 It is interesting to see what becomes a collectable item to people. We ran the gambit from CDs to DVDs, books and figurines. In the last ten years, my growing collection has become cookbooks. The irony is I came into marriage with my Nancy Drew Cookbook and nothing else. I thought it was most appropriate since cooking was a true mystery to me. When we remodeled the kitchen, it became apparent that we needed a proper space to display my books. When talking with our cabinet guy, he mentioned he knew someone who could build me a shelf to match the new cabinets. We were off! The best part is my cookbook collection is not only functional but has become a focal point for the kitchen. Friends and family always walk into the kitchen and gravitate to the bookshelf reminiscing about great meals. I love to look at my collection and dream about what I want to make today or later in the week. Do I need to go to the butcher? The farmer’s market? Or do I have all the ingredients already in my pantry? The possibilities are endless, and I am so thankful for those who have created these beautiful cookbooks to inspire my daily cooking. 
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 St. Louis is known to be HOT in the summertime. In fact, many people tend to hit the road in search of cooler climates or a beach. Yet, we proudly say if you don’t like the weather, stick around as it will change! We tend to talk about the humidity more than anything just to decide whether we can sit outside for Happy Hour.
Thanks to the summer temperatures, our city garden will produce lots of tomatoes and jalapeno peppers. This year, Big Guy, bought some habaneros to add to the mix so we are going to make some pepper jelly with a label warning waiving us of any adverse effects. I am talking to you Jeromy! Regardless, I am not sure how it will turn out, but you can’t deny the peppers are pretty!  I mentioned my adventure into “ca-jarring” with my previous neighbor and now bonus sister, Natalie. We have loved exploring and learning the different ways you are able to store your summer produce for the winter. On one of our sauce days many years ago, our neighbor Marie stopped by. Marie was the great-great grandma to Natalie’s husband, Eric. She was delighted to see us canning using the old methods. It prompted her to tell us many stories of doing the same thing with her sister. As if a flash came into her mind, Marie excused herself and said she had a surprise for us. As we continued our work, Marie came back from her house with blue mason jars and reported the total of plain jars she had in her basement for our future use. She was ready to join in the fun even if she only sat and talked with us. We lost Marie in 2019 at the young age of 106. She was a great lady who never let age define or limit her. Natalie and I both keep our blue mason jars in our kitchens so Marie can always be part of the fun.   St. Louis is known for many things and certainly food is at the top of the list. We claim toasted ravioli, ice cream cones and Provel cheese being created here just to start the list. Strangely, St. Louis is also known for making bricks. Yes, bricks! At the peak of the industry, St. Louis counted over 40 companies making brick due to the high quality of clay we have in our region. The companies made everything from brick pavers for streets, brick for homes to decorative terracotta. In fact, you can still find streets made only of brick such as in Laclede’s Landing in downtown St. Louis. You may ask why I mention this fact about St. Louis. Well, the Carondelet Kitchen is in a brick century home built by a family who took great pride in their craftsmanship. We are only the third, non-family, owners of our house and we have been here over 30 years. The best part is we have been embraced by this family as our own thanks to their matriarch, Marie. We miss her everyday but I promise you will hear more stories about her since she was instrumental in so many stories from the kitchen.   I have a working theory when it comes buying things from food to wine. I always look at the label and read the description on the packaging. It seems that every time I purchase a new item utilizing this theory, looking at the details applied to the outside of the package, I am rewarded with an outstanding product. After all, if they spent a lot of time on the outside, well, the inside should have been given the same attention.
The best part of doing this exercise allows me the opportunity to discover new and interesting foods and beverages. My Big Guy swears it is a remarkable theory since we have certainly enjoyed outstanding food and wine over the years. And, despite the thought it will be expensive if the package is “regal-looking,” is not always the truth. In fact, it is often newer family-owned products that are made with the right amount of love. So, try it and see if you have the same luck. It has worked for me! I have had basil in my city garden now for over thirty years. It seems with age comes a better appreciation for its versatility in my cooking. In the beginning it was added to store-bought tomato sauce and perhaps a pasta salad. It was always my best growing herb and after a while I thought of it as a pretty plant in my summer garden. However, this year has been an awakening to more possibilities. For example, don’t laugh, but I never thought to make and freeze pesto at the peak of the growing season when its flavor is at its very best. A recently discovered hack is to add basil to my mayo for BLT sandwiches. Wow! And, despite my taking more and more basil leaves it seems my plants are very happy to grow more for my next meal. Here’s to a great herb growing in my garden. I can’t wait to try growing it in my kitchen over the winter and to continue discovering more uses to kick up my cooking!  Tomatoes are that beautiful fruit that makes you sing the praises of long, hot summer days. The possibilities are endless…sauces, salsas and just a good old-fashioned BLT. If you are lucky, you may get a bumper crop and must decide what to do with it. After all, while delicious, you can eat only so many before you curse them. Do you give them away or figure out a way to save them?
While our crop was not so good over a decade ago, my neighbor and I started talking about canning. Of course, I was anxious since my only experience was listening to the pickles exploding in the basement. My Mom was always trying new things and we can safely say this was not one of her successes. My neighbor and I jumped into the research and became emboldened with our adventure into canning. Or, in our case, “ca-jarring.” We were successful and now hold an annual day-long fete of canning our tomatoes into sauces and salsas each August. Unless you have a farm or get a good crop of tomatoes from your urban garden, buying tomatoes in season can be an expensive idea. The best time of the year is to go to your farmer’s market at the end of the season when they will sell you a big box of tomatoes for a reduced rate. Since we roast our tomatoes, who will notice a blemish here and there? And it never gets old to hear our giggles in the middle of winter when we open a Summer fresh jar of sauce! |
AuthorJust a super cool old couple who love to cook and eat and drink in their Carondelet Kitchen in South Saint Louis, Missouri! Archives
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