Classic Stuffed Tomatoes Provencal

CUT A TOMATO IN HALF, fill it with fresh breadcrumbs and an aromatic blend of garlic, parsley, and olive oil -- the flavors of Provence -- and Voila! you have Stuffed Tomatoes Provencal. I like to prepare this classic first course early in the day so I won't feel rushed when guests arrive:

Stuffed Tomatoes Provencal
Ingredients for 6 tomato halves (for this recipe, I used heirloom varieties from my garden: 'Cherokee Purple,' and 'Striped Cavern,' pictured up top.)

3 perfectly ripe tomatoes
1 cup breadcrumbs from fresh, white bread
1/2 cup finely chopped flat-leaved parsley
2 cloves garlic, pureed
Olive Oil
Salt and Black Pepper

Cut the tomatoes in half. Remove seeds with your finger, then salt and pepper the halves lightly. Turn the halves upside down on paper towels so that excess juice drains.

Meanwhile, puree the garlic: peel the cloves and dice them roughly. Then sprinkle with a pinch of salt. Mash them down with the flat of a big knife, until a fairly smooth paste is achieved.

In a bowl, stir garlic, parsley, breadcrumbs, a pinch of black pepper and a drizzle of olive oil together. Spoon this mixture into the crevices of the tomatoes, leaving a mound of stuffing on top. Set tomatoes in a baking dish, and, if you are not going to bake them right away, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.

Just before baking, drizzle tops with a little more olive oil. Then bake for exactly 20 minutes on the middle rack of your preheated, 400-degree oven.

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Freezing a Peck of Peaches

THIS MORNING, while shopping at a local orchard, I found a large basket, or "peck," of sweet, perfectly-ripened peaches. I decided to freeze them. Peaches, I'll admit, are not so easy to freeze as green beans or herbs. To preserve color, texture, and mouth-exploding juiciness, you first have to blanch and peel the fruit, then give it a toss in ascorbic acid, before finally suspending it in a sugar-syrup. I find the work rather meditative:

Start with ripe, ready-to-eat peaches. If you can, select "free-stone" or "cling" peaches, which have easily-dislodged pits. Wash the peaches in cold water.

Making the Sugar Syrup. Combine 2 parts water to 1 part sugar.( My peck of fruit required 8 cups water, and 4 cups sugar.) Heat this mixture on the stove, stirring occasionally, until the sugar dissolves. Then let the syrup cool to room temperature. I'm told that white grape juice is a healthier (if less flavorful) alternative to sugar syrup.

Blanching and Chilling. In a large pot, bring 4 quarts of water to a rapid boil. Working in batches, 3-6 peaches at a time, drop the fruit into the boiling bath for exactly 60 seconds. Then transfer, with a slotted spoon, to a big bowl of ice-cold water. Chill fruit for at least 60 seconds. You will save a lot of time and dropped peaches if your ice water is located beside the boiling pot.

Peeling. Once blanched and chilled, peaches are supposedly easy to peel. This has not been my experience. I find that if the fruit is set stem-end down, and the skin is scored at quarter intervals with a knife (as above), it can be peeled rather cleanly. Start peeling from the pointy bud-end, not the flat stem-end.

Pitting and Slicing. Slice the fruit in half, and remove the pit. Then slice the halves into 1/2-inch segments (or just leave in halves).

Tossing with Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C). Scoop up the peach segments, lay them in a bowl, and gently toss with "Fruit Fresh," a powdered ascorbic acid product available at most supermarkets. Otherwise, give the fruit slices a squeeze of lemon juice. The goal is to prevent browning.

Packing in Bags. Place 3 cups or so fruit per one-quart zip-lock bag. Ladle in enough sugar syrup to cover the fruit, then fold the bag at the liquid-level (to express air). Seal and freeze.

Packing in Tubs. Place 3-4 cups fruit in a plastic tub, add liquid to cover, leaving approximately one inch of head room. To keep fruit from floating to the top, and consequently being exposed to air, place a crumpled piece of waxed paper over fruit, as above. Then place seal (below) and freeze.

Processed this way, you can count on peaches to keep well for up to 12 months in the freezer. If you have any questions to ask, or have your own peach-freezing tips to share, by all means post them in the comments field below.

