Gazpacho Garnish - Kicking It Up a Notch!

Earlier this week I promised you a way to kick up the garnish on this gazpacho. This presentation technique takes a delicious, casual summer soup and turns into something elegant and worthy of company.

It's really quite simple and the only tool you need is a ring mold. If you don't have any and you're interested in working on presentation, I strongly recommend getting a set like this. You will find a hundred and one uses for it.

Here are some suggested ingredients for the vegetable salad that make up the bulk of the garnish, but you should use whichever vegetables you have on hand or whatever looks good at the market that week.

1 small cucumber, cut into a small dice
1 yellow summer squash, cut into a small dice
1 red bell pepper, cut into a small dice
1/4 bunch of cilantro, chopped finely
Salt and pepper
1 avocado

Make the vegetable salad by combining the cucumber, squash, bell pepper and chopped cilantro. Season with salt and pepper.

Cut the avocado in half and peel. Place the avocado cut side down on a cutting board and slice very thinly.



Spray the ring mold lightly with cooking spray so the avocado won't stick to the mold once you're ready to remove it. Place the thin slices of avocado in overlapping layers around the ring mold as pictured above.



Gently spoon the vegetable salad into the avocado ring. If desired sprinkle a bit more cilantro and salt over the top of the salad.



Remove the ring and make sure the salad is holding its shape.



Pour in your finished gazpacho and enjoy!

Summer's Liquid Gold - Gazpacho

Gazpacho is and always has been one my favorite dishes of summer. When I was growing up, my mom and I would buy cans upon cans of Pepperidge Farm's gazpacho, chop up a bevy of fresh vegetables and keep a big jug of the fresh summer soup in the fridge. Every time I opened the door to our refrigerator, I was tempted with its promise of cool refreshing flavor and crunchy vegetables.

Today I make my own gazpacho base and am always interested in new ideas for getting the gazpacho started. While flipping through Heart of the Artichoke by David Tanis, I came upon a genius idea I wish I had come up with first. Tanis grates fresh tomatoes on a box grater and strains the seeds out of the tomato puree for pure, unadulterated fresh tomato gazpacho starter. What you do after that is really up to you. I used a microplane to grate garlic and onion into the base and then seasoned with salt and pepper. Chop up whatever fresh vegetables you have on hand and call it a day.

I garnished this bowl with chopped jalapeno and olive oil. Check back on Thursday for directions on how to take the garnish up a notch with a vegetable salad encased in a ring of avocado.



Gazpacho
Method adapted from David Tanis
Serves 6

4 lbs fresh tomatoes
2 garlic cloves
1/2 of a small onion
Salt and pepper to taste
Olive oil
1/2 of a jalapeno for garnish

Rinse tomatoes and cut in half horizontally. Grate the tomatoes on the large holes of a box grater until you are left with just the skin of the tomato. Toss the skin. Strain the tomato pulp through a coarse-mesh strainer to catch the seeds and any large pieces of pulp. Peel the garlic cloves and grate on a microplane directly into the tomato starter. Do the same with the onion. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Divide among six bowls and garnish with chopped jalapeno and a drizzle of olive oil.

Tabbouleh

Tabbouleh is a go-to dish when cleaning out the vegetable bin which I seem to be doing a lot these days. I am still learning to adjust my shopping list to more appropriate levels for someone who is in culinary school. Three nights a week I get fed at school and I bring home leftovers of all the foods I prepare during class. There is a surplus of food in my fridge and sometimes I forget to purchase less when I head out to the store.

Even if you don’t need to clean out the veg bin, tabbouleh is a great dish to have on hand. It keeps well, and even gets better as the flavors meld together over the course of a day or two. I snack on it throughout the day and if you need a quick side for dinner, it is always great to have this sitting in the fridge waiting for you. Love those time savers.



Tabbouleh is traditionally made with bulgar wheat, which is what I used here, but I often use couscous, wild rice, wheat berries or basically any grain (or pasta in the case of couscous) that I have on hand. Traditional vegetables include tomatoes and spring onions with a healthy does (usually an entire bunch) of chopped parsley, but since I use this salad as a dumping ground for leftover vegetables, I do not always stick to the traditional and neither should you. In this rendition I use tomatoes, cucumbers and shallots, but in the past my tabboulehs have also included zucchini, eggplant (cooked), celery, squash and so on. The only real guidelines you should follow are to chop the vegetables small - I usually aim for a similar size to the grain I am using – and to use lots and lots of parsley.



