the honey eater » Uncategorized

Tomato and Corn Pie

naomi — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 14:15:20 +0000

I’ve been on a tomato kick recently. It’s the end of summer (actually summer pretty much exited stage left the moment September came into view) and I’m trying to cram as many fresh tomatoes into our diet as I can.

I first made this pie over a month ago, and while we loved it then, it was so juicy that the pie plate was flooded the moment you cut into it. It wasn’t a huge problem, we just drained it off and continued eating, enjoying the bright taste of the fresh tomatoes and corn.

I made it again last week and I roasted the tomatoes a little to get rid of some of the excess juice without losing any flavor. (I hate blanching tomatoes, I don’t know why, but it just feels inhumane to me). We took the pie over to our neighbors’ house and their twelve-year-old son asked for seconds. I think that’s a pretty solid recommendation for a dish that consists almost exclusively of vegetables (though the biscuit crust and heavy dose of cheese couldn’t have hurt).

Tomato and Corn Pie
Adapted from Gourmet

Some notes: While I like the effect of the roasted tomatoes, and the less watery pie they produced, I don’t think it’s entirely necessary. If you’re feeling lazy, or are in a rush, don’t worry about it.
I didn’t actually puree the corn, coarsely or otherwise, I just chopped it.
I added marjoram because I love it, it’s works as a nice counterpoint to basil, similar in flavor, but a little spicier.
I used Tumbleweed the fist time and a sharp English farmhouse cheddar the second time, both were delicious.
I would also like to note that the first time around this crust came out beautifully, was so easy to make. The second time I mistakenly added 3/4 cup- not 3/4 of a stick- of butter, making the dough impossible to roll out. It was still very tasty.

for the crust:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
6 tbsp (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, cut into chunks, plus 2 tsp melted
3/4 cup whole milk

Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in the milk until the mixture just comes together, form the dough into a ball.

Divide the dough in half, set one half aside to rest and roll out the other half into a 12″ circle (more or less). Fit the dough into a lightly-greased 9″ pie pan.

for the filling:

2 tbsp lemon juice
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1-3/4 pound beefsteak tomatoes, peeled and sliced 1/4″ thick, or sliced and roasted 10-15 minutes in a 350-degree oven
1-1/2 cups corn (from 2-3 ears), coarsely pureed in a food processor
2 tbsp finely chopped basil
1 tbsp finely chopped marjoram
1 tbsp finely chopped chives
7 oz coarsely grated sharp cheddar (1-3/4 cup)
Salt and pepper, to taste

Whisk together the mayonnaise and lemon juice.

Stir together the basil, marjoram, and chives.

Arrange half of the tomatoes on the bottom of the pie dish. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, half the corn mixture, and half the herb mixture.

Repeat with the rest of the tomatoes, corn, and herbs, then sprinkle with 1 cup of the cheese.

Pour the lemon mayonnaise over the filling and then add the remaining cheese.

Roll out the remaining piece of dough and fit it over the filling folding the overhang under the edge of the bottom crust, pinching to seal.

Cut four steam vents in the top crust and brush with the 2 tsp of melted butter.

Bake pie until the crust is golden and the filling is bubbling 30-35 minutes.

Glasses

naomi — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 15:34:32 +0000

I need them. I’m a little nearsighted. I rarely wear my glasses and I’ve become used to my slightly out-of-focus world.

Sadly, slightly out-of-focus doesn’t really work for photography, at least not when you thought the picture was completely in-focus. Like this one. When I took it I thought it was as sharp as could be. Then someone pointed out that maybe the label was clear, but couldn’t the skin of the lemon be a little better defined?

As it turns out, I should look through these lenses before looking through the camera’s.

*I would like to note that I took this photo sans glasses (obviously) but they turned out as crisp as a freshly ironed shirt. Sometimes I get lucky.

Michael Jackson memorial and contest

naomi — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 15:53:00 +0000

Today there is a memorial service for Michael Jackson at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, about 15 minutes from where I grew up and where I used to listen to Billie Jean on a walkman while sitting on the living room floor.

My mom started a gift basket company when I was about three-years-old, and one of her largest clients was MJ himself. He would send lavish gifts to his nearest and dearest, including his sister, Gregory and Veronique Peck (whom he thought of as a father), and Elizabeth Taylor.

My question for you is:

What animal did Mr. Jackson send to the above-mentioned celebrities on multiple occasions?

Please post your answers in the comments. The winner will be sent 1/2 pound of this cheese (I work at a cheese shop and have limited resources, it’s not like I’m the Pioneer Woman over here), or if you’re lactose intolerant or a cheese-hater we can work out some other deal. Seriously though, the Tumbleweed is insanely delicious, you want it, and I’ll be posting a recipe using it in the next few days.

Finally, a little salute to the King of Pop himself, one of the greatest performers ever, when he was just a tender young thing, wearing awesome outfits and singing his heart out.

I Want You Back, by the Jackson 5

Work in Progress

naomi — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 12:39:00 +0000

From food

What do you do with one banana as ripe as this one? I couldn’t make banana bread because that requires at least two bananas, and I didn’t want to eat him because he was nearly liquid but I also didn’t want him to die an inglorious death.

From food

So I started making the blueberry cake from Edna Lewis’ A Taste Of Country Cooking and stewed some blueberries.

From food

Then I added the mashed banana to the biscuit-like dough.

From food

I tossed the blueberries (without their juice) on top on the batter.

From food

Then covered it all with cinnamon and sugar.

From food

It turned out okay, but there are some changes I’d like to make to the recipe, so stay tuned.

Kisa je

naomi — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 14:08:00 +0000

I woke up this morning to a torrential thunderstorm and I lay in bed, trying to return to sleep, counting the seconds between the flashes of lightening and the answering thunder.

From food

I’m now eating homemade graham crackers dipped in tea, a perfect rainy day breakfast, or any day breakfast if you ask me. They’re very crisp and stand up much better to the heat of the tea than do wimpy store bought ones, which pretty much turn to mush the moment they touch hot liquid.

From food

Despite being a member of a generation (generation y? I think that’s what they call us) that’s supposed to be all about the internet and all over myspace and facebook and youtube and who knows what else, I didn’t start reading blogs until about a year ago (as a testament to how backwards I am, my mom has had a blog for a few years already). Stuck in a boring office job, catering to two egotistical architects, I needed a way to get through the day, and reading food blogs became the answer. I have since left that job and started grad school to become an ESL/EFL teacher. Now that I’m on summer vacation and unfortunately ungainfully unemployed, I thought I should start contributing to the blogosphere rather than just consuming it. I imagine that this blog will be mostly about food and what goes on in my kitchen, with perhaps a few diversions into other territory, we’ll see how it goes.

From food

[Kisa je (pronounced roughly kisha yay, there should be a little "v" over the s) means "it's raining" in Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian (or BCS, though I'll just call it Bosnian, because it is the sibling tongue I hear the most often). Kisa is also the title of a book I have sitting near me, a bilingual book of Croatian poetry by Arsen Dedic that my friend Dalan lent me to improve my Bosnian skills. It's still pretty slow going, I can say it's raining but cannot say that the sun has come out. I can say that the dog is not a person, but I'd have a hard time describing either a person or a dog.]