A SOUTHERN DELICACY ~ HAPPY PEPPER ~ GARDEN NINJA ~ PARTING SHOT

A SOUTHERN DELICACY

There are some recipes that are so "Southern" that they just aren't understood anywhere else in the country. People in other parts of the country just do not get the appeal of these recipes. Occasionally you will run across an enlightened person who understands, but this is rare. Today I have for you a recipe that is considered a southern delicacy which is only available in the summer. There are only three main ingredients in this recipe, and here they are below.

Three simple ingredients to experience Nirvana

Yes, my friends, it is the Classic Tomato Sandwich. I have been enjoying this delicacy for the past couple of weeks, ever since my Cherokee Carbon tomato plant produced some ripe tomatoes. As you can see in the picture, you start off with a good slicing tomato (use an heirloom variety if you can get it). An absolute must as the second ingredient is really, really fresh white bread. The way you can tell if it is really, really fresh is that it will stick to the roof of your mouth when you take a bite. I got the freshest white bread I could find, made by Franz Bakery. I get points for getting my bread from a somewhat local bakery, as Franz is based in the Northwest. Also, I get extra points for it not having High Fructose Corn Syrup. As the third ingredient, the traditional choice is Duke's Mayonnaise. Since I have not been able to find Duke's Mayonnaise anywhere around here, my backup choice is Kraft Reduced-Fat Olive Oil Mayonnaise. It is a decent substitute. Below is a step-by-step pictorial for making this fabulous recipe.

The main ingredient, a ripe tomato

Slather each slice of bread liberally with mayo

Add tomato slices and sprinkle with copious amounts of salt & pepper

Cut sandwich in half from corner to corner

There you have it. Ah, there is nothing quite like it! It is sad, though, that this can only be eaten in the summer because, as we all know, that is the only time you can get a good-tasting tomato.

HAPPY PEPPER

Every year I seem to get a chuckle when I go out to pick my peppers and I come across one like this:

I'm thinking this pepper was really happy to see me! Of course, it all depends on your perspective, because it may have just been doing a Jimmy Durante impression:

Either way, I got a laugh out of it!

GARDEN NINJA

I came across this Praying Mantis in one of our bushes the other day. I believe he is a Chinese Praying Mantis because he's so big. He must have been a good four inches long, and he was a brownish color instead of the usual green.

Ninja bug

He was keeping an eye on me as I was trying to get a good picture. I didn't want to get too close because he was so scary! If he had jumped on me, I would have done that "Oh my God, there's a bug on me" dance trying to get him off. Admit it, you know you've done that dance some time in your life. Especially if you live anywhere there are Palmetto Bugs, also known as Water Bugs or American Cockroaches. Ew, I don't even want to think about them. Thankfully, they are NOT here!

PARTING SHOT

Summer Girl has started coming into the house more lately. You would think she would have come in during the really hot time of the summer, when we were having triple digit temperatures. But no, she wanted to stay outside most of the time then. Now that the temperatures are cooling off a bit, she has started coming back in. Maybe she has decided that she needs to bless us with her presence more often, since she will really want to come in once it gets cold and that white stuff starts falling from the sky.

The little Princess

That's all for this week, be sure to check back next week!