Vegetable 2013, Mid-At and Friends

Make Tomato Pie---
A most famous recipe that has been running on DG forever-

It is delicious!!! Almost to die for!!! Good way to use up extra tomatoes.

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/454938/

Gita

My friend's tomato pie is AMAZING....I'll need to compare the recipes

Here's monster zucchini I got from my neighbor
and monster tomatoes 'Matina' from my garden

Those tomatoes are lovely! I only got one slicer off my heirloom tomato plants before late blight hit.

Zukes that large are great for stuffing and roasting. I've only had 1 that big this year, it grew while I was in the hospital and I still haven't done anything with it.

What do you stuff it with?
would it be good for zucchini bread also? that's what I immediately thought of when I saw it

If you grated the outside flesh and discarded the seeds it would be good for zucchini bread, or zucchini faux crab cakes (which I make a lot and freeze). It's been so long since I actually made stuffed zucchini that I'd have to do a Google search for recipes... certainly tomatoes, onions and breadcrumbs but i forget what else. Sorry.

Thanks for the info!

Darius -- How do you make the zucchini faux crab cakes?

Zucchini Crab Cakes
I Can't Believe It's Not Crab Cakes
Servings: 4
Recipe by: John Shields, Chef and Owner of Gertrude's in Baltimore

Zucchini is one of those vegetables that just will not stop growing in my little garden plot at the end of the summer. Every year, I find myself trying out as many versions of zucchini-something as possible. This is one of my favorite recipes. Besides using up those extra zucchini, it is a creative solution if you are trying to cut back a tad on crab consumption to give the crab population a chance to replenish—a delicious win-win for everyone.

2 cups coarsely grated organic zucchini
Salt
1 cup soft bread crumbs
1 free range egg, beaten
1 - 1⁄2 teaspoons Old Bay seasoning
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon sustainable mayonnaise
Juice of 1⁄2 lemon
1⁄4 cup chopped parsley
Vegetable oil, for frying
Tartar sauce
Lemon wedges

Place the grated zucchini in a colander; sprinkle lightly with salt. Let zucchini sit for about 30 minutes in the colander, allowing excess moisture to drain. Squeeze to remove additional liquid. (Zucchini should be fairly dry.) Place the zucchini and bread crumbs in a large bowl, and mix together well. Place the egg, Old Bay seasoning, Dijon mustard, mayonnaise, lemon juice, and parsley in a small bowl. Mix well. Pour the egg mixture into the zucchini–breadcrumb mixture, and mix gently and thoroughly. Form into 8 patties the size of crab cakes. Heat a small amount of oil in a sauté pan, and cook patties on both sides, browning well.

If you like, serve with tartar sauce (I jazz mine up with some chopped capers and fresh basil) and lemon wedges. A platter of vine-ripened tomatoes and sweet corn on the cob as accompaniments are my favorites.

If you want to accompany this with animal protein, fish will go nicely, as will steak or even sustainably-raised pork chops.

Recipe from Cooking Fresh from the Mid-Atlantic, Edited by Fran McManus and Wendy Rickard, Eating Fresh Publications, 2002.

Thanks! These sound great!

I actually alter that recipe slightly when I make them. I use panko breadcrumbs or dry and grate some dry sourdough bread into crumbs (rather than soft breadcrumbs recommended in the recipe), and I generally substitute unflavored yogurt for the mayo.

I sauté mine in a small amount of butter and EVOO, and freeze batches of them. They are great to take out a couple and re-heat for a quick meal or snack. Sometimes I eat them with a dollop of sour cream, but mostly with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.

Thanks for posting that Darius- I want to try them. ( I really liked your Zucchini article awhile back.)
I feel guilty eating crabs- due to the decline. And its SO expensive.

Sally, I did a quick search online for blue crabs a week or two ago, and large (6") males were an average of nearly $70 a dozen, plus S/H.

Years ago I stood almost an hour outside in the snow one January in line for blue crabs at Bo Brooks' in Baltimore. They were flown in from New Orleans and ran about $25/dz. which was an outrageous price... but it was winter, after all.

Is it just the Bay that has a decrease of blue crabs? We don't get that kind of info down here...

I had a half dozen blue crabs at a N.C. mountain resort about 15 years ago. They were brought in from the N.C. coast and I was aghast that half were females. Isn't that still illegal in MD?

Darius--

Those that know where to get crabs--always can.

I go to two Crab Feasts every year at a local "Democrat Club"-and for $35 one can
have ALL you can eat crabs--crab balls--Crab Soup--corn on the cob--all home made.
VERY delicious--all of them. This place is run and sustained only by volunteers.
A VERY unpretentious little building with a nice bar and a pavilion out back

Besides all that--the women of the Club also provide Pot. salad--Mac. Salad,,
fresh veggies and cheeses--and other sides.
At the end--there is always a couple big cakes for desert.
Besides all this--Beer on tap is also free all evening....

Darius--YES! Crabs are expensive. Females are, usually, half of what males cost.
From what I have heard--it is legal for commercial crabbers to keep females.
Maybe during "certain seasons" it is not legal. I don't really know....

