Tomato Omelette

4 Large Eggs
1/2 Cup diced tomatoes
3 Tablespoons Sharp Cheddar Cheese
Salt and Pepper to Taste
1 Pat Butter

Heat Large Skillet on medium high heat (I prefer cast iron) and add butter. When the butter is bubbling just a bit, add the eggs and cook until the edges start to set.  Put tomatoes and cheese on one half of the eggs and cook further on low heat until you are able to get spatula under the eggs.  Flip the half with nothing on it onto the tomatoes and cheese.  Let cook a bit and then turn over the whole thing and let sit in the pan a minute or so.  If you aren’t an expert at flipping a big omelette, just cut it in half to do it.  It’s taste just as good, trust me.  I had mine with a big piece of home made wheat bread!

And why do I use cast iron?  First of all I like the way it cooks, it’s more even and you get trace amounts of iron from it so there is no anemia in this house!  Finally another plus is well building and keeping strength, they are heavy and if you toss around those pans enough you will build and keep muscle in your arms….who knew?

There is nothing that smells better than a loaf of bread in the oven. It just started to rain here in Strafford NH so it’s perfect timing.  I would highly suggest the book ARTISAN BREAD IN FIVE MINUTES A DAY http://www.artisanbreadinfive.com/ for anyone that would like to learn how to make bread.  And be sure to keep practicing if it doesn’t come out right. Fortunately for us the King Arthur Flour Company right in Norwich Vermont so we are using a wonderful local product and it really is the best flour I’ve ever used!

These were picked just last night and refrigerated over night.  Don’t ask me what kind of cucumbers they are because I don’t know.  We kind of got them by mistake.  We had gone over to Wentworth Gardens in Rollinsford (a wonderful green house, if you haven’t been I highly recommend it)  for our plants this year and somehow we got these plants without realizing it.  We do love them though and the skins are quite thin so they are great for pickling or relish etc.  We’ve already eaten a ton of them and have so many more coming.  They are prolific, that is for sure!

2 Cups Chopped Onion

1 Chopped Green Pepper

1 Chopped Sweet Red Pepper

1/4 Cups Salt

3 1/2 Cups Sugar

2 Cups Cider Vinegar (5%)

1 Tablespoon Celery Seed

1 Tablespoon Mustard Seed

Combine Cucumbers, onions, green peppers and red peppers in a large bowl; sprinkle with salt and cover with cold water. Let stand two hours.

Drain thoroughly; press out excess liquid. Combine Sugar, vinegar and spices; heat to boiling. Add drained vegetables and simmer 10 minutes.

Pack hot into hot half-pint jars, leaving 1/2 inch head space. Remove air bubbles. Wipe rims. Adjust lids. Process 10 Minutes in Boiling Water Bath.

This recipe comes from the Cooperative Extension of The University of Georgia and is in a book called “SO EASY TO PRESERVE”.  I would highly recommend this book to anyone who plans on putting their food up.  First of all the recipes have all been tested so you know they are safe and second of all the instructions are easy and the book includes tips, hints and even helps with problems and solving them.  Whether you are a novice or an expert in canning I think you’d like this book. There are sections on canning, pickling products, jellied products freezing and drying!

If you have never canned before here are a few helpful hints.  First of all  you need to wash and sterilize your jars.  I do this after I’ve got all the vegetables chopped and they are in the pot soaking for those two hours.  It is important to make sure your kitchen is clean, particularly the sink before you start and then in between steps.  I wash the sink first and sanitize it using one tablespoon of bleach for one gallon of water.  I wash all areas in and around the sink, including the water spout and also the drains and drain stoppers.  Then I wash all my vegetables and get them ready for the pot.  After this is done, I wash and sanitize the sink again!  The directions for canning tell you to wash your jars in hot soapy water, rinse and then boil in your canner.  I happen to have a sanitizing option on my dishwasher so I put them in that.  If you dont’ have this option you will need to boil them.  Wash the rims, and covers as well and place in hot water but do not boil them.

When the vegetables have soaked for the two hours put them in a colander and rinse them thoroughly.  The instructions in the recipe do not tell  you to rinse them but I have found if I don’t the relish is a bit too salty for us!