I Forgot to Mention…..

Let me just say a word or two more about the tomatoes I was using this morning. “Oregon Star” (Not “Rio Star” as I said on the show.) Buy them once and you’ll never go back to any other. I stumbled upon them a week or so ago at our local Zupans store on Burnside. After cutting into one and then subsequently devouring it, I decided that those bullet shaped tomatoes are everything one could ask for in a tomato. Bright red. Juicy. Meaty. (No mealiness here.) Seedless. Sweet…but not, too. Low in acid. Perfect for when you want a tomato without the sogginess such as on a sandwich. The next time I went into Zupans I chatted with Ron and Kelly, the friendliest produce guys I know, and they shared with me that the Oregon Star tomatoes are lovingly grown by Charlie Harris on his farm, Flamingo Ridge, out in Gaston, Oregon. Apparently, people come to Zupans (as well as the Hillsdale Farmer’s Market) from all over Portland to get their hands on those delectable orbs. I don’t doubt it. I can’t wait to make some Pizza à la Julie with them. Makes my mouth water just thinkin’ about it.

Also, we have discovered a few new ways to use Cowboy Caviar besides the ones I originally mentioned. Just tonight for dinner, I spooned it over a bed of green leaf lettuce, added a handful of cherry tomatoes and “voilà”…dinner. Today for lunch, my daughter put it between two slices of sourdough bread on which she had spread goat cheese. Lunch. And, last weekend, I had made my ragù for a crowd forgetting that one of my dear friends does not eat red meat….she spooned the Cowboy Caviar over pasta and again…dinner.

Anyways, should you be interested in seeing today’s segment, I’ve attached the video below.

If the video screen does not appear above this line, click here to go directly to the website.

Oh, and one last thing….if that darn tootin’ cute owl necklace that I was wearing today caught your eye (as opposed to my upper arms that need some serious work…gads,) you can find it on my dear friend April’s webpage, here, along with so many other darling items.

Cheers,
Carrie

All original text and photographs copyright: Carrie Minns 2009-2010