Tabbouleh

1 cup bulgar or other desired grain or pasta
1 cucumber
3 roma tomatoes
1 small shallot
1 bunch parsley
Juice from 1 lemon
Olive oil to taste (start with 3 T and add from there)
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Cook the bulgar or other grain according to package directions. Spread the cooked grains out on a parchment paper lined baking sheet to cool quickly. While the grains are cooking, chop the cucumber, tomatoes and shallot finely. Sprinkle the vegetables with salt and pepper and set aside. Chop the parsley finely, rocking your knife back and forth through the herb to make quick work of the bunch. Once the bulgar has cooled, combine it with the vegetables, parsley and lemon juice. Add 3 tablespoons of olive oil. You want the salad to seem moist, but not oily. If necessary, add more olive oil. Taste and add more salt and pepper to your liking. The salad is ready right away, but gets even better after some time in the refrigerator.

A Simple Salad for a Simple Summer Morning

It is only 73 degrees outside right now. I think that is the coolest it has been since I moved to New York. The boyfriend is in town for the weekend and I cannot wait to get outside and take advantage of the drop in temperature.

Tomorrow morning we head to Philadelphia for the day to visit the neighborhood where my boyfriend grew up, picnic in Valley Forge and if I’m lucky, eat a cheesesteak on South Street before heading back to New York.

Before I get started with all of that, I need to share this delicious summer salad with you. It is so simple. If you can use a knife to cut a tomato, you can make this salad. Because of its simplicity, it is vital that you find the juiciest, ripest, heirloom tomato you can get your hands on. I recommend hitting your local farmers market, even better if you have a plant or two going in your own backyard. If all you can get your hands on is a flavorless, bred-for-shelf-life grocery store tomato, don’t bother with this salad. Everything hinges on the flavor of the tomato.

If you haven’t had raw corn before, trust me, it is delicious. Cut straight from the cob into the salad, it tastes even juicer and sweeter than if you were to cook it for a few minutes on the stove or grill. Finish the cut vegetables with a few torn leaves of basil and a glug (technical term) or two of olive oil and you are finished. It is that simple. You do not need the recipe, but I will include one below just in case. Now get outside and enjoy the summer weather.

Simple Summer Salad

1 juicy tomato
1 ear of corn
6 – 8 leaves of basil
1 T good quality olive oil
1 t vinegar (your choice, I used balsamic)
Kosher salt to taste

Cut the tomato into thick slices and arrange on a plate. Sprinkle generously with kosher salt. Cut the corn from the cob and arrange around the tomato slices. Tear the basil leaves in half or quarters and add to the plate (smell your hands to enjoy the basil scent left behind). Drizzle the salad with a little olive oil and vinegar and share with someone you really like. This is summer on a plate.

Finally a Food Photo

I find it appropriate that Panzanella is the first thing I made in my New York kitchen. After a week-long restaurant binge that could rival my best vacation eating on record (Cookshop, Tipsy Parson, Crema Restaurante, Oyster Bar, Bleecker Street Pizza, Txikito, Shake Shack, a culinary tour through Chinatown, and Otto Enotecca) I needed to slow down and make a simple and affordable dish.

Panzanella is considered peasant food in Italy. At least it was when the salad was created as a way to use up stale bread. A bit of a peasant myself these days (no paycheck in site and a culinary education to pay for) I am trying to take on my own waste-not-want-not mentality. Rather than discarding stale bread, I can chop it up, sauté it with a little olive oil and garlic and toss it with some chopped vegetables already on hand. It means lunch is thrown together without running out for additional ingredients. Simply put, Panzanella is delicious and makes me feel good about my grocery budget. Added bonus? I do not have to preheat my oven in the sweltering New York heat.

I ate this salad right away, but it gets even better after a few hours as the flavors meld together.

Next up – finding ways to use up mounds of julienned carrots without turning on my oven. Practicing my knife skills at home, where there is no industrial pot of chicken stock waiting at the ready for my carrot donations, may turn me orange from carrot consumption.



