basmati rice because it was late and I wanted to get dinner on the table. I'm pretty sure this would be good with brown rice, although more water would be needed.

That's an experiment for another day.

Orange Spiced Rice
2 oranges
2 tsp oil
1 onion
4 cloves
4 cardamom pods
1 tbsp oil
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup white basmati rice
2 bay leaves

Scrub the oranges well, and peel off the thin outer layer of zest, leaving the white behind. I used a zester which removes the peel in long narrow strips. If you use a regular peeler, slice the pieces thin after peeling them. Save the oranges for another use.

Put the pieces of zest in a small pot with 2 cups water and 2 tsp oil. Bring to a boil and cook, covered, 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, warm 1 tbsp oil and sauté the thinly-sliced onion, cloves, and the seeds from the cardamom pods until the onions start to brown. Season with 1/2 tsp salt.

Put the onion mixture in the rice cooker along with the orange zest and cooking water, the basmati rice, bay leaves, and an extra 1/2 cup of water. Run rice cooker as directed.

The ingredients will probably separate out during cooking, as you can see in the picture above. Stir it all back together and serve.

Serves 4-6

Fennel and Mushroom Salad

I love meals of beans and rice, but a little crunch is needed alongside.

Last week I pulled some fennel and mushrooms from the fridge, and made this simple little salad that added zest and crunch to the meal.

Fennel and Mushroom Salad
1 fennel bulb
2 cremini mushrooms
1/4 red pepper
1 tsp fresh snipped chives
parmesan
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp white wine vinegar
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 small clove garlic, mashed

Quarter the fennel lengthwise. (Remove and discard fronds if they are attached.) Remove the tough core in the center, and slice the remaining fennel thinly.

Slice the mushrooms and red pepper thinly and toss with the fennel and chives. Use a vegetable peeler to shave a few pieces off the block of parmesan into the bowl.

Separately, whisk together the lemon juice, vinegar and olive oil. Stir in the mashed garlic.

Toss the dressing into the vegetables and serve the salad immediately.

Serves 2

Shopping for the Week

We bought some beautiful organic food at the Hollywood Farmers Market this morning.

Before we went, I planned the menus for the week. Then I wrote a shopping list to take to the market with us.

The list is subject to change, of course, depending on what looks good at the market. But I'm generally aware of what's in season, and plan accordingly.

This is what we brought home today:

1 cucumber, baby spinach, 2 red peppers, 1 bunch lacinato kale, butter lettuce, 1 small romaine, 8 small red potatoes, 6 corn, 12 poblano peppers, 1 red onion, 1 small winter squash, parsley, cilantro, 16 oranges, 2 pears, 4 green plums, 2 peaches, 2 nectarines, 5 limes, 2 grapefruit, 5 honeycrisp, apples, 4 gala apples, pistachios in the shell, 8 oz raw almond butter, eggs, feta, 12 oz goat cheese, plain yogurt from St. Benoit - 1 quart and 6 cups, 1 small aged goat cheese called Avalanche, organic coffee from Oaxaca

The oranges were juiced for brunch today. The remaining fruit will go into our lunches, or be eaten as morning fruit. The salad items will also go into our lunches.

I'll roast and freeze the poblanos, in preparation for the long poblano-less winter and spring. (See how I do it here.)

The rest will combine with our garden produce to turn into this week's meals. It will be a week of good eating!

Dodger Grilled Cheese

We went to Dodger Stadium last night to watch the Dodgers face their arch rival San Francisco Giants.

It was a beautiful night for baseball. Before darkness fell, we looked out at the backdrop of the Hollywood Hills, the San Gabriel Mountains, and lots of palm trees.

When we got to the stadium, we found our seats and then looked for food. The concessions within a few sections of our seats sold Dodger Dogs, fries (with garlic optional), and grilled cheese sandwiches.

I had the grilled cheese. (Yum - not. You can see it above.) The server offered me ranch dressing on the side. She seemed surprised when I refused it, but why put extra fat on a grilled cheese?

So we sat in the stands, eating a grilled cheese and a Dodger dog, and watched an ad on the big screen for Healthy LA: Children holding signs saying "Feed me healthy food. Give me a safe park to play in. Or treat my diabetes." Etc. The next ad was for Carl's Jr. (a huge bacon hamburger thing).

