Oven-dried tomatoes

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 6 hours
Ingredients:

* 5 pounds (2.5 kg) Roma (oval) tomatoes
* Fine sea salt

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 200 degrees F. (100 degrees C.; gas mark 1), or the lowest setting possible. Remove the oven racks.

Trim and discard the stem ends of the tomatoes. Halve each tomato lengthwise. Arrange the tomatoes, cut side up, side by side and crosswise on cake racks set on the oven racks. Do not allow the tomatoes to touch one another. Sprinkle lightly with salt.

Place in the oven and bake until the tomatoes are shriveled and feel dry, anywhere from 6 to 12 hours. Check the tomatoes from time to time: They should remain rather flexible, not at all brittle. Once dried, remove the tomatoes from the oven and allow them to thoroughly cool on cake racks. (Smaller tomatoes will dry more quickly than larger ones. Remove each tomato from the oven as it is dried.)

Transfer the tomatoes to zipper-lock bags. The tomatoes will last indefinitely.

Yield: 2 cups (500 ml)

RED POTATOES WITH CHEESE AND BACON

6-8 red small red potatoes
1 stick butter
1 pkg Hormel real bacon pieces
3/4 cup shredded cheddar
garlic salt
freshly ground pepper
salt
olive oil

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Wash potatoes and cut into quarters. Grease bottom and sides of glass baking dish with olive oil.

Place potatoes in a dish and slice stick of butter into 1 tablespoon pats and place on top of potatoes.

Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and garlic salt. Cover with foil and bake until potatoes are tender, about 30 minutes. Remove foil and cover with cheese and bacon pieces.

Place back in oven until cheese is melted, about 5-10 minutes.

These are a great accompaniment to grilled meats and poultry.

Italian or Cubanelle Peppers

Cubanelle peppers are similar to Anaheim peppers but slightly less flavorful. They are considered a sweet pepper. Cubanelles can be stuffed or used in salads and casseroles. Also good on pizzas or subs.

Cubanelle peppers are long and tapered, and either red or pale green or yellow. They can be substituted in recipes calling for Anaheim peppers. The cubanelle should be firm, smooth and glossy.

Boiled Peanuts

Remember, you can place an order for raw green peanuts to be delivered this week.
3lbs for $5
email your order

Low Calorie, Low Fat 'Fried Cranky Okra'

I might go a little less on the cornmeal then next time, but it was pretty easy and close to fried okra without being fried.

Ingredients
4 cups of fresh okra, washed and sliced thin (about 1/4 inch or thinner if desired)
1 cup of yellow cornmeal
salt & pepper
water
non stick cooking spray, butter flavored works best

Place sliced okra into a bowl and add cornmeal, salt and pepper. The okra will appear to be 'dusted' by the cornmeal. Next, add a bit of water to the bowl. Add just a bit of water at a time because YOU will control the look and feel of your okra batter. Some people like their okra battered heavily, some don't. So adjust the water accordingly.
Next, pull the loose cornmeal that has settled into the bottom of the bowl over the 'dusted' okra. Batter should clump around the dusted okra.
Spray a cookie sheet with the cooking spray and spread the battered okra onto the sheet. Next, spray the top of the okra with the cooking spray. Be generous!
Pop the okra into a 350 degree pre-heated oven. Cook for 15 minutes, then remove and turn the okra. Spray with the buttery spray one more time and return to the oven. Be sure to remove the okra before spraying because the spray can ignite is you spray the pan while it is still inside of the oven.
Cook an additional 15 minutes, or until okra is golden brown.
The entire recipe contains zero fat and about 600 calories (400 coming from the cornmeal). Recipe will serve 4 people VERY GENEROUSLY for about 150 calories each.
Thanks Carolyn!

Seasonal Allergies? Try Honey!

Honey is all the buzz. Not only does it taste like summer, but it has some amazing qualities that help your body.

It's antimicrobial because of its high sugar content, so it's great for treating cuts and burns to prevent scarring. You can keep a jar in your medicine cabinet for years - it's slightly acidic, so it never goes bad.

I've also heard that honey can be used to treat seasonal allergy symptoms. In order to understand why, you need to know how honey is made.

Honey bees (the female worker bees) travel from flower to flower, drinking nectar, and storing it in sacs in their little bee bodies. Then they buzz back to their hive and use their "honey stomachs" to regurgitate and ingest the nectar a number of times until it is partially digested. They then store the nectar in the honeycombs, fanning it with their wings to evaporate the water, and turning it into the thick sweet honey we know and love.

The reason it may help with seasonal allergies, is because honey contains a bit of pollen from the plants. So if you eat the sweet treat that is made by bees in your area, the honey will often act as an immune booster, reducing your allergy symptoms to the local flowering plants. It's a good idea to take 2-3 spoonfuls each day for several months prior to pollen season.

Fit's Tips: Eating local honey works for some people, and may not for others. It's a folk remedy, with no scientific research to back it up, but if you suffer from seasonal allergies, it's worth a try. If it doesn't help with your sniffles and sneezing, well at least you're getting vitamins B6, thiamin, niacin, riboflavin, pantothenic acid and minerals like calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, potassium, and zinc. Honey also contains antioxidants and vitamin C. All that and it tastes good too!

Pickled Okra

#1

Wash Okra and set aside to drain
Wash jars and rings with hot soapy water and rinse well

#Step 2
Fill medium saucepan about 1/2 full with vinegar place on stove. Do not heat yet.

Add 1 cup water to small saucepan and place on stove on low heat.

Add enough water in large pan to cover about 3/4 of your pint jar. This water needs to be boiling when your jars are fully prepared. I start mine on medium heat and it's usually ready when I am.

#Step 3
Pack okra into jars stem with stem up
Poke garlic clove and chili pepper down into packed okra about midway into jar and pour a few drops of olive oil over okra. Don't overdo, a little goes a long way! Sprinkle garlic salt to taste over packed okra.

#Step 4
Once all okra is placed into jars, place jars on cabinet next to stove.

Heat vinegar to full boil

Place enough lids (or sealers) to top jars in hot water. You want to get these good and hot before placing on top of jars.

Cover okra with boiling vinegar using funnel. I do one jar at a time but this step is up to you.

#Step 5
Wipe top of jar well, making sure there is nothing to prevent tight seal.

Remove one of the sealers from water (a magnet works great for this) and place on top of jar and add ring. Tighten down really good. Set aside and repeat till all jars are prepared.

#Step 6
Place prepared jars in large pan of boiling water being careful not to burn yourself.
My pan hold 5 jars at a time. Set time for 5 minutes.

When timer sounds, remove jar from water (again be very careful) and set on 1/2 of bath towel. Use pot holder to make sure lid is very tight.
Cover jars with other half of towel and repeat process with any jars you have left.

#Step 7
Leave jars covered until cooled. During this process you will hear several pops. This is the jar sealing. Once all jars are cooled, this takes several hours, touch tops lightly to make sure all seals are down. Sometimes a light touch will seal any lids that did not seal on their own.

Once jars are cooled and seals are down, place in cabinet for 24-48 hours before opening. This allows the garlic and pepper to season fully.

You're done, you now know the steps and what works best for you and your next batch will be a breeze! Open and enjoy!