caprese salad

My favorite vegetable? Tomato. My favorite herb? Basil (with a close runner up of parsley). My favorite cheese? Any. (lol)  But fresh mozzerella is very close to the top of the list.

My heirloom tomatoes are starting to ripen at a steady, eat-one-or-two-a-day rate. Yesterday, I made a caprese salad with room temp mozzerella and heirloom tomatoes, and some beautiful basil from my mom. I am currently out of olive oil, so I just left that part off this time.  Also, I noticed the Pioneer Woman makes a balsamic reduction and drizzles that, so I will be giving that a go as well.

Caprese Salad

fresh ripe tomatoes, sliced thick
fresh mozzerella, brought to room temperature or warmed in a bowl of warm salt water, and sliced
fresh basil leaves
salt and pepper to taste
extra virgin olive oil

Layer the first 4 ingredients on a plate as so: tomato, cheese, basil leaf, salt and pepper. As a final touch, drizzle good olive oil over the salad. Enjoy!

So, so, so good. I could eat this every day.

(heirloom tomatoes pictured:  the dark one, Black Krim; the red one, Homestead; and the yellow one, Mr. Stripey)

jammin' with tomato jam

One of the greatest, if not THE greatest, things about summer is the supply of fresh tomatoes from the gardens of my mom and my brothers.  During the practically flavorless tomato based meals of winter, it's what I think of with longing in my heart.

The standby recipes are fresh salsa, roasted tomatoes, incredible spaghetti sauce, and best of all, just plain old room temp thick slices dusted with salt & pepper - nothing better.

But I do like to experiment, so when I saw this recipe from Food Loves Writing, I had to give it a try. I ended up cooking it for about 2 hours, 15 minutes before I got the consistency I wanted, but hey, that's okay - it's summer and I have all the time in the world. Well, not really, but I was home that day anyway...

In addition to making the jam, Dillon and I had grilled cheese for supper that night (see below).  It was so good, we had it again for Sunday lunch after church, when Dalton was home, and it was a hit with him too.

If you have an abundance of tomatoes that you are tired of canning or putting in the freezer, give this a try. I think you'll be glad you did. The small amount of honey adds sweetness, but the real sweetness comes from the long slow cookdown of the onions and tomatoes. Heaven in a pot.

Tomato Jam (adapted from recipe found in the cookbook Herbivarious by Michael Natkin; I originally found the recipe in the blog linked above)
Makes about one cup

Ingredients:
1 1/2 pounds ripe tomatoes, cored, peeled and diced
1/2 cup yellow onion, diced small
2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh basil
1/3 cup honey
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Directions:
Combine the tomatoes, onion, lemon juice, basil, honey and salt in a heavy bottomed saucepan. Stir in cayenne pepper and black pepper. Bring to a simmer, then adjust the heat to keep the tomatoes simmering until the mixture becomes thick and syrupy. This will likely take a couple of hours. Taste and adjust seasonings as you like. Serve at room temperature. 

Grilled Cheese our way:

Butter one side each of two slices of good whole wheat bread. On the opposite side of one slice, layer slices of sharp cheddar cheese and fresh mozzarella. Top with chopped basil leaves. On the other slice, spread tomato jam on unbuttered side, and place on top of cheese/basil, tomato jam side down. (In other words, just make a grilled cheese sandwich, butter on the outside, haha). Grill until toasty golden brown on each side, and the cheese is all melty and gooey and perfect. Cut in half for easy access, and enjoy. Resist temptation to make and devour a 2nd sandwich. Or don't resist. :D

of sprouts and slow roast tomatoes

I love my little occasional window garden of sprouts.  And I love using sprouts to flavor stir-fries, salads, tacos, pho bo and other soups, sandwiches, all sorts of yummy things to eat.  I learned this technique on Honest Fare, and here is the post, with some pretty pictures.  Beware of growing too many - the first time I did this, I used half a bag of lentils and I had more sprouts than I could eat (my mother warned me...). This time, I probably did 1/3 of a cup in a wide-mouth pint Mason jar. My plans are to start more as I begin to eat one batch, and have a fresh supply on hand at all times.

Windowsill Sprouts

You'll need a clean clear glass jar, cheesecloth, a jar ring or rubber band, and some kind of dried bean that you want to sprout.  I've only used lentils so far and they are tasty.

Rinse 1/3 cup of lentils and inspect for stones or bad seeds.  Place in a bowl and cover with cool water overnight. The next day, rinse the lentils and put in the jar. Cover the jar with a layer of cheesecloth cut to fit over the top, and secure with a jar ring or rubber band. Place in a sunny spot (I haven't done it in direct sun, though - a bright place on the counter or windowsill out of direct sun is fine).

For the next 6 or 7 days or so, morning and evening, rinse the lentils through the cheesecloth with cool water. Be sure to drain all the water out each time so they won't be soaking in water all the time. You'll see sprouts begin to form, and fill the jar. They are ready to eat when the leaves begin to open.  Remove them from the jar, rinse in cold water, and spread out on paper towels to drain for a bit.

Store in an airtight container lined with paper towels. They should keep in the fridge for about a week.

(I left the pictured sprouts in the jar for 2 or 3 days more, and it was filled to the top with larger, opening green leaves. You'll know when they're ready.)

When my brother shared a huge mob of cherry tomatoes with me recently, we just weren't eating them fast enough and I needed to find something to do with them. I made a recipe of fresh salsa, but we still had a good many little maters.  Google to the rescue, I found an easy recipe and slow roasted them in the oven. I was amazed at the flavor these chewy little rubies packed inside. I've mostly enjoyed them on salads, but I think tonight, it's time to give them a try on a homemade veggie pizza. :)


Oven-dried Cherry Tomatoes
(please note - these will not be completely dry using this recipe, so do not store them for long periods of time. A couple of weeks in the fridge, or a month or so in the freezer should be fine)

cherry tomatoes, washed, destemmed, and cut in half
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
dried basil leaves

Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Cut a piece of parchment paper to fit a cookie sheet or broiler pan. Place the halved tomatoes, cut side up, in a single layer on the parchment paper. Sprinkle the salt, pepper, and basil over the top evenly. Bake for 3 hours (4 hours if you have big tomatoes). Let cool before storing in an airtight freezer bag or plastic container. Use over salads, in soups, on pizza, or even as a chewy snack.