I wandered around in later innings and found a healthy food truck tucked into a dark corner under a single light bulb. I could have bought a salad (large box of lettuce) for $8. Or a veggie cup (I can't describe it to you because I couldn't see it in the dark) for $6. There was no line here.

Is it any wonder obesity is a problem?

Unusual Fruit

 One of the cool things about life in Southern California is people sharing fruit from their backyard trees.

One of Larry's co-workers brought him this yellowish pomegranate the other day. He looked at it dubiously -- aren't pomegranates supposed to be red? -- but she assured him that the seeds were red inside and that it was ripe.

I didn't know there was a yellow-skinned pomegranate. And actually, yellow is a misnomer. It's more like a dirty cream color. And the seeds inside were pink, not bright red.

But the flavor was good. We enjoyed it in our morning fruit.

(You can see my secrets to peeling a pomegranate here.)

Tofu Salad

Twenty years ago I studied holistic healthcare at NHC Institute in Montreal. You can read more about my time there in my summer newsletter, and in the training section of my website.

It was a real hands-on program - we tried everything on ourselves.

In nutrition class, we learned about systemic candida, a condition which causes fatigue, digestive upset, lightheadedness, etc. The dietary cure is simple: only eat MEVY (meat, eggs, vegetables and yogurt).

So we all started on the diet. As a vegetarian, I had to tweak it a little. I used beans, tofu and brown rice in place of the meat.

For a few weeks, I ate a lot of mashed tofu on rice cakes.

But time went by, and I forgot this simple dish. Until I came home from work on Saturday and found tofu in the fridge and organic brown rice cakes in the cupboard. I knew just what to do.

(I was entertained to read on the package of rice cakes that they were made in Montreal.)

I sliced a couple of pieces of tofu, mashed them with a fork on a cutting board, and added some tumeric for color, tamari for flavor, and mayonnaise to hold it all together. (Back in the day I used nayonnaise.) I added some diced spring onion for a little crunch. (I could have added celery and other vegetables too.)

Then I piled it on the rice cakes, and enjoyed a fast protein-rich lunch.

Larry had already eaten lunch - tuna on rice cakes - so he did not share my tofu. But I think he would have liked it.

A Simple Eggplant Dinner

We stayed outside until dark the other day, sitting on the stoop in the garden, letting the dusk settle around us, feeling the heat dissipate, listening to the crickets start their evening song.

Then we realized we hadn't eaten dinner.

Fortunately I had picked a couple of eggplants, and I cooked them up with tomatoes, tofu and mint for a light yet satisfying meal. The fresh mint really enhanced this dish, giving it a perkiness that basil or oregano would not have done.

Tofu is a good quick protein source. Slice off a couple of pieces and fry them for a few minutes on each side. It doesn't get easier than that. Always buy organic tofu -- the non-organic kind is probably made from genetically-modified soybeans.

I used a can of diced tomatoes, but 2 cups of fresh ones would have been great too. (Although then the decision of to peel or not to peel comes into play, and it was still too hot in the kitchen to think about peeling tomatoes.)

The spice combination comes from Marie Simmons in her book Fresh & Fast Vegetarian. Her recipe was a little more complicated than this, but the spice combo is a winner.

I cooked the tomatoes in a stainless steel skillet and then added them to the eggplant and tofu in my cast iron frypan. While it's not recommended to cook acid foods like tomatoes in cast iron because they break down the surface of the pan, 10-15 minutes does no harm. I figure a little cast iron in my food is not a bad thing anyway.

I used a long white eggplant -- Doughboy -- and a round fat one -- the label has disappeared, but I think it's an Italian one. I didn't salt and drain them. I just sliced them and added them to the pan. An advantage of using cast iron is I could use just a little oil, and then let the eggplant sear in the hot pan after they'd absorbed the oil.

Quick and delicious. It doesn't get much better than that.