Panzanella

7-inch long piece of baguette (multigrain or other)
3 T of extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 garlic clove, smashed and skin removed
1/2 cucumber
6 baby roma tomatoes (or 2 regular roma tomatoes, roughly chopped)
2 oz buffalo mozzarella
2 t balsamic vinegar
Salt and pepper

Cut the baguette into 1-inch chunks. Heat a large sauté pan over high heat. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the pan and fry the garlic clove for one minute. Add the bread and salt liberally. Reduce heat to medium and sauté until bread is crisp and golden brown, about 10 minutes. While the bread is cooking, peel the cucumber and chop into 1-inch pieces. Cut the tomatoes into quarters. When the bread is crisp, place it in a medium bowl along with the cucumber and tomatoes. Using your hands, rip the mozzarella into small pieces and add to the bowl. Drizzle the balsamic vinegar and remaining tablespoon of olive oil over the bread mixture. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Squash Blossom Pizza

It has been far too long since I last posted! I left for vacation with the best of intentions of logging on and sharing a few recipes while I was off traveling, but of course, it never happened. I had some great food while out and about and even managed to snag the recipe for a delicious Thai curry that I promise to share with you soon. I’m also working on getting the recipe for a citrus marmalade we enjoyed in England. If I can get permission to share it with you, I’ll have that one up soon as well.

In the meantime, let’s take a look at what to do with all the squash blossoms that should be appearing in your kitchen garden right about now. Each time I have the pleasure of dining at Mozza Pizzeria, I order the squash blossom pizza. It’s my favorite dish on the menu and as I eagerly await any news about Nancy Silverton’s forthcoming Mozza cookbook, I am resigned to trekking to West Hollywood and paying $20 for a pizza. Or so I thought.



Saveur’s recent Los Angeles issue was a pleasure to read. I saw some of my favorite places in Los Angeles getting the credit they deserve and learned about some new restaurants, food trucks and taco stands that I must try. The most exciting discovery was the publication of not only Mozza’s famous pizza dough (adapted for the home kitchen) and not only Mozza’s tomato-based pizza sauce, but the entire recipe for Mozza’s squash blossom pizza. I think it might just be enough to hold me over until the Mozza cookbook is published.



In case you missed the Los Angeles issue of Saveur, I feel a sense of duty to share the recipe with you here. This could easily be the best pizza you’ve ever had. Make sure you take the time to track down the best burrata you can find. The creamy cheese, coupled with a healthy dusting of salt is really what makes this pizza so spectacular.

Next step? Build a wood burning pizza oven in my backyard so I can get just a little closer to pizza nirvana that Nancy achieves at Mozza.



Mozza’s Squash Blossom Pizza

9 T extra-virgin olive oil
1 T active dry yeast
1 T sugar
1 t kosher salt, plus more to taste
6 cups flour
2 cups pizza sauce (recipe below)
60 squash blossoms, stemmed
1 pound burrata

Combine 1T of the oil, the yeast, sugar, salt, and 2 cups of 115˚ water. Let sit until foamy, about 10 to 12 minutes. Add the flour and mix until the dough comes together. Transfer the dough to a floured surface and knead until smooth. Divide the dough into four equal parts and roll into balls. Put the balls on a floured baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap and let sit in a warm place until tripled in size, about 2 hours.

Place a pizza stone on a rack in the lower part of your oven and preheat the oven at 500˚ for 1 hour. Transfer 1 dough ball to a floured piece of parchment paper. Working from the center, gently flatten dough with fingertips to a 10" round. Cover the dough with a barely damp towel and let rest for 15 minutes. Brush the edges of the dough with2 T oil and season liberally with salt. Spread 1⁄2 cup of pizza sauce over the dough, leaving a 1" border. Arrange 15 squash blossoms over the sauce in concentric circles. Place the pizza (still on the parchment paper) on the pizza stone and bake until golden brown, about 10 to 14 minutes. Top with spoonfuls of burrata, a drizzle of olive oil and final sprinkling of salt.

Pizza Sauce

28-oz. can of whole peeled San Marzano tomatoes
1 T extra-virgin olive oil
1 t dried basil
2 garlic cloves, minced
½ medium onion, grated

Put all the ingredients in a food processor and purée. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Making Cheese Even Better

I’m a sucker for a pretty picture. Especially if that picture is of food and in this particular case if that picture is of oil-dressed tomatoes piled high on top of slices of fried cheese. I have a few cookbooks that I adore that have absolutely no pictures of food, Marcella Hazan’s Essentials of Italian Cooking to name just one, but for the most part, beautiful pictures are what draw me in to a recipe, a book or an ingredient. It’s called food porn and it’s why, in addition to my obscene cookbook collection, I have subscriptions to every major food magazine.

