garden candy

Madison has this... atmosphere.  The insanely young-looking people here are all about fitness and farm fresh.  I mean, I do also run into plenty of people who probably only subsist on beer and cheese... errr... but between Audrey's mom and my dentists and the peeps I housesitted for and Maddy's plant babies, I'm getting serious garden FOMO.
We've tried gardens at home, but in the (what I think is) ambiguously southern state of NC, the deer and squirrels have no fear or mercy.  Would you believe our plants thrived better back when I lived somewhere in the desert?

Anyways, I was all about the tomatoes.  They are seriously like candy.  Packed them with lunch every day and ate them like apples.  But with so many tomatoes nearly falling off the vine, I had to do more.

tomato thyme tart

The simplicity of it was inspired by here.  No heavy filling, no millions of ingredients, no fuss

...and no puff pastry, so I had to make a crust.

4-5 tomatoes from garden, sliced

garlic confit with reserved olive oil

2-3 sprigs thyme

habanero and marsala caramelized onions

balsamic vinegar

Making a large dish of garlic (and pepper) confit was the best decision I've ever made.  It was a little rough sacrificing half my olive oil at first, but I pat myself on the back every time I decide I need a piece of roasted garlic.
I started coughing and choking as soon as I cut into the habanero (also from the garden), so even the minuscule bit of pepper I threw into the caramelizing onions was much.  But after adding in some brown sugar and spreading it onto the tart and layering on the tomatoes and baking it at 350F for 15-20 minutes, it all mellowed out and came together.
Sprinkle some more thyme leaves and drizzle on balsamic as soon as it's out of the oven.

And nom.  By the way, I loved this crust.  So flakey and crispy.  The perfect dinner or breakfast dish (or presumably lunch if I had managed to save any for lunchtime).

While Audrey and her fam were off and away doing fam things, I made myself useful by... harvesting from their garden.  Just doing what was asked, dude.

They had an excess of edamame, which was awesome for two reasons.  ! I've never seen an edamame plant before and @ I haven't had these deliciously fuzzy beans in ages.  I boiled and ate about four cups worth until Jules suggested I make

edamame hummus
shelled edamame
about a tsp dried dill
garlic clove
grated parmesan
lime juice (or lemon)
drop of sesame oil (because I didn't have a dollop of tahini)
water to thin (I used about 1/4c)
salt and pepper
-blend, blend, blend

Eaten like baby sandwiches on leftover pie crust rounds from the tomato tart.  Six more of these and they would be awesome h'ordeurvres.



Other pickings include one little Japanese eggplant for one little serving of this and a few of the sweetest, crispiest, bumpiest little cucumbers I've ever snacked on.

And we can't forget a kale reprise.

kale chips
wash, dry, toss with olive oil and seasoning, spread over baking sheet and bake at 350F for however long it takes to get the roasted crispiness you desire (about 20 min for me), tossing halfway through to ensure no soggy bits happen
Still obsessed with fresh tomatoes, clearly.  But I had many many servings of kale chips, as well.

cheddar kale biscuits
I had been craving biscuits for awhile.  It's definitely something I took for granted in NC.  Why was my first meal at home Chipotle and not a bag of Bo-berry biscuits?  Well, I've tried and failed biscuits many a time, so there was little motivation for me find a way to satisfy this craving.. but Johanna then Liban made use of lard in their baked goods, and I felt that lard was the answer.

So using Pioneer Woman as a guide, and a bag of frozen cheddar and garden kale as my inspiration, biscuits finally happened with the help of Johanna's savory lard.

Eaten with pan fried scallops she brought straight from Boston (I've learned not to question it) and spicy garlic sauce.
Speaking of the sauce...

roasted kale in mojo de ajo with grilled cheese

I had come across this during my scattered pickling phase.  And I'm certain this is going to need to be a staple sauce.  Cilantro stems, confit garlic and red pepper, pickled Thai chilies, oil and pickle juice.  Goes great on all carbs.  Seafood.  Meat.  I've mixed it with cream cheese to eat on a beet burger.  And dressed some roasted kale and broccoli with it as a side for grilled cheese...which was really a baked cheese because my homemade sandwich bread was too brittle.

Bet it'd be great as a pretzel dip too (with a little honey).  Maybe add a spoonful to some mashed avocado as soon as those things ripen.  Mix it with mayo/aioli for a fry sauce?  Endless possibilities.

By the way, if you ever wanted to revamp some classic sammiches.  I was mildly obsessed with cucumber-dill-cream cheese + seaweed for as long as I had cucumbers available.  And garden basil-roasted garlic-roasted pepper (or tomato) + vegemite for a intense salty bite to counter all the sweet fragrant-ness.