Sunday, July 19, 2009

one local supper: blt salad

After a crammed-full day yesterday, I didn't feel much like cooking. Even though the weather was beautiful, temps and humidity low, I just didn't want to cook. So BLTs were on the menu. But there wasn't enough bread for everyone, nor was there mayonnaise. The mayo problem I could solve, and did, in under 10 minutes. Not so with the bread, so I had a BLT salad. WOW.

I am a bacon nut. Salty, fatty, crispy? I'm there. Strangely, offer me the same thing with potato chips and I can resist, but I'm weak-kneed with bacon. This thick-cut, hormone/antibiotic free bacon came from Barnes Farm in Jackson TN. They sell at the Memphis Farmers Market. All of their meats (good cuts, sausage, and bacon) are well priced and delicious, but next week and every other week, I'm going to start stocking up on this bacon. We don't ususally eat it plain, but I will cook a strip and a smidge of its renderings to saute greens that my boys wouldn't touch under normal circumstances.

This week I also bough a bushel of tomatoes to can with basil and garlic for the winter. I canned tomatoes in 2001 but haven't since then. After my success with plum/blueberry/blackberry jam, I'm ready to try it again. We eat a lot of canned tomatoes in the winter- I'm happier thinking about eating Robert and Karen's delicious Ripley tomatoes all winter than I am about having to buy six cans of tomatoes every time I got to the grocery store. I'm especially excited about supporting them because they are actively working towards growing without chemicals. In the past, they've only used a short-lived, relatively minor pesticide, but they have responded to customer input to go chemical-free. Not only do they sell at the Memphis Farmers Market, but they are also at the Wednesday Botanic Gardens Market, at the newly opened Collierville Farmers Market (on Thursdays, on Washington Street, just East of the Square), and at the Agricenter Market.

2 comments:

Kristina said...

That sounds delicious!

hannah said...

this looks so tasty!!