I’ve always thought of eating tomatoes just like eating an apple… but for some reason I have never done it.
But with these mini tomatoes from my CSA box, I’ve been eating tomatoes just like I eat candy… they’re so small and so cute, the only thing you really want to do is pop them in your mouth. It’s nature’s candy…
With the plethora of tomatoes I’ve been receiving from my CSA box, I needed a way to use them up in quantities before they went bad – because in a week’s time I would be receiving another huge batch.
I have been a fan of sun-dried tomatoes for a while now… it was my first “foodie” grocery purchase about 10 yrs ago. I remember we went to this gourmet store called Domenico’s, which is no longer in operation. I went to buy sun-dried tomatoes, but left with my first piece of Gruyere cheese too. It was a good day.
So I decided how it would be if I made my very own version of sun-dried tomatoes… they’ll not completely dry, but the flavor is definitely intensified by roasting them low and slow.
OVEN-ROASTED TOMATOES
As many tomatoes as you can fit in a baking sheet – halved and seeded A drizzle of olive oil – about 1 tbs for the whole thing A sprinkling of Kosher Salt and Pepper to taste About ½ tbs of balsamic vinegar A few leaves of thyme – optional
Use them in your favorite tomato application… they’ll impart an intense tomato flavor to pastas, salads and sandwiches.
I did this flavored oil to season a nice Tomato Salad with Goat Cheese Toasts… but I was surprised how versatile the oil has proven to dress and season many other recipes.
BASIL PARSLEY OIL
A small handful of parsley – mostly leaves A small handful of basil leaves About 1/3 cup of olive oil Sea Salt – 1 turn around the food processor bowl About 4 turns of the pepper grinder
If you’d like, you could strain it… but I like it chunky.
My mom is a pesto lover… she sees pesto on a menu and she zones out anything else.
When we started getting bagfuls and bagfuls of fresh organic arugula in our CSA box, I decided to use some in a pesto for her. There’s so much arugula salad one person can take in a given week.
I loved the taste of this pesto because it’s much milder and fresher tasting than if you use only basil leaves.
ARUGULA PESTO
About 4 cups of arugula leaves, well washed and dried 1 handful of basil leaves 1/3 cup parmesan cheese 3 garlic cloves, chopped a bit 2 handfuls of walnuts Sea salt and freshly cracked Pepper About ½ cup of olive oil
When you cook broccoli… what do you do with the stems???
I used to be the one who would cut the florets off and I would get rid of the stalk. But when I started cooking weekly at the Yoga center, the first time I attempted to throw away the stalk, I got a lesson on how to utilize all the resources available in the kitchen, and that includes the broccoli stalks.
But you just can’t go and cook them the same way as the florets… the florets are delicate and with just steaming they’re perfectly cooked, as I mentioned to you previously here. But the stalks are tougher and need to be treated differently.
First, cut off the end of the stalk. You’ll see there is a green edge and a more whitish center. We need to peel off the greenish outer part. It’s stringy and not palatable at all. What I do is to pierce with a knife just inside the green part and pull off the green part. Just like with an asparagus, the green part will peel away where it’s supposed to cut off if you make the cut as deep as needed. After you’ve peeled the whole stalk, just cut in into small pieces.
Now there are several things you can try out… one option is to boil the stalks together with some potatoes. After they’re cooked, you can smash them together with the potatoes and you’ll be adding lots of added nutrition to the potatoes. Because I use little water to partly boil/partly steam the potatoes/stalks, I usually use part of the water left over to mash the potatoes/stalks. The water has nutrition of the veggies you’re cooking.
If you’re stir-frying, you can add the stalks at the beginning of the stir-fry, with other harder to cook veggies, like carrots. By the time the stir fry is done, the stalks will be fully cooked.
The next time you buy broccoli, plan to use the stalks as well as the florets. You’ll be amazed at how versatile and delicious they are. It’s another way to stretch your dollar in these tough economic times.
KarmaFree Cooking 