Back to the tomatoes piled high on fried cheese. There isn’t much you can do to cheese to make it better than it already is, but frying it is certainly one way to try. Most cheeses can’t stand up to the heat, but one exception is Halloumi. Mentioned many times before on this blog, Halloumi is a Mediterranean cheese that has a very high melting point – in other words, you can pan fry it and it will keep its shape, but even more importantly something magical happens. The saltiness of the cheese is set off by the warm, melting creaminess and if you’ve left the Halloumi in the pan long enough, at a high enough heat, the crunchy crust that forms on the surface of the cheese finishes everything off with a seriously good contrast of textures. It’s cheese heaven so whenever I see a recipe that calls for it, I take note.

My latest ‘the pictures are just too pretty to pass up’ purchase is The Family Chef by Jewels and Jill Elmore. In a feeble attempt to stunt the growth of my cookbook collection, I stopped myself from buying this book the first time I saw it back in June, but after reading more about the sisters in this month’s Sunset Magazine, I knew I had to go back for a second look. I realized my first instinct was right and quickly purchased the book. It has been my bedside reading for the past week and their Halloumi Cheese with Cucumber Lentil Salad is the first recipe I made from it.

An added bonus with this recipe is that I discovered the boyfriend likes lentils! I didn’t think it was possible that such a healthy powerhouse could be on his list of, ‘please make me more of this right now,’ foods, especially after our phone conversation the day before I made the dish. He called me while I was browsing the aisles of Whole Foods and when told I was getting lentils, he responded with, “Why on earth would you be doing that? Lentils are gross.” Not encouraging, but he rarely knows what’s good for him so I picked them up anyway, made this salad and he couldn’t get enough. He even picked a lentil dish out of another cookbook for me to make the next night. I think I’m on to something here. Maybe you can be too.


Halloumi Cheese with Cucumber Lentil Salad
Adapted from The Family Chef (to make a smaller portion)

1/2 cup beluga lentils cooked according to package directions
1 medium cucumber, peeled in strips, halved lengthwise and sliced into half circles
2 ripe tomatoes (preferably one yellow and one red), cut into chunks
3 T extra-virgin olive oil + more for frying cheese
2 T chopped parsley
2 T chopped mint
2 T lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste
1 package of Halloumi cheese, cut into 8 slices

Place the first seven ingredients in a bowl, season with salt and pepper and mix together. Heat a non-stick pan over medium-high heat and add some olive oil (about a tablespoon or two). Add the Halloumi slices and cook each side until golden brown, 2 – 3 minutes per side. Place the Halloumi slices on a platter and top with the tomato and cucumber mixture. Serve immediately while the cheese is still warm.

Roasted Tomato Tart with Goat Cheese and Country Pate

This tart recipe is the product of a perfect Sunday – a day I woke up early, feeling well-rested and with nothing on the calendar aside from hours to spend in the kitchen, tinkering with leftover pate and trying to use up pounds and pounds of tomatoes from the bushes now bursting with fruit in my backyard. At least that’s my idea of a perfect Sunday. If it doesn’t sound appealing to you, you may be in the wrong place.

I planned on making a tomato tart to start using up the stockpile of tomatoes currently occupying my kitchen counter. On a whim, I sliced up the leftover pate from our Saturday night cheese plate and included it in the tart. It added an amazing richness, but if you’re not a fan of pate, by all means leave it out, just be sure to put something in its place to help boost the flavor. A slather of Dijon mustard along the base of the tart would be a welcome replacement. Additionally, use any cheese that you like or have on hand. This recipe was created from what was already in the pantry and your version should be too.

The following recipe is long enough so I won’t waste anymore of your time going on and on about how much I love the Pâté de Campagne from Monsieur Marcel or how, if you’re feeling particularly adventurous, you can make your own goat cheese for the topping. I’ll just leave you with the recipe for your own adaptation. Enjoy.