Most people prefer the males. Because they do not want to mess around with all the roe,
but, other than that, there is NO difference in the meat. Females can, actually, be more fatty.
I like the roe--I LOVE the yellow fat ("mustard")--and the intestines are also edible.
Only the gills are toxic and get discarded.

There is a Crab place 1+ miles from my house--and they sell "cold crabs" which are
left over from the day before. Mixed sizes---for $12/doz. Refrigerated--of course.
Not always predictable what they will have. Sometimes--they are all smalls.
I do get these a couple of times a summer--just that this place seasons them too much.
Sometimes I have to brush all the gobs of salt and spices off of the crabs before I eat them.

I am NOT sure if there actually are real decreases of crabs like they make you believe.
May be just a way to jack up all the $$$$. Like gas--it always goes up when it is
a BIG Holiday and people travel a lot. A Money Grab! We ALL know that!!!

During the colder months--most Crab Houses get all their crabs from the South.
So--they are available tear round.....

What I DO NOT like is that--buying crab meat at a grocery--most of it comes from Indonesia.
NOTHING can equal the sweet taste of the Blue Crabs from the Chesapeake Bay.
Besides--the Indonesian "Back Fin" meat is all identical, little lumps the size of an olive.
They almost pass as 'crab meat"--but WE HERE know better!!!!

Buying locally gained crab meat in tubs will cost you about $10 than the imported one.
If I am making Crab cakes for company--I will pay the $20 plus for a lb. of fresh Crab meat.

Gita

Wanted to add these pictures--but hit "send" too fast...

Gita, good crabs are part of what I miss about living in Baltimore, and then Annapolis!

I even still have my wooden hammer, decorated with my wood-burning tool over the years.

Just had a tomato sandwich for my lunch, made with one of the Prudens Purple tomatoes. So yummy! You just can't beat fresh tomatoes! :^)

Made chocolate zucchini bread....YUMMY!!!

I need to pick my beans and will have to determine if there are still enough blossoms to warrant leaving them in for another round or pull and compost them. The tomatoes are doing better high up on the fence/cage I have, a lot of lower branches were removed for blight problems probably from being wet for so long.

Pretty soon we should cut off any new tomato blossoms- they won't develop enough to be useable.

I picked and sliced my first orange tomato today- Tasted pretty good I guess, I just can't get with the color!

I also have a problem with tomatoes that are not red!

If the toms are at least big enough I pick them and put them on my kitchen window sill, they are red in no time

My "Sun Golds" and my "Mortgage Lifter" have produced well so far.
I have taken loads of seeds from both.

There are a couple others that are not worth the ground they are on.
There is one that I am not sure what it is--but i KNOW that I took a broken off
top from a Lg. pot of a Tomato plant from Bonnies plants.
I think it was an heirloom--"Beefmaster" (??) or "Big Beef" (?).

Another one I rescued may be the mama of these pear-shaped ones.
Just had a cutting...no tag.
This Tomato plant is producing (very few..) pear-shaped small Tomatoes.
They are smoky colored--like a "Cherokee Purple".
Don't know what this one is. Haven't tasted it yet.

1--NOID Tomato (??)
2--Sun Golds--these are sweet as candy--just pop them in your mouth
as you walk by. Great one to grow! A Hybrid, though--and it "sported"
on me last year. I planted the seeds from the "sport" this spring --
and got the Sun Gold Cherries again. Go figure....

Cukes were total c--p...Nothing to even have for a salad. BAD!!!

The Romaine I tried to grow, early this spring, did OK--and then half
of them started having some kind of crown rot? The whole plant just
lifted off the ground with no roots. Later--I did harvest about 3--but
this will, definitely, be a one-time experiment. Been there--done that--

My 2 Green peppers have not produced anything either...

I don't think my yard is suited for vegetable gardening....so--why keep trying??
Gita

looks like you're doing okay w/vegetable gardening G. lol

I gave a coworker a few tomato plants and she said she got "yellow" cherry tomatoes on one, I bet it was Sun Gold Cherries, now that I see your photo

Our heirloom tomatoes are going crazy now... we picked 3 more of the Goldman's Italian American from Nisi. I'm going to try and cut the largest one in half and save some seeds as promised. And, we finally have our first fig from our little stick of a fig tree!! This is a tree we have had for years that is growing ever so slowly. I was hoping to propagate some of Critter's fig cuttings she gave out at the swap, but we didn't have much luck. I still have them in dirt, but they are looking pretty dead...

wind--

If they are Sun Golds--they will be exceptionally sweet.

I have also had a decent harvest of "Mortgage Lifters"--
Cukes did nothing! Dill got eaten by THOSE caterpillars (Swallowtail)
So did a lot of my parsley. I let them feast....
Tried the Romaine--bah-Hunbug! tried some Arugula--double Bah Humbug.
haven;t even tasted a leaf...and so it goes....

That is it for veggies for me...there are plenty of farm stores here...
No need for me to put out the time and effort...

