Tomato Pie

Tomato Pie is more common in the Carolinas than anywhere else in the country. However, that doesn’t mean everyone else can’t enjoy a slice of this old-school dish on the front porch with a salad and an ice cold glass of sweet tea.

What you’ll need:

1 pie crust (unbaked)
4-5 sliced tomatoes
1 tsp salt
¼ cup chopped fresh basil leaves
½ cup chopped green onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup grated mozzarella cheese
1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
¾ cup mayo
Fresh ground pepper to taste

To make:

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with a few layers of paper towels. Lay your sliced tomatoes on paper towels in a single layer and sprinkle them with salt to draw out the juices. Let them sit for about 15 minutes and then pat them dry with paper towels. This will prevent a soggy pie (nobody likes a soggy pie).

Roll out your pie crust and place it in a pie plate (or you can use a frozen pie crust already in a tin). Crimp the edges and poke holes in the bottom of the crust with a fork. Bake the crust for 10 minutes.

While your crust is baking, combine the basil, green onions and garlic into a bowl and stir. In another bowl, mix together the cheeses and mayo and season with the black pepper. Stir to combine.

Remove the crust from the oven and layer half the tomatoes on the bottom of the crust. Sprinkle with half of the basil-onion mixture. Layer the remaining tomatoes on top and sprinkle with the remaining basil-onion mixture. Finish by spreading the cheese mixture over the top of the pie.

Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees and bake the pie for 30 minutes until the cheese begins to lightly brown. Let it rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Visit our blog for more tasty recipes and gardening tidbits!

Best Perennials For Lazy Gardeners

Let’s be real. Not everyone enjoys the digging, kneeling, and rough hands that comes with gardening. However, you have to put in a little elbow grease in order to reap the benefits of all the glorious blooms. If this is you, hardy perennials are your best friends. They bloom every year and will save you time and money. Try these tough-to-kill options!

Obedient Plant
Featuring snapdragon-like flowers, obedient plant is fast-spreading and does well as long as you give it some room to travel as it can grow up to 4 feet tall and wide. It does well in full sun and part shade with moist soil. Pair it with Black-eyed Susans as they both bloom in late Summer thru Fall.

Ajuga
The green, burgundy or bronze ground cover adds a splash of color to your garden from Spring to Fall. Little blue flowers bloom in the Spring. Growing up to 6 inches tall and 3 feet wide, this easy-to-grow plant likes the shade and moist, well-drained soil.

Phlox
Invite bees and butterflies to your garden with this flowery plant. Blooms begin in early Summer and continue their show thru the season. It’s lovely fragrant will waft through the air especially on warm evenings. You can even cut the flowers and bring them inside to freshen up the house. Plant this beautiful bloom in full sun or part shade with moist, well-drained soil.

Not sure what low-maintenance perennials to use in your garden? Visit us at the Greenhouse and our experts will help you out!

Fresh Pasta Sauce

Have you ever made spaghetti sauce from fresh tomatoes? The delicious aroma of tomatoes, garlic, and fresh herbs fills up the house, making everyone antsy for suppertime. Try this amazing recipe out!

You’ll need:

6 cloves of garlic
1 small onion, chopped
12 Roma tomatoes
½ cup of fresh basil, chopped
1 tbsp fresh thyme, chopped
1 tbsp fresh oregano, chopped
1 tbsp of sugar (adjust to taste)
1 tsp of salt
½ tsp pepper
1 8 oz can of tomato sauce
1 tbsp butter
2 tbsp olive oil

To make:

Boil a pot of water and all Roma tomatoes, cooking for 3-4 minutes until the skins start to break open. Remove the tomatoes and put them in a bowl of ice water. Once cool, remove the tomato skins. Chop the stem area off of the tomatoes and toss.

Heat oil in a large pot. Add garlic and onion; saute for about 3 minutes until translucent. Add the tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes, stirring often. Cook another 10 minutes, using a masher to smoosh the tomatoes.

Once the tomatoes are broken down, add your tomato sauce, herbs, sugar, salt and pepper. Mash them for another 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium low; add butter. Stir until well blended.

Serve with pasta of your choice and top with some freshly grated Parmesan. Yum!

Have you started your tomatoes yet? If not, stop by the Greenhouse and pick up a few varieties.

DIY Thieves

Featuring a robust blend of clove, lemon, cinnamon bark, eucalyptus, and rosemary, Thieves smells like a Fall kitchen with pie baking in the oven. This stuff is great for making your own household cleaner, air freshener, and even breath spray. Make your own at home with this DIY recipe!

You’ll need:

10 drops clove oil
9 drops lemon oil
5 drops cinnamon bark oil
4 drops eucalyptus oil
3 drops rosemary oil

To make:

Combine oils and store in a dark glass bottle with an airtight cap. Store in a dark space as sunlight can reduce the quality of your oil.

For more fun reads, visit our blog!

Mosquito-Repelling Garden

School will be out soon, and the warm, sunny days will be filled with barbecues, lazy paddling at the lake, and melting ice cream cones. Unfortunately, with the warmer weather comes the stinkin’ mosquitoes. Here are a few plants that you can add to your garden to chase away these buzzing pests!

Marigolds…These vibrant flowers are a favorite to gardeners for many reasons. They’re easy to grow. They bloom all season. They attract beneficial pollinators like bees and butterflies. They smell awesome. And more importantly, they are fantastic at repelling mosquitos!

Lavender…While most of us adore the relaxing aroma of lavender, mosquitos HATE it. You can add this butterfly-attracting herb to your garden and even make an essential oil for your skin which will also help ward off insects. Other herbs including lemon balm and basil have the same effect.

Catnip…This perennial herb has been found to repel mosquitos in close proximity. However, you might also attract every stray cat in the neighborhood so it’s a bit of a double-edged sword with this one.

Of course, if all else fails, a bug zapper is always a nice backup option.