Eggplant Tofu with Mint
14-oz can tomatoes
1 tsp curry powder
1 small clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp grated fresh ginger
1 cinnamon stick
1/4 tsp salt
sprinkle of hot chile pepper flakes
2 tbsp chopped fresh mint
3/4 lb eggplant, sliced in 1/2 inch rings1 tbsp oil
2 1/2-inch slabs of tofu

Combine the tomatoes, curry powder, garlic, ginger, cinnamon stick, salt and chile pepper flakes in a saucepan and cook until warm and thickened. Stir in 1 tbsp mint.

Warm the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the eggplant and cook about 5 minutes until lightly browned. Turn the eggplant slices over and cook another 5 minutes. Remove from the pan and set aside.

Wrap the tofu in a folded dish towel and press it with your palm for 30 seconds to squeeze out extra moisture.

Put the tofu in the hot pan, adding a little more oil if necessary. The tofu should sizzle for about 3 minutes. Turn it over and cook another 3 minutes.

Add the eggplant and tomato sauce to the pan with the tofu. Stir together and let cook until warm.

Sprinkle with the remaining tablespoon of mint and serve.

Serves 2

Savoring the Salsa

I wrote last week about how we spent Labor Day weekend cooking and canning salsa.

During the week, Larry designed this year's label.

And Saturday we opened the ceremonial first jar.

The San Marzano tomatoes gave it a rich flavor which was out of this world. The heat had been tempered in the hot water bath, so it's well-flavored without being too spicy.

We ate it with organic corn chips from Trader Joe's -- yum!

Crenshaw Melon

We bought an organic Crenshaw Melon from Rocky Mountain farms yesterday.

It weighs 6 lbs! And the farmer told me it was one of the smaller ones he's grown.

I heard a story years ago that these melons were discovered growing in someone's yard on Crenshaw Blvd. in LA. I can't find anything to back up the story, so it might be an urban myth. Crenshaws are a cross between casaba and Persian melons, and are known for their sweetness. People seem to get quite addicted to them.

The people next to me at the stall raved about them, and I'd never tried one before, so I bought it, and gave it to Larry to carry.

I have to say, it's really good. It's similar in flavor to a cantaloupe, but it has a richness to it that makes it more interesting.

It's big enough that we'll be eating it all week. And maybe next week we'll come home with another.

Sunday Shopping

Here's a picture of all the beautiful organic food we brought home from the Hollywood Farmers' Market this morning.

3 cremini mushrooms
1 small romaine
4 red peppers
4 corn
1 red sails lettuce
olive oil
2 dozen eggs
2 cantaloupes
1 crenshaw melon
2 honeycrisp apples
4 gala apples
1 Bartlett pear
2 peaches
2 nectarines
12 oranges
3 grapefruit
4 yellow plums
pistachios in the shell
4 cups plain St. Benoit yogurt
1 bunch chiogga beets with greens

Heinz tomatoes

I was sitting on an outdoor terrasse recently, waiting for my veggie burger, when I noticed the ketchup bottle on the table said "Tomatoes grown from Heinz seeds."

Intrigued, I looked this up.

It turns out that Heinz tomato products are grown from seeds that are rigorously tested and hybridized, but not genetically modified. So that's good.

(Hybridization happens when a human moves pollen from the flower of one plant to a different plant in an attempt to increase certain strong characteristics and diminish others. It's a trial and error process which is rigorously monitored and studied, but which does not include splicing and dicing genes.)

Of course, the ketchup also contains high fructose corn syrup (doesn't everything) which is most likely gmo.

But it's fun that a big company is reminding us that the stuff we eat comes from the earth.

Willy Blackmore wrote about the Heinz tomato on takepart. You can read his piece here.

Green Beans with Curry Yogurt

We've been enjoying the green beans at the farmers market this summer. We've eaten green bean salad, plain steamed beans with butter and salt and pepper, and stewed green beans.

Last week I made these spicy green beans to tantalize our over-heated tastebuds.

It worked. Larry says these are the best green beans ever.

The beans are cooked as usual until tender-crisp, drained and set aside until just before it's time for dinner.

Then they are tossed with a sauce of spices and yogurt. I got the idea from Paul Gayler in his book Passion for Vegetables.

The roasted sesame oil, cumin, mustard and tumeric make the palate perk up and take notice. I'll be making it often in the winter months too -- as long as there are green beans at the farmers market.

