Ruby Tuesday Too - White Pizza Ruby

Normally we think of pizza as a red treat, covered in tomato sauce - a perfect subject for Ruby Tuesday Too. Yet here is an odd ruby, a white pie (mozzarella and Romano cheeses and garlic) with sun-dried tomatoes being the sole ruby on the entrée. Other reds include are the tablecloth and cabernet that nicely accent our table setting at Molto-Bene in Ansonia...and our dinner was delicious :)

Ruby Tuesday Too - Summer Harvest

Ah, it has been an unusually cold Winter in the Northeast US, and we are tired of it. Not that I want time to fly by, so for Ruby Tuesday Too, let's fast forward to the August harvest of our potted tomatoes similar to these. Despite the frosty season we had, a yearlong dream is that basis Summer Salad of fresh tomatoes, mozzarella and basil with a light balsamic dressing and worth the wait :) So we await the warm weather harvest to commence!

Ruby Tuesday Too - The harvest yet to be...

The color red predominates the fun and colorful meme Ruby Tuesday Too. I am a bit ahead of myself here, these are from our tomato harvest in 2012 - but it is a sign of things to arrive in August. My old friend Mike and I spoke on the phone the other day, and he is to arrive not later that 23 May to assist us in planting tomato seedlings for 2014 - it has been a cool Spring and we hope planting in late May will avoid any killing frosts. We plant tomatoes, peppers and herbs in large storage containers that make it easier for me to harvest the sweet Romas and such from the wheelchair for that fabulous summer salad of tomatoes, mozzarella and basil. Which I dream about all year :)

Ruby Tuesday Too - Convenient Cookery

Quick, convenient, tasty with a few reds...

Ruby Tuesday Too returns with its proviso of a little or a lot of red...and I am ready with a few hints of red, and delicious ones at that. We had little time to prepare dinner, so a quick look around the kitchen to make an easy meal. Starting with the freezer, and the frozen cooked shrimp (pink, a derivative of red :), frozen bell pepper strips (green, yellow and red). From the refrigerator, the chopped garlic in a jar. From the pantry for the rice, chicken broth and the ruby goodness of diced tomatoes. In short order, the rice and accoutrements were now a prepared meal. And unlike the others in our home, I added the crushed red pepper to add a hint of heat. And red wine appeared too. The chef purists may disagree with our approach - however it was red, tasty and convenient...

Shadow Shot Sunday - Shadows, vine ripened

 




Shadow Shot Sunday 2 occurs as our potted garden fruit is ripening nicely. However, about three weeks ago as the vegetables began their growth, Patti  captured shadows were falling over the potted treasures and seemed perfect for this post. The tomatoes today are red, fresh and tasty. 

The spicy jalapeño, actually green, has not been harvested yet - time to purchase a lime to create a homemade salsa. Anyone bringing the chips?

Ruby Tuesday Too - Garden Delights

Ruby Tuesday Too is a meme allows us to focus on ruby delights. And in August (up north), nothing compares to home grown tomatoes in our potted garden. Like these - they sit on the counter as they have fallen on the ground and the red ones are 95% ripe. They will wind up in a tomato, mozzarella and basil salad this weekend. The views are with and without a flash and either way the ruby glow attracts us to the sweet summer fruit!

Tina's Pic Story - 'O'

Oval Eggs

Oval Cats

Oval Roma Tomatoes

Omelette (tomatoes, potatoes, onions, peppers, mozzarella)

Tina hosts the fun photo meme Pic Story. Here, we provide the pictures to match the meme theme she kindly provides - which this week is the letter 'O'

I chose as one theme Oval - a unique shape that is seen here in three ways: Eggs, Sleeping cats and Roma tomatoes. Not pure ovals, but very close! I did choose one more 'O' which here is an Omelette that was made from the proceeding Ovals: eggs and tomatoes. Hopefully we have not become Overwrought nor Obsessed with the 15th letter of the alphabet!

Ruby Tuesday 2 - End of the season (really)

Ruby Tuesday 2 reminds us that the season for native tomatoes is done in Southern New England. On top is the very last one of our homegrown fruit - on the bottom the local farmer's market tomatoes are getting smaller. A salad with a homemade honey mustard dressing is the perfect place to enjoy the last. Oh well the may say, but wait until next year - easier to say now but when we must endure the faraway grown things that merely look like a tomato...

Ruby Tuesday 2 - Last harvest this year...

Ruby Tuesday 2 is back, and alas as Autumn approaches, the tomatoes will grow no more. So we are now gathering the remaining fruit in the pots alongside the garage in any color...to ripen in the windows. Alas, winter tomatoes are picked green and transported by truck later - and winter fruit ripened in the window in January is just not the same. So when this is all ruby, a homegrown tomato and mozzarella salad will be the culinary prize!

Ruby Tuesday 2 - Ripe and ready

Ruby Tuesday 2 arrives a day after a visit to the Ansonia Farmer's Market, where the local tomatoes are vine ripened rubies. Fresh, I sliced them as thins as our cheap sharpened knives could allow - our homegrown ones are not quite ready. So the idea was to stack the fruit along with other items to make supper with...

All photos by Allegra

The final choice was to make each stack from bottom to top as follows: mozzarella, tomato, capicola ham, basil leaves, tomato, mozzarella, olive oil and balsamic vinegar. With Allegra's help, we placed two stacks into each hard roll and made panini sandwiches in a pan with unopened tomato cans to weigh them down. A satisfying dinner with plenty of ruby as a side dish...See more world-wide rubies at RT2!

Shadow Shot Sunday - Seedling sprout

In the Ansonia Uplands, facing ESE

Along the garage, facing WNW

Shadow Shot Sunday 2 is back, and we look for shadows in as many places as possible - there is no telling where they may jump up at us...last Friday, my very old friend Mike arrived to pot tomatoes, peppers and more for us. Given my lack of mobility, it is a project that upon harvesting is much appreciated by those in our household (that is, all four of us :)

The side of the house by the garage is sunny all day in the summer - the place to grow sun ready plants like tomatoes and peppers. This year we are using 18-gallon (67 liter) storage containers purchased at the local Lowes store in Derby, With a blend of moisture trapping peat moss, topsoil and mulch, the summer salad will arrive soon...

A pot of basil and a smiling worm...

Peppers

Basil, a variety of peppers, lettuce and butternut squash were also potted. We know the sunny items will grow, it may be a bit warm for the lettuce and the vine-y squash may not take - bit that summer salad of tomato, mozzarella and basil will taste great in August and I hope to stuff the cubanelles around the same time...the shadows can be harvested now! Organic or not, shadows are great - so see the world of shadowy art at SSS2

Tina's WW - Dinner to follow

Something is about to be made for dinner - the random ingredients on the plate suggest something - so we guess and guess (a frittata actually)...see Tina's WW

Tina's WW - Sumptious Salad

Even in February, the summer tomato harvest is the basis of a fine salad. So we are still reminded us of the warmer days...see Tina's WW

 

29 Days - Dreaming of Spring

The day today is gray in Connecticut, the winter warmer than usual, but still winter. For Tina's 29-Days meme, I am thinking ahead of Spring, the first week of May to plant tomato seedlings in pots, all sitting on the (all-day) sunny side of the garage.

Naturally, fresh basil and oregano will be potted as well Like this. the fresh herbs the perfect addition to the fresh tomatoes. It may be a dream now, although I am confident that spring planting will be in order in three months!