Fried Green Tomatoes

                                                                                  

With all the rain here in the Blue Ridge Mountains this Spring and Summer, growing vegetables was either fabulous or disheartening, and I heard both kinds of stories from home gardeners.  I’m a container gardener, and my Better Boy and sweet cherry tomatoes grew profusely – seeming to love the rain, as you can see in the photo below:



These are the lovely cherry  tomatoes that grew on a vine 7’ tall!  I had to get on a step ladder (I’m 5’2”) to pick the ones at the top.  Anyway, I had lots and lots of tomatoes.  I gave them to friends and ate tomato sandwiches until I couldn’t, even offered some to the neighbors and Jess said she was “tomatoed out!”

It’s September now, and the growing season is pretty much over here in the mountains, where Autumn is already bringing cool, misty mornings, but one tomato plant won’t give in.  It’s producing bowlfuls of hearty green tomatoes that will never ripen.



But that’s OKAY!  Because it’s Fried Green Tomato time in my kitchen – one of life’s greatest pleasures.

Fried Green Tomatoes is one of those recipes that everyone makes differently.  If you follow my blog, you know I simplify recipes as much as possible.  Most of us don’t have lives that allow for cooking complicated recipes from scratch. 

Below is a simple three-basic-ingredients recipe that anyone can follow.

You will need: 
A plate with some mayonnaise on it, and a plate with some seasoned Panko.

Slice some of those beautiful tomatoes.  You might even find a little pink inside!


Heat a little oil in a large frying pan.  Dry the tomato slices with paper towels, smear them first with mayonnaise, them evenly coat on both sides with the Panko crumbs.  Fry them, turning to cook evenly until golden.  Drain on paper towels. 


Top with a grind of sea salt and cracked black pepper, and you’ll get one of the most delicious ways to eat tomatoes that will look something like this:


Now I ask you – was that so hard?  Anyone can do this.  Choose the oil that you consider to be healthiest, and don’t eat fried food everyday.  You’ll live to be very old and very happy with Fried Green Tomatoes in your life.  Bon Appetit!  ~Jo

Great Coverup

Now and then a great idea comes along, and I feel compelled to share. Such is the case in this great copycat coverup from Allison at Refunk My Junk, who spent a grand total of $2 to copy what would have otherwise cost her $90 from Ballard Designs.  Check out the link below to be transported through cyberspace to Allison’s fun blog.  Kudos, Allison, for sharing your pragmatic genius!

http://refunkmyjunk.com/ballard-designs-hack-2-00-jute-twine-chandelier-shade-update/

Outside the Box

WHAT TO DO WITH A DEAD TREE…
I’m loving this idea from Pinterest, originally from a blog source that no longer exists, so I can’t even give them credit for this fabulous pin.

This idea would make a great playhouse in a residential or park setting, or a dynamite school bus stop shelter!

I’m a tree hugger, but I also believe in repurposing.  So if a tree can’t be saved or is in danger of causing damage by falling on a building, driveway or sidewalk, why not do this?

 

Silverado

I’m nuts about this wall treatment, and considering it for one wall in my casual kitchen.  Can easily be done with metallic paint, and it takes on the appearance of stainless steel – a great updated look for kitchens.

If your kitchen doesn’t have many windows, this paint technique will also reflect natural light, making your room appear much brighter.

Always remember to keep metallic paint to a minimum, using it on walls broken up with cabinets or large pieces of furniture as in this photo, easing what might otherwise be glaring to the eye.

Flowerless, But Looking Good

Have company coming and no time to run out for flowers?  Just step out into the garden and cut some green things.  Today I chose ivy – it grows profusely around Dove Cottage….and looks great in a mason jar.

World’s Easiest Pot Rack

When my other pot rack fell from the kitchen ceiling to its death, I decided on a more simple replacement that was lighter and could be installed in a matter of minutes.  I looked around in my shed for inspiration and found a travel extender bar for hanging clothes in the car.  It was covered in red ribbed plastic, and could be expanded to the perfect length.  I put two butterfly hooks in the ceiling, and with garden hangers, had the bar up in minutes.  I added more hooks and hung a few pots.  Voila!  Instant Pot Rack!

