our bell peppers and tomatoes are going crazy right now! between the squirrels and crazy summer heat, we haven’t had a very productive garden this year. however, recent rains have brought new life and we have a ton of peppers and tomatoes growing!

– ryan & gub

i recently tried delia’s chicken sausage stand for the first time and loved it! this east atlanta restaurant is the new adventure of delia champion, who was the mastermind behind the flying biscuit cafe.

delia’s is known for its slingers and sliders, which are both very tasty. the slingers are their signature creation, which consist of a jumbo homemade local sausage link on a holeman & finch hoagie roll with various toppings. i went with the gunn slinger, which had guacamole, salsa, “comeback” sauce and jalapeños. for non-meat eaters, you can order the slingers vegetarian-style.

i also tried the double d delight slider, which was great, although completely over the top. it had a grilled krispy kreme donut as the bun, with chicken sausage patties and cherry cream cheese in the middle. next time i would go without the cream cheese though. for those of you who remember mulligan’s in oakhurst, it was reminiscent of their luther burger, which was a bacon cheeseburger on a grilled krispy kreme.

although i didn’t try one, i’ve heard great things about their cake milkshakes as well. they are handmade with ice-cream and either a piece of cake or a cupcake thrown in, depending on the flavor of the week. sounds amazing!

delia’s hand-crafted sausage uses locally sourced chicken and spices and is made in small batches to ensure quality. they are open all night on friday and saturday’s and serve breakfast anytime as well, which is perfect for east atlanta!

check out their menu!

– ryan

delia’s chicken sausage stand

489 moreland avenue
atlanta, ga 30316
404-474-9651

if you are craving a great cheesesteak or a nice big hoagie, stroll on down to woody’s famous philadelphia cheesesteaks! i recently had one of their super subs and was reminded how amazing this hidden treasure was. besides their tasty food, woody’s also has a huge wrap-around porch for nice outdoor eating and barq’s root beer on tap! you can’t go wrong!

– ryan

woody’s famous philadelphia cheesesteaks

981 monroe drive northeast
atlanta, ga 30308
404-876-1939

i am a sucker for throwback products, especially when they feature vintage package design and original recipes. the latest one that got me was the retro doritos. i’d have to say the flavor was more along the lines of generic doritos, which is a little less overwhelming than current ones, but i definitely thought they were quite tasty. the sombrero and color choices were also a plus!

– ryan

we had a little gathering for my birthday, which also doubled as an introduction for those who hadn’t met clementine. it was a ton of fun!!!! we grilled chicago dogs and burgers!

– ryan

our green peppers are finally ready! we have a ton currently growing in our garden, but these are the first ones big enough to eat. they are quite tasty!

– ryan & gub

we recently fried up some okra from our garden and it was delicious! we ate the tasty treats with ribs and collards from maddy’s and cole slaw from chik-fil-a. it was a hodge podge of our favorite southern delights!

fyi, maddy’s collard greens recently won best overall at the east lake farmers market collard greens cook-off and they are pretty awesome!

– ryan & gub

maddy’s ribs

1479 scott blvd.
decatur, ga 30030
404-377-0301

fried okra recipe:

ingredients:
5-8 large okra sliced

egg wash:
2 eggs, beaten
1/3 cup milk

batter:
1/2 cup corn meal
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1 tsp parsley

directions:
– clean okra and slice
– heat oil in a frying pan at medium heat
– dip okra slices in egg wash and then in the batter
– gently place battered tomatoes in frying pan and fry until golden brown
– flip okra and fry the other side until golden brown
– place on okra guard to let cool and drain the oil
– serve with bbq or other southern treats

our summer garden provided its first vegetable of the season! we have lots of okra and tomatoes that are very close to being ripe, but this cucumber won the first crop of the season award. we made a tasty cucumber & tomato salad with it, adding the lemon cucumber mentioned in yesterday’s blog post.

– ryan & gub

cucumber & tomato salad recipe:

ingredients:
1 cucumber diced (peel if desired)
1 tomato diced (or 1/2 package cherry tomatoes diced)
1/4 cup italian dressing

directions:
– clean tomatoes and cucumber and dice
– place in serving bowl and mix with italian dressing
– let vegetables soak in dressing for 30 minutes or more
– serve cold

the east lake farmers market is up and running again on saturdays from 9am to 1pm. it’s open through october and can be found at the corner of 2nd avenue and hosea williams drive in the east lake/kirkwood area. the market features lots of local farmers selling fruit, vegetables, eggs, salsas and all sorts of other stuff.

with tomato season finally upon us, we picked up some beautiful heirloom tomatoes from ora farms on our last trip to the market. we grabbed an early girl and an orange blossom. check out our july 4th blog post for a great tomato pie recipe we used with these wonderful tomatoes!

we also grabbed a couple of lemon cucumbers, which we had never tried before. these were quite interesting. the inside was slightly sweeter than normal cucumbers with a little softer texture, but the outside texture was very course and bumpy with small black seeds and they were the size of lemons. they were odd, but worth trying.

this saturday is the 2nd annual peachapalooza at the east lake farmers market. it’s a juried cooking competition celebrating all things peach! stop by to sample some amazing peach creations!

– ryan & gub

east lake farmers market

2nd avenue and hosea williams drive
atlanta, ga 30317

saturdays
9am – 1pm
may – october

we had a nice 4th of july! although the storms prevented many activities, like parades and fireworks, we enjoyed baking a tomato pie and hanging out with clementine!

recipe to follow.

ryan & gub

tomato pie recipe:

ingredients:
pie crust
3 large tomatoes sliced
1/2 onion sliced
1 cup cheddar cheese shredded
1/4 cup mayonaise
pinch basil

directions:
– preheat oven to 350 degrees
– sprinkle flour on crust & place in a pie pan
– poke holes in pie crust with fork
– bake crust @350 until lightly brown (about 10 minutes)
– slice tomatoes & onions
– layer tomatoes and onions on pie crust
– put cheese spread on top of tomato & onion layers
– sprinkle with basil
– bake for 20-30 minute
– let cool, slice and serve