SPELLING BEA

BY BEA WESTERBERG

The Red Beauties are Here!

Loyal Readers keep asking questions and one of them is “why do I wear one round and one square eye glasses”? The answer is, it’s not for medical reasons, but the fact that they are so very different and I am willing to wear something very different. People also asked how could I possibly see with one round and one square. The answer to that is you do no see the shape of the glass, you look through it and never notice anything different. Sometimes people ask if they really were what they saw or were they themselves going crazy. I always assured them they were very sober and they saw what they thought they saw. I’ve had an amazing amount of comments on the glasses and a number of them were very young children who would kind of slowly come up to me and say “I really like your glasses”. I most likely will need some correction after the catarac surgery and hope I can get new glass put in the old frame or try to hunt down a whole new pair. I also have a pair of roundsquare in yellow frames to wear when I drive the yellow Mustang. I will have to see what replacements cost and if they will do that as I have a total of 9 pair I would like to have redone. You can see that I do love my glasses.

It’s August and we have had some rain but not nearly enough to make the water needs complete. The fresh home grown tomatoes are coming in and now is the time to totally enjoy them. (If you do not grow your own or don’t have lots of tomato growing friends, remember our local farm market is the place to check out). I await this time of the year to have my Grilled Cheese Sandwich with fresh real tomatoes. There are lots of ways to do a grilled cheese with additives but this is the way I do my dream sandwich. Start with a good bread, either homemade or a good whole grain type. Go beyond a regular cheddar cheese and make it a real delight. I have fallen in love with the Bacon Cheddar that I got from Legacy Cheese. (At the Hastings Farm Market and store site at the Westview Shopping Center). I put the cheese and some basil leaves in between the bread pieces and then spray Pam on both of the outer sides. I like to spread a thin coat of mayo on one side and place that side down on my electric grill set at 350 degrees. (Miracle Whip just does not seem to cut it). I then spread the other side with mayo. It’s easier that way than trying to do both sides at once. Flip and continue to grill until cheese is melted. Upon removal I open up the sandwich and put in a slice or two of salted fresh tomato. I HAVE to have ketchup available to dip this piece of heaven in.

There’s a few different things you can do to make it your own grilled cheese. A good pesto is a flavorful replacement if you don’t have fresh basil on hand. I am going to try a BIG slice of Neighbor Tony’s Walla Walla onion to see what that does for me. Maybe I should try frying them first. Tony puts the tomato slices in with the cheese and then puts them on the heated surface. He also likes to then add a few tablespoons of water and cover the sandwiches so that the steam can really heat the sandwich and this really puts the cheese and tomato together. I have also heard some people put in pickles or fresh cucumber slices but I have not been thinking about doing that. Yes, do your thing and your own favorites and really make it your special summer sandwich. Right now I am thinking, why not add more bacon pieces and when the weather cools down, a homemade tomato soup would make a nice touch.

Do you recall my lesson from last year on what I found out about NOT putting your tomatoes in the refrigerator as the cool temperature breaks down the cells and creates a “mush”. Keep them at room temperature, out of any sunny windows and spaced apart so they do not touch and they will keep in prime condition for a surprising amount of time. Wish that would work for humans.