 

Now to get that ugly ceiling painted!

Original Dove Cottage Makeover

Best watched full screen!  Enjoy!

Rain, Rain

The creeks are running over and the county park is closed; the lakes are high; some roads are flooded and impassable; the flowers and vegetables are watered aplenty; the grass and trees are green and lush; and it looks like more rain for the next few days.  I don’t remember such a rainy Spring and Summer here in the Northeast Georgia Mountains.

Rain is a good thing until it futzes with all the paint projects I had planned for this summer.  The sunny hours are so few and far between, painting is almost an impossibility unless one has a big dry garage or basement with plenty of fresh air --- which I don’t have.

So here are a few photos of what’s going on around Dove Cottage.  They ain’t too exciting, but this is REALITY BLOGGING!

Lush greenery around the entry to Dove Cottage

The Old Lion garden fountain in its glory

The birds' (and the cats') favorite of many bird baths

Japanese Holly (Sky Pencil) surrounded by Snapdragons

The first of my cherry tomatoes

The tomatoes are lush and prolific from all the rain

The sunflowers haven't seemed to notice there's no sun!

The rushing fountain at the driveway entry

A view of the harlequin porch stoop

The greening of the cottage interior for summer

The folk art garden where nothing will grow!

Happy Summer, Blairsvillagers!

Appreciating Pop

Thanks so much, Pop, for all you do!
Made this for you…..

The Two Marys

It’s good to be back!  Wow – May went by so fast, with so many projects, but internet woes kept me from posting.  Guess I’ve got a lot of catching up to do.  The Two Marys – Mary Dahl and Mary Elder are coming for lunch on Thursday, so trying to finish a few projects before they come to Dove Cottage for the first time. 

Here are some photos of things that have been going on around Dove Cottage ---- and Majestic Acres, my parents’ 5-acre  homeplace.

 

                    

 Painted all Mom’s and Pop’s porch rockers a fresh new coat of green

for their rocking chair porch at Majestic Acres.

Don’t they look better than the old gray-green?                               

 

Finished my folk-art garden at the entrance to Dove Cottage

complete with sunflowers, hollyhocks, allium, and poppies.

Decorated in neutrals for Summer – cool and easy to live with.

 

Made a new canvas awning to replace the vinyl one that was ripped apart in a winter

storm.  This one will be painted white with black stripes as soon as I have a sunny

day when it isn’t so windy.  Also got the Proven Winner baskets from English Country Gardens

installed in the window buckets under the awning.

Raked and cleared my walking trails in the woods

While clearing the trails, discovered Indian Pipes (fungi mushrooms) popping

up all over the woods after all the rain we had this Spring.  Their white ghost like

appearance is always welcome.  I’ll definitely show them to The Two Marys.

Happy Summer, Blairsvillagers!

Internet Woes

Windstream is one of only three internet providers in my small town, and the service has never been great – it’s down, it’s up, it’s down, it’s up, it’s down, it’s still down…….

I wish I could just go down to the AT&T store and get a hot spot.  But I stream Roku over the internet and watching Netflix movies, I would eat up the monthly data of a hot spot in about one day.    So I decided to go with the new fiber optics internet service offered by our electric co-op.  I hear only good things about it. 

All this has, of course, affected my posting here on Blairsvillager.com and being active on facebook. As soon as the fibers are installed – in the next six weeks (there’s a long installation waiting list), I’ll be up and rolling again.  I’m looking forward to it!  ~Jo

Checking It Twice

Wow – what a rainy (and some days chilly) Spring it’s been around Dove Cottage in Blairsville, Ga.  90 miles Northeast of Atlanta, and 10 miles from North Carolina, we’re having a strange Spring – not exactly Southern and certainly not Northern (what kind of Southern lady would admit to anything Northern?)

Here’s my Spring To-Do List, and some photos of early projects.

