Monday, August 31, 2009

Homemaker Monday: Fried Green Tomatoes

Welcome to the 56th weekly edition of...


Thank you for joining us! If you're new to this carnival and would like to enter your post, please check HERE for the rules and regs.

YOURS: This week's "YOURS" goes to The Prudent Pantry for her post on easy hummus! What I love about this recipe is that she doesn't use tahini. Not that there's anything wrong with tahini, but it can be expensive and difficult to make on your own. At least for me, anyways. Instead of tahini, The Prudent Pantry uses spanish olives, then adds, basil, cilantro and other delectable spices to finish it off. I can't WAIT to try this!


Thank you so much, Prudent Pantry, for linking up with us and please feel free to take the "I Was Featured" button on my left sidebar! Keep these recipes coming and have a great day! For The Prudent Pantry's complete recipe, click HERE.

MINE: We're going to talk about tomatoes again. If you can't wait until your tomatoes turn red to use them, how about fried green tomatoes? Since moving down to Mexico, I've learned to make these and our family absolutely LOVES them! Here's how...

Fried Green Tomatoes

Ingredients:
10 to 20 tomatoes, depending on the size
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper
4 eggs, beaten (or if you're vegan, 4 tablespoons of flaxseed blended with 3/4 cup water)
About 1/2 cup oil or melted butter

Step 1: We gathered about 20 green roma tomatoes...


Step 2: Slice them up...


Step 3: In a small bowl, mix together flour, salt and pepper.

Step 4: Heat oil or butter in a large frying pan, then dip each tomato slice into the eggs, then in the flour mixture...


Step 5: Fry until golden brown, then flip and fry the other side.


Step 6: Place on a plate with a paper towel or cloth napkin to absorb excess oil, then serve!


We served these on toasted bread with ranch dressing. Some love to eat them plain with tobasco sauce, and others like to eat them on BLT's. The possibilities are endless! As I said before, my kids absolutely love this, especially Twin B. He ate more slices than did the 17-year-old boy. I hope your family loves this as much as we do!

OURS: Okay, can't wait to see what all of you amazing homemakers have for us today! Last week we had lots of new links, and I'd LOVE to see that again! Have a great Homemaker Monday!



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Friday, August 28, 2009

Another Blogging Promise...Broken

...namely, the promise to respond to the forum thread I initiated entitled "What About Mormonism?". Kristi posed some intelligent questions and comments, each of which deserved well thought out answers. (See the Forum widget a little bit further down on my right sidebar.) My plan was to address each and every question last evening after the kids went to bed, and to include scriptural references from both The Bible and The Book of Mormon. However, life had other plans.

The twins....at 11:42 PM...


Twin B had decided that going to bed at his typical 9:00 was just not for him that evening and had been playing for two hours by this time. Thirty minutes prior to taking the photo, Twin A must have decided that he was missing out and woke up to come play with his brother.

And here is me trying to figure out how to take a photo of myself in the mirror depicting my sad and exhausted countenance...


We'll see what tonight brings, but I'm not going to be deluded into making any promises this time!

I am pleased to list this post @...



PhotoStory Friday
Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek



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Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Thankful List, Including Cute Toe Nails, Giant Gourds. and Twins Who Wear Hats

I am thankful...

...that most everyone in our town grows apples...


...that THIS taratula didn't figure out how to get in the window, which is right over the head of my bed...




...that sometimes...the twins let me put hats on them...



...that the 14-year-old girl can cut her brother's hair, like this...



...that the twins aren't afraid of huge, green grasshoppers...





...that the twins are old enough to enjoy books...


...that Grandma came for a visit...


(I have to admit, it was a little disconcerting to hand-draw the leaf over Twin A's nether region. Additionally, I will explain why the twins are outside naked in a subsequent post, probably on Friday night.)

...that the 7-year-old girl always makes sure the twins are in style...(or not?)


...that our chickens lay such tasty eggs...


...that John planted giant gourds everywhere that have huge leaves bigger than my hand and climb all over everything...




...that the same John planted me a cutting garden, so I can enjoy the beauty of nature indoors...




...and finally, that I have a super-good friend who knows how to paint toe nails really awesomely!


(The 14-year-old girl just looked at this photo and said I should have put lotion on my feet before taking the photo. I told her I didn't think it would have helped. I have accepted my feet as they are...)

So what are YOU grateful for? I would really like to know...

I am pleased to list this post @...


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Someone is Giving Away a Vita-Mix Blender!

If you don't know what that is, it's like a super, crazy high-powered blender that is like nothing you've ever seen. They cost, like $450.

To enter to win, go to THIS POST.

To see how one works, go to THIS POST.

Good luck, but I hope I win! I already have one, but I want my daughter to have one, too!

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Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Wordless Wednesday: Tired





I am pleased to list this post @ 5 Minutes For Mom's "Wordless Wednesday".

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Monday, August 24, 2009

Tomato Garlic Salad with Basil Vinegarette

If you garden, chances are that you are wondering what to do with your surplus of tomatoes. I came up with this recipe because I had to bring a dish to a corn fry pot luck and I needed to use up my tomatoes before they became squishy. Everyone LOVED it. One woman came up to me and said, "Did you make the tomato stuff?" I answered that I did, and how did she know? She said, "Because it's really good." That answer didn't make sense to me then, nor does it make sense now, but it did sound like a compliment. Here's how I did it...

Tomato Garlic Salad With Basil Vinegarette


-Tomatoes, as many as you want (I used roma, about 20 of them.)
-Fresh garlic (I used 6 cloves)
-Fresh basil (I used maybe a handful)
-Balsamic vinegar (to taste, but I think I used about 1/3 cup)
-Virgin Olive Oil (to taste also, but I probably used about 1/3 cup of this, too.)
-Salt (to taste, I used about 1 1/2 teaspoon)
-Pepper (again, to taste, but I probably used about 1/2 teaspoon)

Step 1: Slice the tomatoes into slices about 1/4 inch thick.

Step 2: Finely chop up fresh garlic and fresh basil.


Step 3: Mix garlic, basil, salt and pepper in a small bowl, then add balsamic vinegar and olive oil.



Step 4: Let this marinate for about 30 minutes, if you have time.

Step 5: Pour marinade over tomatoes and stir carefully, keeping the tomato slices intact. In order to create a more appealing photo for this post, I garnished the salad with edible nasturtium flowers. Is it not attractive? The kids asked why there were flowers in the salad, and, instead of lovingly teaching them that some flowers are edible, such as the nasturtiums in our garden, which taste like pepper, I said during my rush to get dinner done, "Because there just are". I'll do better next time.


Enjoy!

I am pleased to list this post @...

-Kelly's "Real Food Wednesday",
-Tip Junkie's "Talk to me Tuesday",
-5 Minutes for Mom's "Tackle It Tuesday",
-Tammy's Recipe's "Kitchen Tip Tuesday",
-Blessed With Grace's "Tempt My Tummy Tuesday",
-Mary's "Tightwad Tuesday",
-Jen's "Tasty Tuesday",
Gollum's...



...and a newly discovered carnival...


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