Roasted Tomato Tart with Goat Cheese and Country Pate
Dough recipe adapted from Once Upon a Tart

2 1/2 cups flour
3 T semolina
1 t salt
12 T butter (1 1/2 sticks)
3 T shortening
4 – 8 T ice water

4 large tomatoes (heirloom paste tomatoes if possible)
4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
15 thyme sprigs
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 pound good quality country pate
2 oz goat cheese



Heat oven to 375*
Place the flour, semolina and salt in a food processor and pulse until combined. Cut the butter into small pads and add to the food processor along with the shortening. Pulse until small crumbs start to form. Pour the mixture into a bowl and drizzle in the water starting with 3 T and adding more, 1 T at a time, if needed until the dough comes together as you stir it with a wooden sppo. Divide the dough into two balls and form into discs. Wrap the discs in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes (you will only need one disc for this recipe).

While the dough is chilling, slice the tomatoes to a 1/4 inch thick and place on a rimmed baking sheet. Season liberally with salt and pepper and spread the thyme sprigs and minced garlic over the tomatoes. Drizzle with olive oil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven, discard the thyme sprigs and allow to cool.

Roll the dough out on a floured surface. Transfer to the tart pan and pierce the dough all over with a fork. Chill the dough in the tart pan for an additional 30 minutes. Line the pan with foil and place pie weights in the tart shell. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove the foil and pie weights and return to the oven for an additional 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly.
Slice the country pate very thinly and lay over the base of the tart shell (the bottom may not be completely covered). Place one layer of tomatoes over the pate, sprinkle lightly with salt and repeat with a second layer. Crumble the goat cheese and spread around the top of the tart. Return the tart to the oven and bake until the edges of the cheese are starting to brown. Let cool slightly before cutting and serving with a simple mixed greens salad.

Tomato and Burrata Salad

It’s a difficult thing to admit, even to myself, but sometimes I do not want to cook. A recent virus kicked off my latest spurt of time out of the kitchen which was extended a few weeks by a trip up north and the guilt that ensued for not adding anything to Apples and Butter for weeks upon weeks. I have been here, quietly perusing your sites and finding so much inspiration, just not adding much to the conversation myself. This past weekend, the push I needed came in the form of a little red globe of perfect, first-tomato-of-the-season ripeness I found hiding at the back of one of my potted cherry tomatoes.

The day I pull the first tomato of summer off the vine may as well be a holy day in my household. At the very least it’s the equivalent of a national holiday. The anticipation begins in March when I put the first seedlings in the ground and wonder why they don’t produce tomatoes the very next day. It’s a cruel, three-month waiting period until the flowers turn to green tomatoes and the green tomatoes ripen into voluptuous red globes that seem as though they will burst at the seems if left on the vine for one more minute.



The cherry tomatoes I pulled off the vine needed a very basic preparation to let the homegrown tomato flavor shine through. I grabbed a fresh package of burrata out of the fridge and opened my new bottle of Valderrama olive oil (more about that another time) that was waiting patiently on the counter for the perfect first use. This was definitely it.

With burrata and homegrown tomatoes as the star ingredients, the dish only needed a sprinkling of fresh herbs to finish it. Basil would be ideal, but since my bushes had not quite jumped into production, I settled for finely chopped parsley - a decent substitute in this situation.

For a presentation worthy of photographing (though I would have gladly thrown everything together in a bowl and dug in with a fork) I shaped the burrata into quenelles, a football shape which is formed by moving the cheese back and forth between two spoons, smoothing the edges as you go. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, this, more detailed, explanation may be helpful.



Wherever you are, I hope it’s warm enough that you too are enjoying the first homegrown tomatoes of summer.

Cherry Tomato and Burrata Salad
Serves 1 (this recipe can easily be doubled, though if you’re pulling your first tomatoes off the vine, you, like me, may not want to share)

Handful (10 +) of cherry tomatoes
4 quenelles (or spoonfuls) of Burrata (about a 1/2 cup)
1 T best quality olive oil
1 T chopped fresh herbs of your liking
Sprinkling of Maldon sea salt

Place the burrata quenelles on four opposite sides of a plate (think north, south, east, west). Slice the cherry tomatoes in half and arrange them among the burrata. Drizzle with olive oil and finish with a sprinkling of herbs and salt to taste. Try not to inhale everything in one bite.