Those tomatoes are HUGE! What kind are they?

Dianna--Did you know that "Bonnies Plants" (at HD) carries more and more
Heirloom Tomatoes every year? You can have quite the selection.
Have you ever checked there?

Gita

holy moly Diana!

I found my first ripe figs today too- yum.

Please forgive me for backing up here a bit, but I want to thank you Darius for sharing that delicious looking recipe for zucchini!! I have only ever had crab cakes on 3 different occasions, (3 different years, 3 different locations), and each and every time I got horribly ill. I will NEVER eat another crab cake for as long as I live. The problem is, I enjoyed eating them! :( I will DEFINITELY try your zucchini recipe because, to me, it's just as much about texture as it is about flavour, and with zucchini, ya just can't go wrong. Thank you!

Speedie, I have had that recipe or one like it before. It was very good.

If I get inspired, I'd like to make some for the Swap!

Here is another version :
http://www.justveggingout.com/2009/05/crabless-crab-cakes.html

Ravens' Restaurant Crabless Crab Cakes
Makes approximately 8 crab cakes (2 per person) or 18 mini crab cakes.

1/2 cup onions, finely diced
1/2 cup celery, finely diced
1/2 cup red bell pepper, finely diced
1/2 cup trumpet royale mushrooms, peeled into julienned strips (I used oyster mushrooms, roughly chopped)
1 1/2 cups zucchini, grated on smallest setting of box grater (the grated zucchini will have a mushy appearance)
1/2 cup sour cream
2 teaspoons vegan Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2-3 teaspoons Old Bay Seasoning, to taste
1 egg white
2 cups (approximately) ultradry breadcrumbs or panko (I used panko)
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

I used grated, salted, drained zucchini in quiche yesterday. It keeps that texture which is like crab meat.

Trying to keep my seedling spinach, radishes, and mustard going in these dry conditions. Please rain!

the crabless crab cake recipes sound interesting and good

Last weekend I planted a batch of fall veggies in the garden including purple kohlrabi, Harris salad greens blend (mix of Cimmaron, Red Salad Bowl, Tango, Slobolt, Green Salad Bowl, and Royal Oakleaf) , arugula, Northern Lights swiss chard and Seeds of Change Huazontle (Red Aztec Spinach) Chenopodium berlandieri. We'll see if the seeds are viable. Some were left out in the garage this summer...

really hard to keep the soil moist right now. I had awesome germination on spinach when I left the seed in the rain for a day first.

just saw your quiche post Sally, that sounds delicious too!!

I'm hoping for rain too, but we don't have it in the forecast for a while

Betty and I have made and frozen crabless crab cakes for over fifty years. We add a short squirt (official measurement) of apple vinegar to the making. Last week Blue Claw males were $175.00 a bushel in our area. We are going to the shore in a few weeks. They are free there or we don't eat them. Ha.

Love that official measurement. Good luck on getting some crabs.

I'm going with a DG friend to the Outer Banks the first week of October, a seafood shopping trip. Blue Crabs are high on my list, if affordable. I haven't had any in years, since I moved away from Annapolis. Online prices for 6" Blues are running about $70/dz. plus S/H overnight.

Darius. When I'm in the outer banks, I buy a live bushel from a waterman in Collington harbor. I worked at the beach for two summers 9 years ago back then the price was $70, this year it was $100 or $110.

It is still worth the price if you like cooking them yourself. In the off season it might cheaper, who knows. I'd call ahead a day or two and let me know because they only sell a few bushels a day to individuals. Anyway, the company is Endurance Seafood. I don't have their phone number but it is easy to find.

OBX in October is gorgeous!

I'm about to cry, haven't been to the beach ONCE this summer, and not to NC beach for many years.
Poor me! sniff snif

German Johnson tomatoes have another batch ripening. They turn pink overnight it seems. I think I can make the famous Tomato Pie today. THe Baltimore Sun even printed the recipe. But they didn't know about Daves Garden.

My short squirt of apple vinegar goes right to the Old Bay Seasoning label instructions for steaming crabs. The instructions get adjusted by the user. They are water, vinegar and Old Bay Seasoning. We suggest that a squirt of apple vinegar is needed if you enjoy steamed crabs using Old Bay Seasoning. We worked up to using what we like by using a little more until we satisfied our taste buds. So.........try a little vinegar next time you molest squash by making them look and taste like Blue Claw Crabs. Honest I have really done this at the hunting camp when two real Blue Claw Crabs were steamed and picked to set the mental stage for crab cakes. Most of the guys have a beer while dinner is finishing. It makes the war stories a touch better and dulls the taste and ability to smell as well. Just don't leave any squash trimmings spread about the kitchen and few if any will ever know the difference. The real fun came when one guy slipped me a hundred bucks to treat the guys the following weekend with more crab cakes. Now they know but they always have a great time hitting on the guy who is thought to be a gourmet eater in the finer dining places in our area. Male bonding. LMAO

I always thought a beer poured in the steaming mixture also contributed to the flavor.
Yes? No?

Vinegar? ABSOLUTELY!!!! G.