stuffed tomatoes

Gratuitous vegetable photo. These are all from my grandfather's (Pop's!) garden. We made lots of things with them, like my second version of these fantastic stuffed tomatoes. Nothing beats fresh produce!!

So, the stuffed tomatoes . . . Kind of a recipe, kind of not. For dinner for one, with lots of leftovers, cook one cup of arborio rice in 2 cups of water, for about 20 minutes, or until the grains were soft and all water was absorbed.

For the filling, saute half a red onion and one clove of garlic in olive oil, until the onion is softened, and the garlic is fragrant. Then add in one zucchini - halved lengthwise, then sliced into little half moons - season liberally with salt and pepper and saute for about 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from heat.



To prepare your tomatoes - slice off the top, remove the core, and then scoop the flesh out of the tomato with a spoon. You'll have a nice little vessel to stuff with rice! Add the scooped out flesh to your onion zucchini mixture.

Finally, add the rice to the onion/zucchini/tomato mixture. Add in about 2 tablespoons chopped basil, 2 tablespoons chopped parsley, 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese. Season to taste with salt and pepper.



Stuff the tomatoes with the rice mixture, making sure to pack it into the cavity, and mound on top. Sprinkle with extra cheese, herbs, and bread crumbs, if you like. Place in an oven proof dish, and bake at 350 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes, until tops are lightly browned. Enjoy!



- e

farmers' market feast

I really love the farmers' market . . . the bounty of fresh local produce. The varieties of berries and beans that you never, ever see in the supermarket. Foraged mushrooms. One dollar strudel sticks. The friendly farmers who truly care about the product they are selling. I could go on and on, but I will spare you! Suffice to say that come summer time, I am happy to roam around outside, picking out my produce in the open air.



What follows is not so much a recipe, but a celebration of truly fresh ingredients, prepared very simply, allowing the sweetness of the tomatoes and the crispness of the haricot verts to stand out.

I bought the most beautiful, super-skinny, haricot verts and wax beans, blanched them (they were in the boiling water for all of 2 minutes before I drained them and shocked them in cold water), seasoned them with salt and pepper, and drizzled with olive oil.



I also bought this crazy purple, green and white beans, called dragon's lingerie - oh my! - and sauteed them with garlic and olive oil. Also seasoned with salt and pepper.



And I served both beans with some gorgeous and very flavorful heirloom tomatoes. The plate looked beautiful and everything was delicious!

enjoy!

- e

moroccan fresh tomato salad

this past saturday we made a trip to the farmer's market at the ferry building. i hate dealing with the crowds there but the produce is worth it. everything is amazing. i find myself slowly meandering from stall to stall...only to realize that i am being one of those slow aimless walkers that drive me crazy. ooops. when i realize this i immediately snap out of it though and move along. really. i promise.

anyway, we bought the most gorgeous, perfectly ripe heirloom tomatoes. these were way too delicious to cook so we made a fresh, herby, spicy salad with them.

moroccan fresh tomato salad
(from the mediterranean vegan kitchen)
ingredients:
3 medium ripe tomatoes, cored and cut into small pieces
salt, to taste
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 small jalapeno chili pepper, seeded and finely chopped
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
black pepper, to taste

place chopped tomatoes in a colander. sprinkle lightly with salt and toss gently; let drain for 30 minutes.

in a medium bowl, combine the parsley, cilantro, jalapeno, oil, vinegar, cumin, salt and pepper. add the drained tomatoes, mixing gently yet thoroughly to combine. let stand for 15 minutes at room temperature to allow the flavors to blend. toss gently again.

serve at room temperature, or cover and chill for 1 hour and serve chilled.

we had some of this leftover but when you spend $8 on tomatoes you don't really wanna throw 'em away and call it a day. we ate the leftovers tossed with arugula and an avocado with a little drizzle of olive oil and a fresh sprinkle of salt and pepper.

-d

vermicelli nests with chickpeas, spinach and tomato

there were a couple of factors working against us cooking a big dinner on sunday:

1. it was hot. really hot. the kind of hot that makes you really not want to hang out in a tiny kitchen with the stove and oven cranking along.

2. sunday morning was bay to breakers. as we made our way to the panhandle to watch the craziness, bloody marys and mimosas in tow, there was really no telling how much cooking we would be up for later in the day.

keeping this in mind saturday afternoon as i looked through my cookbooks i thought this simple, fast pasta recipe was a perfect fit....assuming we didn't cave in to take out (we didn't. obviously.).

i really enjoyed this dish. it's light and fresh and easy and tasty. it also uses white wine so pick one that's yummy and you can enjoy a nice chilled glass as you eat this on a hothot day.

vermicelli nests with chickpeas, spinach and tomato
(from the mediterranean vegan kitchen, makes 4-6 main course servings)
ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 large cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 (15-oz) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 cup dry white wine
2 to 3 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves or 1 teaspoon dried
1 pound fresh plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped
8 ounces fresh spinach, stemmed, cut into 1/2 inch wide strips
pinch sugar
salt and black pepper to taste
12 ounces vermicelli, capellini, or spaghettini

in a large nonstick skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. add the garlic and cook, stirring for 2 minutes. add the chickpeas and toss to coat with the garlic and oil. add the wine and thyme. bring to a boil over high heat.

add the tomatoes, spinach, sugar, salt and pepper. toss well to thoroughly combine and remove the skillet from the heat. set aside until the tomatoes are just warm to the touch, about 5 minutes.

meanwhile, cook the pasta according to the package directions until al dente; drain well.

arrange equal amounts of the pasta in small circular piles (like nests!) in the bottoms of bowls. divide the chickpea and tomato mixture evenly among the bowls. pour the remaining liquid from the skillet evenly over all and serve.

-d

tomatoey spiced chickpeas

i have a bad habit of flipping through my cooking magazines, finding a bunch of things i want to make, and then putting the magazine away and forgetting all the delicious possibilties inside. i'm trying to do better. this one comes from the march issue of gourmet and the dish was fantastic. i love the heartiness of chickpeas and the fresh herbs in here made the flavors really pop as well. this was easy to make and you probably have most of the ingredients already. we had it as a side but it would also be a good entree served over rice (or any other grain for that matter). and it gets bonus points because it held up well for leftovers for lunch the next day.

tomatoey spiced chickpeas
(from gourmet, march 2009)
ingredients:
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground ginger
Rounded 1/4 teaspoon hot red-pepper flakes
1 (1 1/2-inch) piece cinnamon stick
1 (28-ounce) can whole tomatoes in juice
2 (15-ounce) cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained*
1/2 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
1/4 cup finely chopped mint

heat oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium heat, then cook cumin, coriander, ginger, red-pepper flakes, and cinnamon stick, stirring constantly, until fragrant and a shade darker, about 2 minutes.
add tomatoes with juices, breaking up tomatoes with a spoon, then add chickpeas. simmer, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened, about 20 minutes. discard cinnamon stick.
stir in parsley and mint. serve warm or at room temperature.

*in my mind the instructions to buy 2 cans of chickpeas meant only buy one at the grocery store, so our version was a bit more tomatoey then it's supposed to be but it was still yummy.

-d