In the past week, in looking at the upcoming recipe of the day, I have thrown a couple of them away just because I knew they were saved in my youth and they'd just be a waste of time to make. I'm not tossing anything because it may sound old fashioned or be out of style, because I like retro ... but I'll try not toss out anymore. When I started this blog, my assumption was that, at one time in my life, I thought the recipe was important ...and I don't want to stray too much from that premise because I just might miss out on a winner. For the record, I threw out a barley soup recipe that had very few ingredients and sounded lame (just barley and onions; not even any meat or mushrooms), and one for some vegetable pasties made with frozen veggies (why didn't I just make them with fresh veggies as a substitute?). I'm revealing this because today's recipe is one I would have tossed. It sounds so boring and it was hand written by me, so it was saved early in my collection. In any case, I will persevere and stay true to my quest to try all recipes.

Review of last recipe - The stuffed tomatoes were just okay ... they could have used more breadcrumbs and a more unusual stuffing, so out goes this recipe. I'd never make them again.

TODAY'S RECIPE - TOMATO CASSEROLE WITH CELERY AND ONIONS
(I don't want to make this, but maybe I'll be surprised. I'm only doing it because the recipe may be enhanced by the fact that the first tomatoes of the season are here.)

1 c celery, sliced paper thin
4 lg tomatoes, thickly sliced
3 onions, cut into slivers (already I think there are way too many onions for my taste; will
probably try to saute half the amount in butter to break them down and caramelize them first
before the entire casserole goes in the oven )
butter
fresh basil
bread crumbs

Arrange celery, tomatoes and onions in alternate layers in a buttered casserole, dotting each layer generously with butter, and sprinkling with salt, pepper and a little basil. Top with a layer of bread crumbs. Bake in a 350 degree oven until vegetables are tender, about 35-45 minutes (since I'm precooking the onions, I'll be reducing the total baking time .. maybe to as little as 15 minutes).