Random Food Fridays

Life has been pretty darn busy for me lately. It's been a little frustrating to know that the world is bursting with summer's goodness, and I have no planned days for canning in sight. The good news is that I can borrow freezer space at my Grandma's house. I currently have a couple of pounds of cherries, 7 pounds of blackberries and 25 pounds of plums in the deep freeze. Soon there will be jam!

This month's Can Jam features tomatoes. I really want to do something. I'm thinking about a fruit and tomato catsup that Grandma Betty used to make. I remember liking it, and I think it would be a great topping for meat loaf. The other tomato item I'm pondering is pineapple salsa. I buy an awful lot of that stuff from Trader Joe's.

Since I'm not going to be canning real soon, I decided to share some of the things I eat that I think are really good, but really don't require a recipe. When you see some of these, you may think, "Well, duh! Of course!" I hope that for some of them you will think, "Wow! What a great idea!" Above is my current snack favorite - beautiful, ripe apricots, stuffed with cream cheese and blueberries. This is yummy and elegant. If I threw parties, this would be on the menu. This packs easily in a lunch box, is reasonably low in calories, and is packed with nutrition. Don't you think most kids would rather see this in their lunch box than an orange, or a baggie of pretzels?

This is a recent weeknight dinner. Sometimes, when I gift people with pickles, they are kind of puzzled about what to do with them. Here's a three-pickle dinner that I enjoyed like crazy - turkey sandwich with mayo, mustard, lettuce, tomato, avocado and spicy pickled onions. Oh my! I've discovered that avocados and these pickled onions are a match made in sandwich heaven. On the side, you see sweet and tangy carrot pickles and a spicy dill.

I hope these simple little repasts will inspire to eat well, even when you are in a hurry. Look for Random Food Fridays on a regular basis, starting today.