garden tart

so we've been waiting very patiently for our tomatoes to turn red, somewhat daunted and a little bit giddy seeing the two or three hundred fat green fruits weighing down our vines, which have all turned brown and wilted under the strain. but all of august came and went, cool and rainy as it was, and nary a blush. i resigned myself to the prospect of making jar upon jar of pickled green tomatoes. then, about a week ago, under the warm and pleasant september sun, the first little tinge of pink appeared, brightening into an orange glow that seemed to come from within. i am a firm believer in the adage, 'there are only two things that money can't buy: true love and home grown tomatoes,' and while me mum may be happy to pick them half ripe and let them redden inside, i patiently awaited that perfect rubber ball red specimen to manifest itself.
and then the chipmunks came.
like a demon horde belched up from a bloated rodent hell, they came. and they attacked what i loved the most, choosing only fruit just on the cusp. and for awhile, i was a broken man. i had half a mind to loose duncan on the yard, who does not hesitate in the disposal of a chipmunk.
then my csa box came, and on top of the 3/4 bushel box of assorted veg there was another whole box of just tomatoes, of all shapes and varieties. and in the end, our yard held too many tomatoes to sate even the chipmunks gluttony, though i hope they all got the runs. we now enjoy the abundance of our little plot of dirt, and i must think on canning soon. when things get tough, the tomatoes will always win.
this tart is just a way to use up all the abundant squash and tomatoes that late summer brings. just puff pastry with a layer of caramelized onions, then squash sliced very thin on a mandoline, then tomatoes, just baked until the pastry was puffed and brown.
i took what was left of the thinly sliced zucchini, and along with some chioggia beets sliced the same way, deep fried them to make vegetable chips. the beets worked out much better than the squash did.
i also made a poblano and hominy soup that night, as an appetizer, adapting the recipe from one i found from vincent price (he rubs his roast). pretty good, but i didn't take any pictures

thai curry (sorta)

emptying the fridge into something comforting. this is a very egalitarian dish as it welcomes pretty much any ingredient into it. what it isn't is authentic. i spent my day off the other day trying to search out a few things for my kitchen. i was recently inspired by the how to make tofu post on the i eat food vegan blog. i have yet to order my cultures yet, but there was the clever idea to buy muslin at a fabric store instead of shelling out five bucks for two square feet of cheesecloth at the grocery store, or even half that at home depot. so, i am now the proud owner of about five yards of muslin that i picked up for ten bucks, and can strain to my hearts content for about the next ten years or so. i was also looking for agar agar which i failed to find, so i think it'll have to be the internet for that one.
anyway, i was in whole foods searching, and ended up buying tempeh again. i keep thinking i must be doing something wrong, and am having a hard time coming to terms with the fact that i just don't like tempeh.
i marinated it in soy, garlic, ginger, rice wine, and sesame oil for an hour, then stir fried it until golden brown, basting with the marinade, before adding it the curry. and it still tasted like soggy bread to me. eh. i need some lateral thinking here, cause i still have the other half of the block in my fridge to use up.
firstly, i had no curry paste to speak of, so i made a quick curry powder by first toasting pepper, cloves, cumin, mustard seed, fenugreek, coriander, dried curry leaves, and nigella seeds in a dry wok. i then ground these with turmeric and a little rock salt in a mortar.
the rest of the ingredients were:

• 1 green pepper, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 2 carrots, cut on the bias
• 2 ribs celery, cut on the bias
• 1 zucchini, halved lengthwise and cut on the bias
• half a small cabbage, shredded
• handful large green beans, sliced into 1/2 inch pieces (these were from my garden, they're getting too big to eat super fresh and need to be pretty well cooked)
  
• 3 large scallions, cut on the bias
• about 4 oz tempeh, marinated for an hour and pre-cooked (i recommend tofu instead, unless you know how to make tempeh taste good, in which case, please enlighten me)
• 3 clove of garlic, minced
• 1 habanero, minced
  
• thumb sized piece of ginger, minced
• juice of 1 lime
• 1 can of coconut milk
  
• handful fresh basil leaves

i stir fried the carrot, celery, and scallions in a wok with some oil for about two minutes before adding the zucchini, cabbage, and the beans. i let those stir fry for about five minutes before adding the garlic, ginger, and chile. tossed those around for about five minutes before adding my curry powder, though i think a thai curry paste would be better. then i added the lime juice, coconut milk, and basil and let it simmer for ten minutes before serving over white rice.