SPELLING BEE

BY BEA WESTERBERG

The seasons are a changing!

Snap, Crackle, Pop! We are in SEPTEMBER! Rumor has it that we should be getting cooler days. Some of us may have noticed that the days are getting shorter and that will soon become much more noticeable. We are MOST THANKFUL for the 3 inches plus rain that hopefully most of us got in recent days. While it may have been too late for lots of the farm crops, it will be good for trees and help refill the water tables. The lawns look like they are coming back so we can have green lawns instead of the fall looking brown that would fit into the September color plan.

The State Fair ending and the start of back to school also are major factors in the season shift. Canning and freezing have returned as a part of the season’s changes for those who did not give up as first time gardeners, they continued on with a shortage of jars, lids and bands. Freezing got a closer look as well as drying. Dehydration has been around for a very long time from starting with just the sun and outdoor time to electric machines in somewhat recent times. The very latest is freeze drying which is a completely different process. Check out the Internet for more details on how it all works. Please do not fall over when you get to the point of checking out the prices on these new babies! They also advise, you will need space, time and money to cover the cost of an increased electric bill. But the pay off would be food that will keep for up to 20 plus years. People who do a lot of camping are familiar with these types of foods. The end product also retains most of the food value due to this different process. These type of dryers have been around a long time in the commercial world of food and flowers but recently have been downsized for home use.

The fresh “real” tomatoes are hitting their peak, so try to enjoy them any way possible. The tomato product that a lot of people make beyond regular canning, is salsa. There are so many recipes and “family secret recipes” out there it may be hard to decide which to use. Check to see if the recipe includes things you would like and not like. The most common ingredient change might be cilantro. This for sure is the most love it or leave it product in salsa. The interesting thing is that there is a proven fact as to why some of us say we hate it because it tastes like soap. The people who say cilantro tastes like soap in anything they try with it, have a variation of olfactory- receptor genes that allow detection of “aldehydes”, a compound in cilantro. It’s a by product of soap making and also some bugs have this in their fluids to release into the world. So if someone asks you why you put stink bugs in your salsa you can give knowledgeable facts. That also means you will not have to share your delicious salsa with them! If you are affected by this, be sure to read the ingredients when you purchase salsa.

I have been hearing about Red Tomato Pie for ages but just could not get too fired up about it, not even looking to see how to makes such a thing. Neighbors Rose and Tony were telling about all the delicious facts of eating one so I did look up a recipe or two. It turns out that it is fairly simple to make (only using REAL tomatoes is a strong suggestion) so I made one with what I had on hand. The ingredients do bake down, so the mile high pie baked down a lot and I discovered I LOVED IT. Now Husband Larry had a bit of a different opinion about the whole thing, but did say he would eat another piece to keep me happy. (I guess that is one of the reasons we just celebrated our 51st Wedding Anniversary). We probably are in the same boat about green tomatoes and they can also be made into a pie. I have been making fried green tomatoes since the movie came out and I love them, eating most of them myself. That is one way to get more than your fair share! Blood thinner people – very high in Vitamin K so limit this green – speaking from experience.