Tomato Paste - Locally

On a recent Saturday morning I happened upon on a farmers' market that I had not been to before. I'm very lucky that in my general area there are multiple markets on every day of the week. My biggest complaint about the markets closest to me is that they never seem to have any protein. I can load up on produce or bread, but when it comes to my other staples, I always end up at the grocery store on my way home. I was thrilled when, walking through this new market, I discovered eggs, cage-free chickens, grass-fed beef and even locally harvested shellfish. I was in heaven. My first instinct was to immediately move so I could be within walking distance of my new favorite market, but after taking a moment to calm down, I set about getting the week's supplies.

My biggest sin at the market is buying something because I'm taken in by how great it looked or how fresh it was, but with no plan on how actually to use it. I either end up not using it or having to go back to the store to buy everything else I need to make whatever it is I have decided to create with said fresh item. This go around it was two pounds of short ribs. Having happened upon the market with so much protein, I just couldn't leave without getting some.

Shopping at the new farmers' market got me thinking more about locally grown food. I always prefer to buy my produce at farmers' markets because I absolutely agree with trying to use locally grown and produced food whenever possible, but I never really took it beyond produce. This market opened up the idea that I could do more than just get local produce. With that in mind, I set about creating a new short rib recipe using only locally grown or produced food in the recipe.

Finding local produce was easy. I didn't have to look further than my local farmers' markets. The first place I ran into some trouble was with locating locally produced tomato paste. It quickly became clear that I would have to make my own. After browsing the internet for some time, I found this method that turns 5 pounds of tomatoes into about a 1/2 cup of paste. It certainly isn't the economical way (with time or money) to get tomato paste, but the flavor was absolutely better and, it was from locally grown ingredients. Problem solved. Check back in a few days to see the stock I made to use as a braising liquid.

Tomato Paste

Yield approximately 1/2 cup

5 pounds tomatoes

2 T olive oil

salt to taste

Preheat oven to 350*

Chop the tomatoes. Uniformity is not important as the tomatoes will be passed through a food mill shortly. Heat the olive oil in a large saute pan and add the chopped tomatoes. Simmer for 4 - 5 minutes until the tomatoes are releasing their juices. Pass the tomatoes through a food mill fitted with the smallest disc. If necessary, take the tomato pulp still in the bowl of the food mill and return it to the saute pan to help it break down some more and release its juices. Once all the tomatoes have been processed, place the tomato liquid in a half-sheet pan (rimmed cookie sheet) and place in the oven for four hours. stir the mixture every hour until a tomato paste texture has been achieved. If storing in the fridge, pour olive oil into the container to cover the paste for storage. Enjoy!

Roasted Tomato Soup

Soup has been on the mind lately with the weather turning colder. We actually had a little bit of rain on Saturday which inspired the making of this batch. There's something about that first bit of rain each fall that is so welcomed. It's like those first few hot days of summer. They haven't been around in so long that you are just dying for them to come along.

I've been making a soup like this since I started cooking in college. It has changed much over the years, but the basic idea remains the same. Roasted tomatoes, pureed into a wonderful and warming dish.

Roasted Tomato Soup

Serves 6

2 lbs plum tomatoes

1 red bell pepper

1 onion

2 1/2 cups chicken or vegetable stock

1 T tomato paste

6 dill sprigs

1/4 cup heavy cream

1/2 t salt

Preheat oven to 450*

Halve the tomatoes and peel and quarter the onions. Remove the stem and seeds from the bell pepper and cut into large chunks. Place all the vegetables on a greased baking sheet and roast for 25 minutes until the edges start to char. Remove to a large pot and add stock. Tie the dill sprigs together with kitchen twine and add to the pot. Bring to a simmer and let cook for 30 minutes. Remove the dill sprigs and let the vegetables cool slightly before transferring to a blender and pureeing. At this point you can strain the soup, but I prefer to keep the thickness you get without straining it. Return the soup to the pot and add the heavy cream and salt. Split between six soup bowls and garnish with dill and creme fraiche. Enjoy!

No Bake Vegetable Lasagna

I have been waiting at least six months to make this recipe, maybe more. I found it in an old Rachel Ray Magazine, but I knew store-bought tomatoes just wouldn't cut it in this case and I was months away from homegrown. Since nothing in this lasagna is actually cooked, the best quality and freshest vegetables make all the difference. You can find the original recipe here. I cut it down a little, but followed the general game plan.

