Seasonal transitions - mayonnaise

Steve got me thinking about tomatoes this morning. I don't need much prompting. PU used to horde them all until she had completed her canning, but in the last few years I've managed to weasel my way into an increasing number of these gems for eating fresh.

Of course for lunch I had to have tomatoes in a sandwich on City Rye. I was going to make up some bacon and include some lettuce, but decided to keep it simple and save more room for more tomato! Mayo is one of the sandwich ingredients I find particularly complimentary to a tomato sandwich. If one has a blender, it's a very simple process to make my own mayonnaise.

It doesn't keep forever though and if poorly cared for will poison you. I used pinned diapers for the kids too. I love to live on the edge. I keep my tools clean and my fridge cold. For the mayo at least. I toss it out after four or five days if it's not used up by then. I often cheat. So far so good.

I usually only add one clove of garlic in the recipe below, but I will change up the spicing with curry, dill, different vinegars and such, at will. I often reduce the salt to 3/4 tsp too. As with many things, the mayo flavour usually benefits from sitting for a few hours before use.

Like flogging a dead horse, I will mention now and again that mustard is an emulsifier and mayonnaise apparently can't be made without it.

Basic Mayonnaise

1 egg
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dry mustard
2 cloves garlic (that's a lot)
2 Tbsp vinegar
1 cup vegetable oil (I like olive oil often)

Combine a 1/4 cup oil, the salt, egg, mustard, garlic, vinegar and in blender. Cover and blend until ingredients are mixed.

Slowly pour in the remaining oil, until mixture has thickened. I start out pouring slowly and then as it thickens it's a race to get it all in. I assist the blending with a spatula carefully placed to not interfer with the blades. Keep refrigerated.

It's no longer summer. Ripe tomatoes won't last more than a month or two and the seasons roll on. I saw humming birds this morning, but it will only be a few more days before they head off to their winter resorts. The chickens are plumping up well and the grass, although green isn't growing as quickly. The kids and PU are back in school and the fall chores are coming back into mind.

All the work I've been successful in avoiding in the shop for the summer is now screaming at me. Back in the saddle again.

I think we'll have some kind of eggs for dinner, and tomatoes of course.