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The (I can't believe it's) September Chores

IN MY HUDSON VALLEY, zone 5-b location, September is the "do-it-now" month. Outdoors, cooler (we hope) temperatures invite the dividing and resetting of perennials, the propagation of certain annuals, and the planting of bulbs. Indoors, there are window gardens and fluorescent light stations to set up. Where to begin? Maybe here:

Bulbs. Order early, and with purpose. Make a copy of your order form, and note each bulb's height, color and location for planting. This way you won't be caught -- as I have been -- standing in the cold with a bag of bulbs and no idea where to plant them. (I always order extra tulips, daffodils, Dutch hyacinths and muscari for advance bloom in the house.) For bulb-ideas, have a look at the those I've grown successfully both indoors and out.

Chrysanthemums. If you don't already have these in your garden, why not splurge on a few now? They are good investments that do wonders for the September-to-frost border. Chrysanthemum 'Helen,' pictured up top, comes up year after year for me in the Serpentine Garden. If you don't wish to plant the mums, you can just tuck pots -- as I sometimes do -- beneath trees and between other plants for temporary decoration.

Iris. Divide and reset crowded clumps, but remember to keep rhizome tops exposed.

Peony. Divide and transplant any poor-blooming old plants or set out new ones this month. They need sun, good drainage and only two to three inches of soil over the crowns.

Potatoes. Although most of my potato vines have died back, I won't harvest until really cool weather arrives (usually the end of October). This way my cellar will be cold, too, and better suited for potato-storage. Tubers only keep well in quarters which are dark, humid, and chilly (35-40 degrees F.).

Tomatoes. To avoid the ravages of a sudden frost (or a sudden heat wave), pick large fruits still in the green stage, and let them ripen indoors. They ripen quickly if set in a single layer in brown paper bags left unsealed. Never place tomatoes on a sunny windowsill; such a location invites rapid decay. My tips for growing a fine crop of "Love Apples" can be found here.

Onions. Harvest, cure and store according to these directions.

Window Garden. Clean window glass, and if your window is outfitted with glass shelves like mine, polish these too. You'd be amazed at how the slightest layer of grime can undermine your indoor garden's decorative quality.

Artificial-Light Garden. Replace fluorescent tubes. You don't need special "growth lights" to promote flowering; I have found that standard cool whites, available in any hardware store, perform just as well for a fraction of the cost. You can read all about my simple, but highly functional, fluorescent set-ups here.

Houseplants. Before nights get cold, houseplants should be gradually acclimated to indoor life. By Labor Day, I move the outdoor ones to the porch where there is less light than in the open and they stay there for a week or two. Prior to their coming in, pots should be scrubbed, foliage cleansed with a firm blast of water, and both pot and plant sprayed with a good insecticide. This way, plants will be in a clean condition and no pest epidemics will start. (Do not use insecticides on your citrus plants, lemon verbena, scented geraniums or other potted edibles.) Indoors, keep windows open day and night to provide plenty of fresh air through the first weeks. Then there should be a minimum of leaf-drop and general discontent with the home environment.

Petunias, Wax Begonias, Impatiens. Take cuttings now, and root them in pots of good soil. Brought indoors before frost, these tender annuals will provide cheerful bloom during the dark winter months.

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Recipe: Potato Galette

THIS WEEKEND, for a dinner party with friends Jack and John (John wrote this must-read article), I'm robbing a few Yukon Golds from my potato patch, and turning them into a crisp but tender Potato Galette. A "galette" is the French version of American hash-browns, only far more elegant. Here, shredded potatoes are flavored with fresh parsley and rosemary, fried until perfectly golden, and then carefully un-molded all in one beautiful piece:

Potato Galette
Ingredients for 4 servings
3 medium-size potatoes, shredded (about 3 cups)
2 Tbs unsalted butter
Olive Oil
1 Tbs each finely-chopped fresh parsley and rosemary
Salt, Pepper
Grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

Suggested Equipment
A food processor outfitted with its shredding device; a well-seasoned, 8-inch diameter cast-iron skillet (this will give the galette its best color and texture) or, in a pinch, use any non-stick skillet

The procedure:
In the skillet, heat 2 Tbs each olive oil and butter. When the butter has melted, pour in the shredded potatoes, and spread them out with a wooden spoon so they cover the bottom of the pan. Drizzle one tablespoon oil over the potatoes, then season with salt, pepper, rosemary and parsley. Cover, reduce heat to low, and let the potatoes cook for 8 minutes.

Now comes the hard part -- flipping the galette without breaking it. Replace the cover with a dinner plate, and invert the skillet. Out will come the potatoes, all in one piece. Slide this galette back into the skillet, its uncooked side now on the bottom of the pan, and cook, uncovered, for 3 more minutes.

