Fun Friday The Letter T: Topsy Turvy Tomatoes

Today is Fun Friday, at my Blogging For Fun group. We are working on an A-Z meme, and are up to the letter T. I am going to talk about tomatoes. I love tomatoes, and this is the time of year, when I start thinking about growing some. Those of you who have been with me for a while, know that my thumb is not very green at all. Last year I did better. I got one cucumber, maybe six tomatoes, and whole host of peppers. I bought one of these Topsy Turvey's last year. I was not optimistic at all. I did not put tomatoes in it, because I had already planted my tomatoes. Instead, I put a pepper plant in it. As I said, I had tons of peppers. I do have to say though, I might have given them too much sun, and could have gotten way more, if I respected their need for less sunlight. This year I am buying two more of these clever devices. I will put tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers in the three of them. These keep your plants off the ground, and not as easy for bugs to get, and eat them. I don't know who came up with this concept, but I love it. Here is hoping my thumb is ten times greener this year, than last year. I might even try putting hydrangeas in another, to see if it works.

I think we all know tomatoes are good for us. But in case you don't here are some reasons to eat your tomatoes.

1- Tomatoes contain Lycopene, a powerful antioxidant, that is well known for fighting off cancer.
2- There are tests being done that show tomatoes may help fight heart disease, and high cholesterol as well.
3- They are low in calories, and fat, making them a great addition to any diet.

Tomatoes are actually a fruit, not a vegetable, because they have seeds. They are versatile in the ways you can prepare, and cook them. I love a nice tomato sandwich, with just a little mayo, and salt and pepper. Or try cutting them up in a bowl, add some onions, cook and crush in some bacon, add mayo, and you have a cool refreshing summer salad. It is like a BLT without the bread, it is delicious. My mother calls this salad Grandma Snows salad. I make it all the time, in the summer.

Easy Easy Crostini Recipe

This is such a simple, and healthy recipe. A lot of people use these as appetizers. I have never understood that whole appetizer concept. Why would you want to fill up with appetizers, and then not be able to eat the entree? At any rate, we eat these as part of the meal. You get your veggies, milk, carbs, and grains, all in one extremely simple recipe. We especially like this with steak, but it is great with chicken, and pork as well, served along side.

You will need:

24 slices of French bread appx. 1/4 inch thick
1/4 cup olive oil we use extra virgin because it is actually healthier
1/2 tsp garlic powder, we use garlic salt because it just gives a little bit more flavor
6 slices part skin mozzarella cheese, or you can use shredded mozarella cheese it works just as good
1 1/2 cups chopped, and seeded tomatoes

Place bread slices on ungreased baking sheets. Combine oil, garlic powder, and brush over the bread. Cut each slice of cheese into four pieces. We use shredded, and just mix it in, it is just easier. Top each slice of bread with tomatoes, and a piece of cheese. Broil 3-4 min, or until the cheese is melted. One thing we have found that is actually helpful, is to toast the French bread first, then add the toppings, and broil for the cheese to melt. Other wise it is sort of soggy in the middle from the oil, and tomatoes, but still delicious no matter which way you do it. If you are going to a party, and need to bring something this is awesome. You could even broil it there, since it only takes just a couple of minutes.

This recipe came from Taste of Home 5 ingredient recipes. Taste of Home is one of my favorite cooking magazines. It is kind of pricey, so I only buy it a few times a year, but it is definitely worth it. Enjoy!

Some Good News For A Change!

First I would like to thank everyone, that left me kind words, about my migraines. I could not get into the doctor today, but have an appt tomorrow. After the three day migraine, and the fish oil reaction, you would think my whole weekend was ruined. Nope, yesterday was very nice. We went to my moms, to swim in her pool, help her move around some stuff too heavy for her to move, and of course had pizza LOL. My mom has suffered with fibromyalgia for years, and we try to help her as much as we can. It is difficult to ask for help, when you are used to being independant, but being humble is so much more important.

So for the good news. I have had several people inquire about being a guest blogger. You should be seeing some new posts, soon, on various topics. I am excited! My husband has worked very hard, to get noticed. Anyone who moves to a small community, from somewhere else, knows what I am talking about. He finally has been rewarded, and been promoted to Director of his area. It comes with a very nice new salary, and benefits. I am very proud of him, he has worked hard, and deserves this.

Would you like to win free jewelry? Of course you do LOL. Head over to my jewelry blog , and enter the contest. It is easy, free, and you will get yourself a lovely piece of jewelry. I love being able to share my love of jewelry with others, and I have not given away anything in a while. I already have three contestants, and it ends August 8th, so don't forget.

My garden is coming along nicely, and I have been enjoying tomatoes for some time now. The pepper plant, we put in the topsy turvey is humungous, and I mean humungous. It was so big, my husband had to make it, its own special pole to hang it on. No peppers yet, but I am assuming they will come soon. Only one cucumber so far, but I have tons little ones just, need to grow a bit more. My roses, as you can see on my header, are big, and beautiful. I love them.



Congrats Comments
Myspace Comments - Myspace Layouts

My Green Thumb Got A Little Greener

Do you see that, those are tomatoes. If you have been reading my blog, you know as part of our Science classes we plant things. The very first year we got a big fat F. Last year probably a B- or a C. We did get some tomatoes, but I think only two LOL. So I have been reading, and learning. Who knew growing a garden was so hard. Farmers have been doing it for centuries, and they certainly did not have all these fancy things we have now. Plus I want a natural garden, with no pesticides, not so easy. I found this awesome web site, that I use for all kinds of gardening help. The site does load a little slow, but it is worth the wait. We have lettuce, and onions coming up, too. They were planted a long time ago, and hopefully will produce good results. If you plant the onions with your lettuce, the bugs will not eat your lettuce. Who knew, and it seems to be working. One thing that I did learn is that the soil here stinks literally. It is dry, and practically devoid of all nutrients. I pot planted all of my plants, and then when they were big enough put them into the Earth in their original pot dirt. It seems to be working wonderfully. We just started Cukes, which will be staying in the pots, because they take up a lot of room to grow, and we are going to see if they will just vine up the porch rails. They certainly grow fast, I did them by seed on Sunday, and already they are up and going. I am going to try red peppers again, though I have never ever, not even once got a pepper to grow. They will be pot planted as well, and probably stay in the pots. We have all kinds of underground bugs that literally eat the plants from the bottom up. Wish me luck, we are hoping for an A this year, with lots of vegetables to show for it. My kids get a kick out of it, because I get so frustrated. They just like to dig in the dirt, and watch them grow, the fruits of their labor. Too bad we never get enough to sustain even a squirrel.

Tomorrow is test day, so I have no lesson plans to post. Have a great day, everyone.