There is a labor of love involved, unfortunately. It's necessary to take the seeds out of the green cardamom pods they come in. Use a small sharp knife to cut down the center of the pod and scrape out the seeds. It takes a dozen or so pods to fill a half teaspoon with seeds. But it so worth it for the flavor boost. I suppose you could substitute powdered cardamom, but it would not be the same.

Green Beans with Curry Yogurt
1 lb green beans
1 tbsp roasted sesame oil
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp cardamom seeds
1/4 tsp tumeric powder
5 tbsp plain yogurt
1 small clove garlic, crushed.

Cook beans in boiling water until tender but slightly crisp, about 8 minutes depending on the size and age of the beans. (You can steam them if you prefer.) Drain and set aside.

Warm the oils in a large skillet. Add the cumin, mustard, cardamom and tumeric and stir a few seconds. Stir in the yogurt and garlic. Simmer another couple of minutes, then add the beans. Toss until they are warmed through, and serve.

Serves 2-4

Macadamia Nuts

The macadamia nuts are back at the farmers market.

Last year I bought some and made macadamia nut burgers. (You can read the recipe here.)

This year, I just admired them and passed on by.

Interestingly, this year the nuts look even more challenging than last year. They're being sold with the outer case still attached, although cracked open so you can see the nut's hard brown inner shell.

That hard inner shell is what it takes a hammer to crack. You can read about my challenges with them here. (This is why this year I just passed on by.)

It's a lot of work for a handful of nuts.

But I love seeing them at the market, and I know that if I ever want to eat macadamia nuts, this is how I'll buy them.

White Bean and Tomato Stew

We're having a heat wave. It is just too darned hot to cook.

But we still need to eat, so I braved the kitchen to stir up this simple but delicious white bean stew. It's a one-pot meal that can be eaten hot or at room temperature, and it takes full advantage of the bounty of fall produce.

I had planned to use our home-grown tomatoes, but I think the heat is too much for them and the tomatoes on the vine are stuck at yellow.

I used dried white lima beans, but you can use any white bean like cannellini. Canned is okay too. Use 3 14oz cans, well drained and rinsed to remove the tinny flavor.

While I used just red peppers the other night, I have made this recipe before using a green bell pepper and an anaheim pepper (which is slightly spicy). So vary the peppers based on what your garden is producing or what you find at the market.

We enjoyed this easy meal sitting under the fan on our covered patio, listening to the Dodgers game. It was filling and tasty and very simple to eat. Just what was needed on that hot summer night. I enjoyed leftovers for lunch the next day.

If we had been hungrier, we could have eaten the stew with rice or another grain to up the protein count. A crisp salad would have been a nice addition too. I'll try that when it cools off.

White Bean and Tomato Stew
1 cup dry white beans
2 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 large tomatoes, seeded and chopped (or 1 14-oz can diced tomatoes)
2 red bell peppers, seeded and diced
1 heaping tbsp chopped fresh basil
1 tsp chopped fresh oregano

Cook the beans in plenty of boiling water until tender but still firm -- probably about 2 hours depending on the age of your beans. Drain them and set aside.

Sauté onions in olive oil over medium heat until soft. Add garlic, tomatoes and peppers. Cook another couple of minutes. Stir in basil, oregano and beans. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cook another 15 minutes or so until the flavors are blended and the tomato juice has cooked off enough to make a thick stew.

Serves 6

Mum's Salsa

Labor Day weekend is salsa-making weekend at our house.

We use my mother's recipe, and put up 10 or 11 half-pint jars to last us until next Labor Day weekend.

It's a spicy salsa with sweet undertones. It's great with corn chips, but I also stir it into cooked rice and bean salads. I also add some to mashed avocado for a quick guacamole. I love having a stash of it in the pantry.

It has enough acid from the tomatoes and vinegar that it does not need pressure-canning, but it does need 15 minutes in a hot-water bath to sterilize it for long-term storage. If you've never canned before, read the easy canning directions on the website of Ball canning jars.

The recipe can be divided in half -- we've done that in years when we could only face carrying 5 pounds of tomatoes home.

The spiciness of the salsa depends on the number and kind of chiles you use. We use serranos and jalapenos -- this year some came from our garden. We taste the chiles before adding them so we have an idea of the heat. We taste during the cooking, and add more chiles if necessary. The hot-water bath of canning reduces the heat of the salsa, so we like to make it a little hotter than we want the finished product.