Finally, invert the galette once again onto your dinner plate. Then set a serving platter over the plate, and invert the two so that the more attractive, first-cooked side of the galette faces up. Sprinkle, if you wish, with grated Parmesan cheese, and immediately bring to table.

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Preserving the Harvest: Freezing Green Beans

WHY PRESERVE YOUR home-grown (or farmer's market) produce? First, because these veggies are pesticide-free. Next, having a stash of healthy food in the freezer reduces expensive, fuel-consuming trips to the supermarket. Finally, who doesn't want to savor the taste of summer during the depths of winter? Here is my easy method for freezing green beans:


A Note on Blanching. To eliminate the enzymes which can alter the flavor of green beans (and other veggies)and turn them into mush when frozen, it is necessary to blanch them first. When you "blanch," you boil the beans briefly, then immediately plunge them into ice water.

Only Tender Beans, Please. Start with fresh green beans, which are neither too young nor too old. Old beans, fresh or frozen, are woody in texture. Believe me, they are not good eating.

Trimming. As illustrated above, trim ends, then slice the beans into equal-sized pieces. I cut mine into 1/2 inch segments, and I always slice on the bias.

Boiling. Drop the beans into the pot of boiling water; cover, and cook for exactly 3 minutes. Timing begins the moment the beans hit the water.

Chilling. Now, plunge the beans into ice water. I use a big slotted spoon to transfer the veggies from hot water to cold. Chill for exactly 3 minutes.

Drying. Retrieve the beans, and lay them out on cloth towel-lined baking sheet, as above. Blot tops of beans with another cloth towel. (Dry beans won't stick together when frozen in a bag.)

Freezing and Bagging. Flash freeze on the baking sheet for an hour or more. Then transfer the beans to zip-lock freezer bags. You might limit, as I do, the amount per bag to one serving per family member. Because I am a family of 2, I place one cup in each one-quart bag. In any event, do not overfill bags. When the bag lays flat in the freezer, the beans should form a single layer.

Vacuum-Sealing. To avoid freezer burn, express all air from the bag. I remove air by partially sealing the bag, inserting a drinking straw, and sucking. This is a primitive way to vacuum seal, I know, but it does seem to work. Maybe you are lucky enough to have an electric vacuum-sealer. I aspire to own one.

Properly blanched and frozen, green beans will provide a year of good eating.

If you have other good freezing-tips (or if you wish to laugh at my drinking-straw-vacuum-technique), by all means speak your mind in the comment field below.

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Photo Gallery: Bambi & Mom

THIS MORNING a doe and her fawn paid me a call. Happily they lingered near the music room windows, where I was able to photograph them through the glass. Because deer have always been respectful of the grounds here, I honestly welcome, rather than dread, their visits. Here are more pictures of the pair, followed by a brief explanation of why, I think, these woodland creatures do not trouble this place:







Earlier, when I said that deer and other woodland creatures here are "respectful" of my garden, I was not exaggerating. You see, in 8 years they have not harmed any of my plants. Why this should be, I haven't a clue. Perhaps it is because they find what they need on the "wild" part of the property. Or perhaps it because I set up fencing around the edible crops. Still, there are myriad unprotected "treats" here, -- hostas, roses, and arborvitaes come to mind -- which they have not bothered.

But maybe this "hands-off" attitude arises from a deeper, more spiritual connection. After all, I share many common interests with deer. We both value our privacy, our freedom. Also, deer are not hunters, and neither am I. I could never hold a rifle to one, especially for sport. And I think they "get" that.

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Classic Tomato Pie

IF YOU ARE REVELING IN RIPE, JUICY "LOVE APPLES" THIS MONTH, be sure to save some for James Beard's classic Tomato Pie. I can tell you this dish is both comforting to eat and fun to make -- especially when you use store-bought biscuits for the crust:

To start, coat a 9-inch pie plate with vegetable spray. Then press 10 regular-size biscuits (from a 7.5 oz package) against bottom and sides of plate, as illustrated above.
Layer thick slices from 2 or 3 tomatoes on the dough, and give them a sprinkling of salt and pepper. Then toss on a handful of freshly-chopped basil.

Top the pie with one cup mayonnaise combined with one cup shredded cheddar cheese.

Bake for 30-35 minutes on the middle rack of a preheated 375-degree oven. To insure a firm, not runny pie, let rest for 10 minutes before serving.

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