Thursday, August 12, 2010

Finished Picnic Blanket and Tomato Pie(with zucchini)

I finished off handstitching the binding on my picnic blanket the other day and took it for a test run at the beach yesterday.  While it seemed Huge! when I was trying to work on it in the house when we spread it out at the beach it seemed just right - a good size to sit on with several good friends.  This is the backing and one of my favourite sheets.
When I looked through my stash of thrifted binding I realized that I didn't have enough of any colour that would work.  The finished edges of the striped sheet that I had cut off caught my eye and I had an idea.
I decided the use some more of the striped sheet to make a wide binding tape.  I love the way this finished off the blanket. Here's the front.
And the back.
Yesterday before heading to the beach E decided he wanted to learn to make our favourite tomato pie.  We had picked some of our tomatoes and had been looking forward to our first tomato pie since last Autumn.  I made the dough and then we did the rest together.
Dough
1 1/2 cup flour
5 Tbsp butter (my recipe is ripped on this part so I can't remember exactly what was called for but anywhere around 4-6 Tbsp works well)
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup grated cheese ( we used Asiago this time but have used all different kinds and find it delicious)
3-4 Tbsp water (just enough to give you a nice dough)

Cut the butter into the flour and salt until it looks like oatmeal.  Add the grated cheese.  Add water until it forms dough.  Can chill in fridge.  Roll out the dough and put it on the baking pan BEFORE you start piling on your ingredients - things will NOT go well if you assemble it on your counter top and the realize when you've got it looking beautiful that you still need to put it on a pan. Trust me.
We like to put pesto on the dough and then we sprinkle some bread crumbs (this helps absorb some of the tomato juices so it isn't a soggy mess by the time we eat it at the beach later).  Then we put on zucchini (you didn't think we would be eating anything without zucchini, did you?).
Then layer on the tomatoes.  Lots.  E is just getting started in this photo.
Put on the topping mix.   This is about 2/3 cup mayo, 1/2 cup of grated cheese, lots of fresh garlic, salt and pepper and some romano or parmesan.
Then fold the edges in.
Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes or until golden brown.
Enjoy!  If you only make one tomato recipe this summer then I really think this should be it.  It is beyond delicious.
And makes a great beach dinner with a fresh salad.

17 comments:

affectioknit said...

The quilt looks awesome!

momma rae said...

your blanket is gorgeous and that pie looks delish!! ;)

The Apple Pie Gal said...

I love your blanket and the colors are awesome!! Can I come over for dinner and a nap?

Anonymous said...

Oh that blanket is lovely. I so want to make one of those. It would have to be by hand since I don't have a working sewing machine and my sewing skills
suck. :) BUT - I can cook and bake and that tomato pie looks fantastic. I'm totally going to be making this. Oh and btw - the green sausage tomato is a paste tomato...and they are just starting to take off in our garden. We have two green sausage plants and I'm wondering what we will do with all of the fruit. Green tomato sauce...or salsa? Hmmm -Debbie

Moment to Moment said...

I love how your blanket came out!
And I may just have to try out that pie, looks yummy!!

I am looking forward to hear more about the works of a steam juicer...
:) Christina

Martha said...

We had a few tomatoes from the garden on the windowsill...and now they are in the oven, baking into tomato pie! Thanks for the recipe!!

Amanda Medlin said...

I LOVE the picnic blanket! Definitely on my list of things to make.

Anonymous said...

I've never heard of tomato pie before and now I want one! I'm just drooling looking at those pictures. I will be making this soon!

cmarie said...

Hi I leap frogged over from visiting Lavender Haze and I am so happy to find another delightful blog such as this! Your pie looks amazing.

Katherine said...

Awesome picnic blanket, Heather. You know how much I love vintage sheets. swoon...

You always make the yummiest foods to take to beach day.

Marty Layne said...

Wonderful blanket and yummy pie! Inspiring!

Wendy said...

wow, this looks delicious!

Jacqueline said...

The blanket looks wonderful! Love the striped binding!

We've made this delicious tomato pie a couple times this summer and my family always wants it again the next night:-) So yummy!

deb said...

That is such a clever idea for the binding on your beach quilt. Love that! The sheet on the back would be my favorite too.

And the tomato pie... WOW! That looks amazing and I'll be adding that to the list of "must make" recipes.

Sarah said...

I'm going to make this tomato pie tomorrow!

One question--what kind of cheese do you like to use for the topping? Cheddar, feta, Parmesan, goat cheese, etc?

Thanks for the recipe!

Heather said...

Hi Sarah - we use whatever kind of cheese we have on hand. So far we've had it with cheddar, jack, parmesan, romano, edam and asiago. It is nice to do a blend too. I've never tried it with feta.

Mike said...

Sarah when it comes to deserts. You are a amazing cook. You blow my mind.