No Bake Vegetable Lasagna

Serves 2

1 large zucchini (or two regular)

1 T olive oil

8 oz ricotta

2 T lemon juice, divided

zest from 1/2 lemon

1/2 cup pesto

14.5 oz can diced tomatoes

handful of sun-dried tomatoes (reconstituted if dried)

1/4 t crushed ginger

1 large tomato cut into four slices

1/2 t salt, divided

basil for garnish

Slice the zucchini into 12 slices using a mandolin and toss with the olive oil. Combine the ricotta, 1 T of lemon juice, lemon zest and 1/4 t of salt in a food processor and blend until smooth. Remove to a bowl. Add diced tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, ginger, remaining 1 T lemon juice and 1/4 t salt to the food processor. Blend until smooth.

Layer three slices of zucchini, slightly overlapping, on a dinner plate. Spread the ricotta mixture over the bottom, followed by the pesto and then the tomato sauce (use 2 - 3 T of each). Top the sauces with one slice of tomato and then repeat the layer again. Top with a few basil leaves, repeat the process for the second serving and enjoy!

Simple Salsa - Using Up Mounds of Tomatoes

It seems like every other thing I make these days has tomato in it, is a sauce to go on tomatoes or is simply just a tomato, sliced, with salt on it. It's that time of year and it's almost bittersweet that we're all so overwhelmed with tomatoes right now and that in just one short month, those tomato plants will start to slow down and then stop production. My thought is seize the day. It's all about tomatoes for as long as possible.

My one determinate plant has been covered in cherry tomatoes this week and it was time to use a ton of them up before they all dropped to the ground. This is a simple salsa that's made my favorite way - quickly and in the food processor. The spice is totally controlled by how many of the jalapeno seeds you leave in so decide how hot you want it and proceed with caution. I make a big batch and serve half with chips, while keeping the rest on hand to serve over chicken or steak.

Simple Salsa

3 cups cherry tomatoes

1/2 yellow onion

1 jalapeno

10 sprigs cilantro

1/4 t salt

Cut onion into large chunks. Cut jalapeno in half and remove most of the seeds, leaving a few (or more if you prefer more spice). Dice the jalapeno into very small pieces. Remove cilantro leaves from the main stem. Add onion chunks to a food processor fitted with the metal blade, followed by the cilantro, jalapeno and finally the tomatoes. Sprinkle the salt over everything and pulse until very coarsely chopped. Serve with tortilla chips and enjoy!

My Favorite BLT

This really should be called a BLCT as one of its main ingredients is cheese, not to mention that the lettuce in this is really basil leaves. So it may not be the most traditional BLT, but it's my favorite. What makes it special are the thick slices of homegrown tomatoes and the creamy burrata cheese. I think everybody has their own way of making a BLT and this is mine. What's yours?

Favorite BLT

Serves 2

4 slices sourdough bread

4 slices bacon

1 large tomato

handful of basil leaves

6 oz burrata

Toast sourdough and set aside. Cook the bacon according to the suggestion below. Slice tomato into 1 or 1 1/2 inch thick slices and cut each slice in half. Place half of the basil on one piece of sourdough and top with two tomato slice halves, followed by two slices of bacon and half the burrata. Top with a second slice of sourdough, cut in half and enjoy! (I love a good dose of mayonnaise on a BLT, but with the creaminess of the burrata, you don't really need it here)

This is how I get bacon to come out crispy and golden every time. Preheat oven to 375*. Place a cooling rack over a sheet pan or cookie sheet with an edge and lay bacon strips on the rack. Place in the oven for 20 - 35 minutes until golden and crispy.

Polenta Squares With Tomato Sauce

This is a great application for the tomato sauce I made last week and really, just a great trick to have on hand for making appetizers. You can top these polenta squares with any savory sauce, salad or meat to make great snacks or perfect finger food for a party.

Polenta Squares

4 cups veggie stock

1 1/2 cups cornmeal

1 t salt

Bring stock to a boil and add cornmeal in a slow, steady stream, whisking the stock all the while you add the cornmeal. Continue until all the cornmeal has been absorbed. This slow pour is worth it. If you add all of the cornmeal at once, it's a surefire way to get lumpy polenta. Once the cornmeal has been absorbed, pour mixture into a 9 x 13 baking dish and let cool. Place in the refrigerator to finish firming up. Once firm, slice polenta into 1 1/2 inch squares and add topping of your choice. Enjoy!

