Come on, Tomatoes!

I've waited all year for tomatoes to come back in season.  I don't buy them until I see them at the farmers' market or on the vine in my backyard . Oh sure, if you invite me over for dinner in the winter and make me a Caprese salad,  I'll eat it.  I'm not a jerk; if you cooking for me, I'll eat whatever you serve (except Spam or chicken livers, sorry). But I just don't buy tomatoes for myself until summer.  I know the way they taste when they are fresh and just-ripe picked, and there's nothing like it!

The first time I had tomatoes from someone's yard, I was in college.  The woman I worked for invited me over for dinner.  On the table was a plate of sliced tomatoes, simply dressed with a little sea salt. Snarky Suzanne thought, "What the hell? A plate of tomatoes???!"  But I don't remember one other thing she cooked for me that night bacause those tomatoes, fresh, ripe and deep in color and flavor were the tastiest things I had ever eaten, and everything else that night was lost by comparison.

I've thought back on that memory over the years as I've moved into a world of eating in season.  The lesson learned is that if you eat what the earth gives you when it gives it to you, it is a perfect food that needs very little to enhance the flavor... just a little sea salt.

Truth be told, it's still a little early for tomatoes.  Mine are still little green nuggets on the vine.  But they started popping up at the farmers' market, so even though I knew they wouldn't be just right yet, I had to get a teaser.  And what is my first love when it comes to tomatoes?  A Panzanella Bread Salad.

There are lots of different versions of Panzanella out ther on the web, but I take the simple approach: Cut a baguette into bite sized pieces (I love Grace Baking's ciabatta loaf.... try not to eat half of it before you can make the salad!) and saute it in olive oil with a little minced shallot and garlic.  When they are lightly browned and toasty, toss in a bowl with roughly chopped tomatoes (heirlooms are my fave), cubes of fresh mozzerella, some torn basil leaves and a drizzle of olive oil and balsamic vinegar.  I had an avocado that was in "use or lose" mode, so I tossed that in, too. Heaven!

Give it a try....you can thank me later!

They Made It!

I'm sure you've been on the edge of your seats wondering the fate of my two little tomatoes.  Well, they managed to survive.  Not quite the crop I was hoping for, but there's always next year.

The first time I ever ate tomoatoes from someone's yard, they were served simply sliced and sprinkled with salt.  I'd never eaten a better tomato.  Sometimes simple is best.

And sometimes a pizza with tomatoes, jalapeno peppers, leeks and goat cheese is best.

Trader Joe's makes yummy pizza dough in a few different flavors; I chose herb & garlic.  Seemed like a perfectly good place to put my tomatoes.  Tomatoes like hanging out with jalapeno peppers and onion, and I like hanging out with goat cheese (as we are all aware), so this pizza idea is a win-win.

I drizzled olive oil on the dough and then seeded and sliced a couple large jalapeno peppers, the white part of one leek and my two little tomatoes.

I like using goat cheese for two reasons: 1) goat milk is very similar to mother's milk, so our bodies deal with it better than cow's milk (and cheese); a lot of people who have trouble with dairy can actually eat goat dairy products. 2) goat cheese (or chevre) has a great, bold flavor, so you don't need to use much.  I only used about 2 ounces on the pizza...and we know what a cheese hound I am, but it was the perfect amount.

The pizza bakes up in 8- 10 minutes, depending on how thick or thin you roll it.  The dough needs 20 minutes to rest before adding your toppings, but that gives you plenty of time to chop up your veggies.  Throw together a little salad while the pizza bakes and voila!  It's a great way to add lots of veggies to your diet in a simple, delicious way.  I'm already thinking about my next creation...maybe butternut squash, sage, and shallots, topped with a little watercress.  So many possibilities....

Cooking Outside the Box

Last Sunday was my final cooking demo for the season at the Marin farmers' market.  I wanted to go out with a bang, so I fixed one of my favorite creative dishes, a sauteed cantaloupe sauce served over quinoa pasta.

I've never been a big fan of cantaloupe; I think it's a texture thing.  But a year or so ago I saw a recipe for a sauce using cantaloupe that was so unique, I had to give it a try.  If you saute chopped cantaloupe in olive oil, it releases its juices and creates a velvety sauce.  It's fairly sweet, so the addition of tomato paste not only turns it a beautiful color and thicken it up a bit, but lends a nice savory balance to the sweetness.  It also ups the nutrient quotient nicely.  Tomatoes actually become more nutritious the more they are cooked, so tomato paste is one of the most concentrated sources of  lycopene, a powerful antioxidant and potential cancer fighter.  And combining olive oil with tomatoes helps the body better absorb the nutrients.

Take a note from Michael Pollan's Food Rules and get out of the supermarket on this one.  Hit your local farmers' market and take advantage of the gorgeous variety of heirloom tomatoes to add color and dimension to this sauce.

The first time I made this, I used a cantaloupe from the grocery store.  This time of year, however, there are some great melons available at the farmers' markets, and I've been using a Charlynne melon.  It's a little lighter in color and sweeter than a traditional cantaloupe. I'm glad I discovered a way to eat cantaloupe because, like tomatoes, it's a powerful antioxidant and helps to fight free radicals, but most compelling to me is that just one slice of cantaloupe has more beta-carotene (it's one of the richest sources) and Vitamin C than your body can even use in a day.

