I've been toying with the idea of adding more gardening to this blog. Lately there have been a number of posts touching on the dilemma of a home-cooking blog: you run out of recipes. I'm not a "cook," I'm just someone who cooks well in a home setting. I have no ambitions to write a cookbook, and for the most part these recipes are passed down, borrowed or existing, so I'm not breaking any new ground here either.
The web abounds with gardening blogs; several excellent ones are in my blog list and every one of those blogs has another list of excellent blogs and on and on ad infinitum. I don't think the web, or anyone/where else, needs my gardening tips.
But gardening is a big part of my cooking, and the creative act of homemaking has an awful lot to do with dirt, from digging it to cleaning it to making it (as in compost). I started the garden a couple of decades ago so that my urban children would know what food looks like in its natural state, and that you can have control over it from seed to feed (hah--there's a new title for the blog!). We eat better in the summer, when I "grocery shop" basically on the walk from the garage to the back door.
So I may start in on my garden progress, especially in the tweets. I promise to be marvelously and originally philosophical and to always include a recipe.
Mom's open-faced toasted cheese sandwiches
Bread
Cheddar, swiss, or Edam, or American cheese
We must have eaten traditional stove top grilled cheese when we were kids, but frankly I don't remember that. What I remember are these wonderful, drippy, crunchy-edged delights. I also remember that my terminally suburban college roommates had never encountered "grilled" cheese made this way.
Thickly layer the cheese on open slices of bread. Place on a baker's cooling rack, then on a baking sheet and place directly under the broiler (or use a counter-top toaster oven on the broil setting) for about 5 minutes. The cooling rack allows the air to flow around the bread, so it doesn't get soggy. For the oily cheeses like cheddar, it's done when it starts to bubble. For the drier cheeses, let it toast a little bit.Serve with homemade fruit soda.
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Yes, the answer is, yes.
ReplyDeleteWelcome to the garden blogging world! The way I look at it: they say that people who write/blog about growing veggies are the future of gardening-and who better to do it than people like you who actually cook & eat what they grow?
You get a "thumbs up" from me!
ReplyDeleteStumbled across your blog. Interesting thoughts on more of gardening in your blog. Cooking & gardening are joined at the hip, and you show the connections marvelously, BTW, the sandwiches look delicious
ReplyDeleteThe more the merrier Xan. Everyone has something to contribute.
ReplyDeleteMy mom used to make those broiler cheese sandwiches - I'd ask her to leave mine in the oven until the cheese puffed up and browned on top - yum. I think they're better than grilled cheese - less carbs and less fat, not greasy, taste better.