20 cherry tomatoes fresh from the garden
1/2 large organic cucumber
1 tbsp. olive oil
1/2 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
dash parsley
dash dill
dash sea salt
Dice cucumber and halve cherry tomatoes. Mix all ingredients and chill for 45 minutes. Serve.
Quick. Easy. Yum! :)
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Yummy Pita Pockets!
Ok, for those of you who don't live in their kitchens the way that I do, here's a quick and easy lunch or dinner. It packs well for the road, too. :)
12 homegrown cherry tomatoes, cut in half
2 pitas
2 sprigs fresh LIME basil (The lime basil adds a really nice citrus kick without the added acid, and still brings in a nice basil flavor as well.)
2 unseasoned cooked chicken tenders (or 4 falafel balls for vegeterian version)
1/2 cup homemade hummus (I'll post a recipe some other day for those of you who don't make your own. Sabra hummus isn't bad if you're looking for a store-bought version.)
4 1/4 inch slices of fresh cucumber, cut in half
Mince the chicken (or falafel). Mix the hummus, cherry tomatoes, basil and chicken (or falafel) until mixture is evenly coated. Heat pita pockets until the sides seperate easily when cut open. Line each pita with 2 cucumber slices and stuff with the mixture. Chill. Can be served after 1 hour. :)
Yum!
12 homegrown cherry tomatoes, cut in half
2 pitas
2 sprigs fresh LIME basil (The lime basil adds a really nice citrus kick without the added acid, and still brings in a nice basil flavor as well.)
2 unseasoned cooked chicken tenders (or 4 falafel balls for vegeterian version)
1/2 cup homemade hummus (I'll post a recipe some other day for those of you who don't make your own. Sabra hummus isn't bad if you're looking for a store-bought version.)
4 1/4 inch slices of fresh cucumber, cut in half
Mince the chicken (or falafel). Mix the hummus, cherry tomatoes, basil and chicken (or falafel) until mixture is evenly coated. Heat pita pockets until the sides seperate easily when cut open. Line each pita with 2 cucumber slices and stuff with the mixture. Chill. Can be served after 1 hour. :)
Yum!
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Tomato candy edits...
Ok, so instead of juice from a key lime, use the juice from only one half of the key lime.
Other options: Use vanilla instead of lime, and add just a pinch of nutmeg.
All in all, tomato candy came out pretty good. The lime didn't blend as well as I had hoped, but the vanilla blend is quite yummy.
Enjoy!
Other options: Use vanilla instead of lime, and add just a pinch of nutmeg.
All in all, tomato candy came out pretty good. The lime didn't blend as well as I had hoped, but the vanilla blend is quite yummy.
Enjoy!
Tomato is a fruit, right?
I'm tired of savory tomatoes. It's time for a culinary experiment! Using flavors that are often combined with tomato, I've made a candied tomato treat that should be pretty nummy...right now it's time to wait a bit while the oven does its work. The recipe for candied tomatoes my way is below. :)
9 homegrown cherry tomatoes
3 tsp. powdered sugar
1 key lime
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 tsp. turbinado sugar
Heat oven to 200 degrees Farenheit. Prepare a cookie sheet by lining it with parchment papaer.
Cut cherry tomatoes in half and place in a small bowl. Squeeze the juice from your key lime onto the tomatoes. Add in powdered sugar and cinnamon, stirring to evenly coat tomatoes.
Place tomatoes on parchment paper, and drizzle remaining sauce on top. Sprinkle with the turbinado sugar, and place in the oven for 2-5 hours until shriveled and slightly chewy. Enjoy! :) This snack should serve 2 people....or maybe just one if it's as tasty as I think it might be...I'll let you know. :)
9 homegrown cherry tomatoes
3 tsp. powdered sugar
1 key lime
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 tsp. turbinado sugar
Heat oven to 200 degrees Farenheit. Prepare a cookie sheet by lining it with parchment papaer.
Cut cherry tomatoes in half and place in a small bowl. Squeeze the juice from your key lime onto the tomatoes. Add in powdered sugar and cinnamon, stirring to evenly coat tomatoes.
Place tomatoes on parchment paper, and drizzle remaining sauce on top. Sprinkle with the turbinado sugar, and place in the oven for 2-5 hours until shriveled and slightly chewy. Enjoy! :) This snack should serve 2 people....or maybe just one if it's as tasty as I think it might be...I'll let you know. :)
Yesterday's Recipe....
Ok, so with my brother in town I fell behind on posts. What can I say? We went out to eat. :) It's nice to go out once in awhile. :) While he was here, I did make one cherry tomato recipe: Insalata Caprese (aka Insalata Tricolore). It's not the usual version, so I hope you enjoy! :)
15 cherry tomatoes from the garden, cut into halves
6 oz. fresh buffalo mozzarella cut into 1 cm x 1 cm cubes
3 sprigs shredded fresh organic pesto basil
2 tsp. balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp. olive oil
dash sea salt
dash ground pepper
Mix tomatoes, mozzarella, basil, 1/2 the olive oil, and balsamic vinegar until mixture is evenly coated and mozzarella has taken on a slightly darker, uniform color. Drain excess balsamic. Stir in remaining olive oil, salt and pepper. Chill for 20 minutes and serve. Serves 2-3.
Yum!
15 cherry tomatoes from the garden, cut into halves
6 oz. fresh buffalo mozzarella cut into 1 cm x 1 cm cubes
3 sprigs shredded fresh organic pesto basil
2 tsp. balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp. olive oil
dash sea salt
dash ground pepper
Mix tomatoes, mozzarella, basil, 1/2 the olive oil, and balsamic vinegar until mixture is evenly coated and mozzarella has taken on a slightly darker, uniform color. Drain excess balsamic. Stir in remaining olive oil, salt and pepper. Chill for 20 minutes and serve. Serves 2-3.