Fresh Tomato Sauce

This could almost be considered a tomato salsa or bruschetta topping, but it's how I like to use up tomatoes that I brought in from the garden a few days ago that are getting to the almost too ripe state. You can toss this with some pasta, throw it on toasted bread or my favorite, simply eat it straight with a spoon.

Fresh Tomato Sauce

4 - 6 tomatoes (however many you're trying to use up)

1 clove crushed garlic

1/4 t salt

2 T olive oil

4 basil leaves

Roughly chop the tomatoes and place in a bowl with garlic, salt and olive oil. Place the basil leaves on top of one another and roll up. Slice rolled basil to form thin ribbons and add to the sauce. Mix everything together and enjoy!

Oven Dried Tomatoes

I'm not a huge fan of sun dried tomatoes, but these guys are great for salads, sauces or just munching on. I make them with the oven on, but if you've just finished using the oven, you can pop these guys in and let them dry as the oven cools. Use any fresh herb or combination of fresh herbs that you like. I grabbed some parsley and oregano from the backyard for this batch.

Oven Dried Tomatoes

1 pint cherry tomatoes

1/8 t salt

2 T chopped fresh herbs

Preheat Oven to 250*

Cut cherry tomatoes in half lengthwise and place in a pan. Spray with canola oil spray or drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and chopped herbs. Add tomatoes to the oven and let dry for two hours or until sufficiently shrivelled. Enjoy!

Quick Gazpacho

The first thing I like to make when I pull full-flavored, homegrown tomatoes off the vine is my quick gazpacho. I've always loved gazpacho, but got tired of all the chopping and prep work involved in it. I make this version in my Cuisinart and it makes really quick work of it.

This may thicken if you let it hang out in the fridge. I always keep extra tomato juice to thin it out if necessary.

Quick Gazpacho

Serves 6

3 cups cherry tomatoes

1 red bell pepper

1 cucumber peeled and seeded

3 celery stalks

1/2 vidalia onion

2 cloves garlic

1 T worcestershire

1 T olive oil

1/2 t salt

4 cups tomato juice or tomato vegetable blend (low sodium)

Cut bell pepper, cucumber, celery and onion into large chunks. Put garlic into food processor and pulse until finely chopped. and bell pepper, cucumber, onion and tomatoes to the food processor and pulse until roughly chopped. Remove vegetables to a bowl and add worcestershire, olive oil and salt and stir to combine. Stir in tomato juice and let chill in the fridge for at least two hours to let all the flavors meld. Enjoy!

Tomato Season

Finally. When I went out to the garden today I realized it was the day I had been waiting on for months. Today I was able to pick a bowlful of full-size, ripe tomatoes to go along with the cherry tomatoes that I've been pulling off the vines for a few weeks now. I cannot wait to start using these in recipes, BLTs and simply sliced up with a little salt. I love this time of year.

Fried Green Tomato Sandwich

Mmmm. The fried green tomatoes were so good the other day that I couldn't resist making more. I often fantasize about the lobster rolls so common on the east coast. Those sandwiches were my inspiration when I decided to pick up some fresh crab meat and make a crab salad to top the fried green tomatoes. When I went out in my backyard to pick my green tomato, I was delighted to find one small yellow globe of delicious ripeness hanging on the vine. I grabbed it to slice and add to the sandwich as well.

Crab and Fried Green Tomato Sandwich

Serves 2

1/2 recipe of Fried Green Tomatoes

2 french rolls

1 ripe tomato sliced

1/2 pound crab meat

1 stalk celery diced

3 T mayonnaise

1 T dijon mustard

1 t lemon juice

1 t chopped dill

Combine crab, celery, mayonnaise, mustard, lemon juice and dill. Split open and toast the french rolls. If you've just finished making the fried green tomatoes, drain off most of the oil and toast the rolls directly in the same pan. Lay two slices of fried green tomatoes on the bottom of each roll, followed by the fresh tomato slices and finally the crab salad. Enjoy!

*Note: if you're using crab claws like I did, you'll want to first get a little more than a 1/2 pound to account for the shells. Secondly, a good technique for getting every little bit of meat is to pull the two pieces of claw apart as shown until they come fully apart. The connective tissue will pull out the back attached to one piece of claw while leaving all of the meat in the remaining claw shell.