Just a word about the nutrition stuff:  we hear about antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, etc. and while I'm sure we all realize they're good for us and we should eat foods full of them, do we really know what they do for us?  So let me tell you about the two powerhouses of cantaloupe that I just mentioned.  Our bodies convert beta-carotene into Vitamin A, which is crucial in the production of cells that fight disease.  Vitamin C protects our immune system and helps protect us against heart disease, certain cancers, and the ever-annoying cold.

So now you know...

I also took advantage of another seasonal favorite, peppers, in this dish.  Larry at Triple T Farm in Santa Rosa first turned me on to padron peppers a couple months back.  LOVE them; small crumpled peppers that are mild and sweet, except for the 1 in 10 that's spicy.  I started putting them in everything I cooked.  Last month he introduced me to Shishito peppers (pictured above).  They are very similar to padrons in every way, except for the wayward spicy one.  Just sweet and delicious.  Seek them out and give them a try....

Sautéed Cantaloupe Sauce                                                                                                                         Serves 6

3 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, divided

1 medium onion, thinly sliced

¼ cup chopped shishito or padron peppers

1 cantaloupe, peeled, seeded and cut into bite-sized pieces

2 tablespoon tomato paste

1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika

¼ cup milk or half & half

2 teaspoons lemon zest

Salt & pepper to taste

1 cup diced heirloom tomatoes

¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

1 lb. cooked pasta of your choice

·         Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in large skillet over medium high heat.

·         Add onion and peppers, and cook 3-5 minutes until onions start to soften.

·         Add remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil and cantaloupe.  Sauté 10 minutes until a chunky sauce starts to form.  (You can add some of the starchy pasta in lieu of the olive oil to cut the fat).

·         Add tomato paste and smoked paprika, and cook an additional 2-3 minutes.

·         Remove from heat and add milk or half and half and lemon zest, stirring to combine.

·         Season with salt & pepper

·         Toss with cooked pasta and top with chopped tomatoes, and cheese if desired.

P.S. I didn't add any cheese!  It doesn't need it, it's so good!!

One little tomato sitting in a tree....

Those who know me, even slightly, know that I have not been blessed with a green thumb (thank God I have 5 year-round farmers' markets in my county).  In fact, I often say that the only two things I can manage to keep alive are me and Maxx.  But last year I tried growing tomatoes for the first time.  And I was surprisingly successful.  So this year, feeling a little cocky, I busted out more plants.  I planted four in all....

And then there was one. It was like that Agatha Christie movie I saw as a kid, when one by one each guest was found murdered.  One by one, each of my plants was ripped at the base, leaving nothing but the metal cage that was meant to guide it as it grew to greatness.  I'm usually very happy to live in an area where people and wildlife live together, but when that wildlife messes with garden....not so happy. 

I had almost given up on the one remaining plant, figuring it's time was coming soon, too.  But yesterday I went out and saw not one, but two, little baby tomatoes hanging there.

So while you anxiously await the news about the fate of these two little juicy nuggets, I want to share with you a yummy recipe for my Blistered Tomato-Basil Pesto. Obviously I didn't use MY tomatoes, but a beautiful blend of yellow and red cherry tomatoes...

 A couple notes on my recipe:
1) I use walnuts instead of pine nuts, because I always have walnuts in my freezer and they are much less expensive than pine nuts.  No one has ever noticed the difference; in fact, most people who have had my walnut-basil pesto prefer it.

 2) I only use 1/4 cup of olive oil and then add water to get to the consistency that I want, dramatically cutting the amount of fat in the recipe.  Again, no one is the wiser, but your waistline will thank you.
3) Cooking tomatoes actually makes them more nutritious than eating them raw.  And the combination of tomatoes with olive oil (and when doesn't that happen?!) makes it easier for your body to absorb the nutrients, especially the lycopene.

So eat this up while you wait on the edge of your seat to see how my garden grows.... or doesn't.  And try it over quinoa pasta; I fixed this at the Marin farmers' market this weekend with quinoa pasta, and as people were enjoying the samples, I asked if they noticed a difference in the pasta; they all loved it.  Another great way to get more protein in your diet, but still eat meatless meals -if you're unfamiliar with it, quinoa (pronounced keen-wa) is a complete protein.  Enjoy!

Blistered Tomato-Basil Pesto                                                            Makes 2 cups

2 teaspoons olive oil

1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes

¼ cup chopped walnuts

2 medium-sized garlic cloves, chopped

2 cups loosely packed basil

¼ cup shredded Parmesan cheese

¼ cup olive oil

½ cup water

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon pepper

·         Heat 2 teaspoons olive oil in a skillet over medium high heat.

·         Add tomatoes and cook until skins begin to blister, about 5-6 minutes.  Remove from heat.

·         While tomatoes are cooking, place walnuts and garlic in a food processor process about 20 seconds.

·         Add basil and Parmesan and process until well combined.

·         With motor running, slowly pour the oil through the feed tube, followed by as much water as you need to reach deisred consitency.

·         Add tomaotes, pulsing to combine.  Season with salt and pepper.