Yum!
Monday, August 23, 2010
New Twist on an Old Favorite
Recipe number two for today is a summertime version of one of my favorite dishes: Sicilian Caponata. Caponata is an eggplant relish with a sweet and sour flavor, but has a heavy flavor that makes it better for evenings or fall and spring meals. To modify this old favorite for the summertime, I've switched out purple eggplant for the sweeter, less intense white eggplant and used fresh tomatillos and cherry tomatoes instead of canned diced roma tomatoes. For some added freshness, I've used orange bell pepper as well. Enjoy!
2 small organic white eggplants
1 organic orange bell pepper
2 small celery stalks
2 small organic tomatillos
15 small homegrown cherry tomatoes
1/3 medium organic red onion
1 tsp. minced garlic
1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
12 raisins or sultanas
1 1/2 tsp. caper berries
1 tsp. turbinado sugar
1/3 cup olive oil
dash of sea salt
dash of fresh ground black tellicherry pepper
Soak caper berries and raisins or sultanas in balsamic vinegar in a small bowl. Chop eggplant, pepper, tomatillos, celery and onion into bite-sized chunks. In frying pan, heat 1/3 of the olive oil, onions, garlic, celery, salt, and pepper until onions are soft. Add in eggplant and 1/2 of the remaining olive oil. Cover and let cook on medium heat until eggplant skin has taken on some color. Add in cherry tomatoes and tomatillos. Recover and cook until cherry tomatoes are starting to pop. Add in balsamic vinegar, remaining olive oil, sugar and pepper. Cover and cook for 3 minutes. Add in sulatanas or raisins and caper berries, cover and cook for another 2 minutes. Remove from heat and serve as dip, spread, hot salad, or use as a stuffing for chicken or turkey. :) Serves 2-4. :)
Yum! :)
2 small organic white eggplants
1 organic orange bell pepper
2 small celery stalks
2 small organic tomatillos
15 small homegrown cherry tomatoes
1/3 medium organic red onion
1 tsp. minced garlic
1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
12 raisins or sultanas
1 1/2 tsp. caper berries
1 tsp. turbinado sugar
1/3 cup olive oil
dash of sea salt
dash of fresh ground black tellicherry pepper
Soak caper berries and raisins or sultanas in balsamic vinegar in a small bowl. Chop eggplant, pepper, tomatillos, celery and onion into bite-sized chunks. In frying pan, heat 1/3 of the olive oil, onions, garlic, celery, salt, and pepper until onions are soft. Add in eggplant and 1/2 of the remaining olive oil. Cover and let cook on medium heat until eggplant skin has taken on some color. Add in cherry tomatoes and tomatillos. Recover and cook until cherry tomatoes are starting to pop. Add in balsamic vinegar, remaining olive oil, sugar and pepper. Cover and cook for 3 minutes. Add in sulatanas or raisins and caper berries, cover and cook for another 2 minutes. Remove from heat and serve as dip, spread, hot salad, or use as a stuffing for chicken or turkey. :) Serves 2-4. :)
Yum! :)
Temporary hiatus...
Yesterday I took a vacation from cherry tomatoes at the behest of my husband- we went to his favorite burger joint and split a burger and homemade root beer. I can't complain in the least. :) With that in mind, I'm putting two recipes up today. :)
The first recipe is simple, and quite convenient for those of you that don't want to pay through the nose for sun-dried tomatoes and have a wonderful cherry tomato plant at home.
Oven-Dried Cherry Tomatoes
The most vitamin C in the tomato is actually found in the gelatinous casing around the seed. In addition, many of the nutrients in tomatoes, such as lycopene, are made more bio-available by cooking. The following recipe keeps both of these facts in mind.
36 cherry tomatoes
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1 tsp. sea salt
2 tsp. chopped fresh parsely
2 tsp. chopped fresh oregano
2 tsp. chopped fresh genovese basil
In medium size bowl mix all ingredients. Let tomatoes marinade covered and at room temperature for 2 hours.
Place marinated tomatoes on baking sheet that has been covered with parchment paper. Place in oven. Turn oven on to 200 Farenheit and bake tomatoes for 10-12 hours or until dry. The best way to do this is to start the recipe after dinner and let the tomatoes bake overnight. :) When you take them out of the oven, let the cool and then refrigerate until use. :) They have twice the flavor of store-bought sundrieds and make a great addition to salads, meats, pastas, sauces, and tons of other yummy foods. :)
Enjoy!
The first recipe is simple, and quite convenient for those of you that don't want to pay through the nose for sun-dried tomatoes and have a wonderful cherry tomato plant at home.
Oven-Dried Cherry Tomatoes
The most vitamin C in the tomato is actually found in the gelatinous casing around the seed. In addition, many of the nutrients in tomatoes, such as lycopene, are made more bio-available by cooking. The following recipe keeps both of these facts in mind.
36 cherry tomatoes
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1 tsp. sea salt
2 tsp. chopped fresh parsely
2 tsp. chopped fresh oregano
2 tsp. chopped fresh genovese basil
In medium size bowl mix all ingredients. Let tomatoes marinade covered and at room temperature for 2 hours.
Place marinated tomatoes on baking sheet that has been covered with parchment paper. Place in oven. Turn oven on to 200 Farenheit and bake tomatoes for 10-12 hours or until dry. The best way to do this is to start the recipe after dinner and let the tomatoes bake overnight. :) When you take them out of the oven, let the cool and then refrigerate until use. :) They have twice the flavor of store-bought sundrieds and make a great addition to salads, meats, pastas, sauces, and tons of other yummy foods. :)
Enjoy!
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