The amount of salsa you make will be determined by the juiciness of the tomatoes you use and the consistency of salsa you prefer. If the tomatoes are really juicy, you will cook off more liquid and end up with less salsa. We found san marzano tomatoes at Finley Farms this year -- the kind used in Italy for paste -- so there was less juice to cook down and we ended up with more salsa. I like it thick enough to stand up on a corn chip. We usually cook it down, in two pans, for a few hours.

Mum's Salsa
10 lb tomatoes
1 onion
2 red bell peppers
3" celery stalk
fresh chiles to taste
1 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp salt
1" cinnamon stick
1" fresh ginger root
1/2 tsp whole cloves
1 tsp mustard powder
1 1/2 cups apple cider vinegar

Bring a pan of water to a boil and prepare a bowl of ice water. Cut an X in the base of a tomato, put it in the boiling water for 90 seconds until you can see the peel separating from the flesh at the X. Lift it out with a slotted spoon and put it in the ice water. When it's cool enough to handle -- after a couple of minutes -- pull the peel off the tomato, cut out the core, dice the flesh, and put it in a large heavy-bottomed pan. You should be able to do 1/2 dozen tomatoes at a time. It's fast with two of us -- Larry Xs, boils, and adds them to the ice water. I peel and chop.

Dice the red peppers, celery and chiles to taste and add to the pot with the diced tomatoes.

Bring to a boil and cook 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add remaining ingredients, stir well, and let cook until it's the consistency you like. (We use two large pots for the 10 lbs, dividing the ingredients equally. We then combine it all into one pot as the ingredients boil down.) Stir regularly to make sure it doesn't stick on the bottom.

Prepare a dozen half-pint jars with canning lids and rings. Wash them in hot soapy water, rinse well, then sterilize the jars in a 200°F oven -- leave them in the oven until you are ready to use them. Wash the lids in hot soapy water, rinse them, and let them sit in hot water until you need them. The rings don't need to be sterile.

Bring a large pot of water to the boil. It needs to be deep enough that a jar can stand on a rack in the bottom and be covered by 2 inches of water above its lid.

Fill the jars to 1/4" to 1/2" from top. Wipe the rim, add the lid, and screw on the band. Add to the pot of boiling water. When all the jars are full (or there is no more room in the boiling water bath) make sure there is 2" of water above the jars, cover, bring it back to the boil if necessary, and then time it for 15 minutes. Use tongs to remove the jars from the pot. Put them on a board and leave them there until they are cool. You'll probably hear the ping as the canning lids suction into place from the change in pressure from the water bath to the air. (At least, I think that's what causes the suction.)

When the jars are cold, label them -- make sure to include the date -- and store in a cool dark place.

Open a jar in the cold depths of winter for a sunny meal.

Makes about 10 half-pint jars.

Sunday Shopping

This is a list of the organic produce we bought today at the Hollywood Farmers Market:

cilantro
chives
2 garlic
1 red onion
spring onions
2 onions
lightly salted pistachios
1 dozen orchard-raised eggs
potatoes
portobello mushroom
grass-fed hamburger
6 corn on the cob
10 lbs marzano tomatoes
heirloom cherry tomatoes
small pumpkin
2 red peppers
4 poblano peppers
chiles
1 frisé
baby spinach
1 butter lettuce
6 apples - honeycrisp, gala and another whose name was new to me so I forgot it
5 limes
15 oranges
2 cantaloupes
1 watermelon
2 mountain-grown peaches
1 quart plain St. Benoit yogurt
5 cups plain St. Benoit yogurt


The tomatoes and chiles will go into the salsa we'll make tomorrow. We make it every year from my mother's recipe and can it for the winter.

Larry will grill the mushroom, burger, and a couple of ears of corn for Labor Day dinner tonight. I'll make potato salad to go with it, using one of the poblanos. The others I'll roast and freeze - it's time to start stocking the freezer for the long period without peppers. I'll freeze any chiles that don't go in the salsa as well.

I didn't realize until I was unpacking the produce that I bought two cantaloupes. Fortunately chilled cantaloupe is a great refresher on these hot days of summer.