Good Fall Fruit in Idaho

The fall fruit - blueberries, huckleberries and peaches - have been really good this year. I tried to find some blueberries at the Saturday Market - open through October - but had no luck. There is a fruit/veggie stand not far from here that usually has good local produce. We found some blueberries, huckleberries, peaches and corn at the stand. So, I had to make some pies. Here they are!

The finished berry pie! I also found a good pie crust to try. Light, flaky and really good.

Fresh Blueberries, Huckleberries and Peaches make a great pie!

And the infamous Corn Pie. We had some really good sliced Heirloom tomatoes and everything was really good!

A good way to spend a Sunday afternoon in the fall. Cooler temperatures, then warm up, then cool down! Typical for this time of year in this part of Idaho.

Dragon Tongue Beans

No, I have gone "over the edge". These are a Dutch heirloom bean, related to the snap bean. A type of snap bean that is similar to the green bean with an editable pod, except the pod is flatter and has purple colored strips running down a cream background. This bean can be eaten raw or served as a vegetable dish, providing a very distinctive and noticeably tasty bean flavor. "Dragon Tongue Beans" are a beautiful, tender, flatter light yellow bean with purple random short specs of color. Cook ever so gently to retain the beautiful color, or marinate them. They are easier to prepare because they don't have a string and need less prep time. Can be served as a warm side or cold in a salad. Considered by many to be one of the best tasting beans. Here is a recipe:

Dragon's Tongue Beans
2½ cups Dragon’s Tongue Beans
2 tbsp olive oil
5-6 cloves crushed garlic
1 tsp dried basil
Salt and black pepper to taste

Steam the beans for 3-4 minutes, then immediately toss with the remaining ingredients and serve.

The idea here is to not over cook the beans - just warm them through.

The beans can be found at some heirloom farms or farmers' markets. If you find them and try them, let us know what you think.

An Autumn Dinner

OK, so it's been a while since I made dinner. Soooo, tonight we had Lamb Chops, marinated in olive oil, salt and pepper, white wine, Dijon mustard and Greek oregano for about an hour. We know the ones who raised the lamb. Then a sauteed vegie mixture of fresh greeen beens, onion, tomato and summer squash. We also had a tomato salad of heirloom yellow and San Marzano tomatoes. All of the veggies are from the garden. Here are two photos.

Then I made two loaves - one batch - of "Quick French Bread".

Good dinner, even if I do say so myself.

Video of our Carmel Sojourn

Here is a video of our sojourn to California. It is not too long. Enjoy!

Click to Play

Part 1 Of Our Trip To Carmel, California

What a great adventure! We found some really delightful places to stay. One such place is in Moss Landing, California at the "Captain's Inn". A superb bed and breakfast with a great breakfast. Rooms are delightful and the owner's, Capt Yohn and Melanie Gibson are wonderful people. Their web site is The Captains Inn and well worth the stay if you are in the area! And if you are in Gilroy, CA., the perfect restaurant is Mama Mia's Ristorante Italiano. To contact them (408) 847-8808. All of these places are in the photos below.

This is just the first part of the photos. Stick around and I'll post more. Here are the photos of the first part of our trip - almost 3000 miles driving! There will be more photos and a video, eventually. Enjoy!

Part 2 of Our Carmel Trip

Here is the second part of our trip to Carmel. These photos are of Carmel Valley, Big Sur, Monterey Bay Aquarium, and the VIP Reception for the Tomato Festival. Such a beatiful home! We thank the Conway's for their hospitality.

Part 3 of Our Carmel Trip

What a great 8 days! Ah! To do this again. Well maybe. However, this Tomato Fest, the 17th, may be the last. I hope someone picks it up. These are the photos of the festival itself and the tomatoes! Over 500 varieties of Heirloom Tomatoes to taste! I made it to about 350 and Robin made it to about 150. Then to some wineries: Chateau Julien, Buena Vista, Ravenswood and Bernardus Winery. I did not get any photos of the Bernardus Winery, but we purchased 2 bottles each of their 2007 Sauvignon Blanc, 2006 Ingrid's Chardonnay, 2006 Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc and 2007 Saignee De Pinot Noir (a Rose Wine) and 1 bottle each of the 2003 Marinus Flagship Wine Red Table Wine and 2002 Marinus Red Table Wine.

At any rate, here are the photos of the 17th Annual Tomato Fest and some of the wineries we visited. Happy Trails!