Make new window awning (old one was ripped up in a storm)
Paint garden bicycle
Plant Morning Glory seeds
Finish monogrammed pillow for Mom
Clean garden fountains and get running
Repot Clematis
Plant herb seed in wheelbarrow
Plant sunflower seeds around bird feeders
Buy evergreens for fishbowls at front door
Buy baskets for window buckets
Touch up harlequin pattern on concrete
Rake walking trails in woods

HAPPY SPRING SPRUCING!

Faery Mushroom Garden

 

No matter the season or weather, my mushroom garden is always in “bloom.”  Yes, that’s poison ivy – the faery who lives in the little house says it protects her from humans

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A Standing Ovation to Mamie Jane’s

I saw this idea –- actually shared on Decorating Ideas Made Easy, and it’s so clever, I’m sure it’s going to be making the rounds.  It originated from Mamie Jane’s blog.  And if you’d like to see the instructions, you can access them here: http://mamiejanes.blogspot.com/2013/03/another-kitchen-tablet-holder.html

As you can see, it’s an old cutting board, with a scrabble letter holder glued across the bottom and a wedge of wood glued to the back as an easel stand.  Then it’s painted – possibly with chalk paint, which I’m going to teach you to make in a future post (as soon as it’s warm enough to get outside and actually paint something, lol), and distressed.

 

Well done, Mamie Jane’s!

 

Happy Decorating! ~Jo

Spring has Sprung

It may still be cold outside, but it’s beginning to look like Spring inside Dove Cottage.

I spent the winter perfecting a few monogramming techniques for linens and throw pillows, and even monogrammed a few shirts.

I’ll post more photos as I redecorate with cool blues and greens, that will take Dove Cottage right through Summer.  Until then.....Happy Decorating!

Making Up Isn’t Hard To Do

I committed the Cardinal Sin the other day.  It was Sunday morning, and I opened my mineral powder makeup, shook that little bottle to call up some of the fine powder, and none came forth.  Empty!

When I was a kid on the beaches of Miami, my skin was a smooth, even rosy gold from the sun.  But the older I got, the redder my skin undertone became, until now as an adult, I have to cover it with mineral powder to even the tone.  I looked at the clock and discovered there simply wasn’t time to rush down to the drug store for makeup. (We don’t have department stores or Clinique in Bville.)

My career has been interior design for more than 35 years, and personal chefing for the last 10 years, so I think like a designer and engineer.  Studying the way things are put together and the way they work, for me, is relaxation – sort of like your sitting down and putting together a jigsaw puzzle.  I can almost look at something – anything – and figure out the basics of how it’s made and put together, and short-cut it in some way.  Your complicated recipe with 30 ingredients, becomes my simplified recipe with 3 ingredients – with the same result.  So here I am taxed with the challenge of coming up with makeup.  No problem!

I rushed into the kitchen and began pulling things from shelves and cabinets:  cornstarch, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, powdered sugar, canola oil.   You'd think I was going to make Apple Pie! (NEVER use Turmeric or Saffron, or Curry Powder which contains these two ingredients --- unless you actually like a skin tone of screaming electric yellow that won't wash off!)

I began to mix a little of this and a little of that until I had what looked pretty close to the few grains left in the brand bottle, and voila – makeup!  After sifting to remove lumps, I ran my finger through it and tested the mixture on the back of my hand, then added a little more ginger.  Pretty good so far.

I continued sifting into a bowl, added a drop of Canola oil, mixed a little with a spoon (no need to mix until it’s thoroughly even – as you swirl it on, it will even out), used my little brush, swirled and tapped just like with the real stuff, and not even I would have known the difference ---  except this home-concocted makeup smells and tastes good, lol, and is all natural without all those chemicals we support by buying the brand names.  Truthfully, it was better coverage than my store-bought variety, and lasted longer before touching up. It also occurred to me that I could adjust homemade makeup as the seasons changed, and my skin tone changed with them -- I could go lighter or darker or pinker or yellower whenever I needed.  Hmmmmm…..

I still need to go to the drug store, though – to buy mineral oil for the next batch I make.  Who knew? ~Jo