Tomato Art

by Lauren

Corn Chowder

It's that time of year :)

Laurie's Breakfast Parfaits

Nectarines, yogurt, and Kashi.  Mmmm. Rich in protein and yet so light!

Linguini with Tomatoes, Grilled Chicken, and Bacon

Stuffed Tomatoes

Starting to run out of things to do with Tomatoes?  Try this delicious recipe!

Fry some bacon in a pan, remove and reserve. Drain most of the fat from the pan.

Saute some onion and pepper (hot pepper if you like) until soft.

Add some garlic right before deglazing the pan with a bit of good white wine.

Let the wine simmer out. Then kill the heat and let sit.

In a bowl, tear up the bacon, some fresh basil, some olive oil, and some balsamic vinegar (I had this amazing Lemon infused White Balsamic vinegar that my parents got for me from Maine - this stuff is amazing)

Use ripe, but firm tomatoes - not overripe.  Cut the top off the tomatoes, squeeze gently upside down over your sink, or whatever, to remove some of the seeds. Then remove the pulp from the tomato, reserving it. Leave a thick enouch wall. Salt the insides and rest upside down over a bowl with a rack, or whatever, to release some of the excess liquid - don't worry that's not where the flavor is:) Let them drain for about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile add the cooled onions and peppers to the bacon mixture.  Add some mozzarella, and the diced tomato pulp - drained.  Give it all a stir and then taste it. Add whatever you think it needs more of.  With that Lemon Basalmic vinegar, mine didn't need a thing - but you might want some salt, or acid like more vinegar or lemon juice.

Stuff the tomatoes to the top.  Mound some cracker crumbs on the top, and a couple little tiny dices of a slat of butter on the top.  Bake in a 400 degree oven for about 15-20 mins. They should just be starting to look a lightly browned on the top.  Sprinkle a bit of parmesan over the tops and bake another 5-10 mins.  Let sit at least 10 mins. to cool and set a bit.  Sprinkle parsley over the top before serving.

Enjoy those garden tomatoes everyone!



Pickles

Well the cucumbers were piling up - just as I had hoped. That means Pickles. There was one cucumber that wouldn't even fit in a quart jar.  My daughter Lauren wanted to pickle it whole so she could slice it and have a pickle slice large enough to cover a whole burger. I thought she was on to something, but since I couldn't fit it in whole I had to pre-slice it - even better. Lol.

Plum tomato, basil, and sausage pizza

Finally! Tomatoes from the garden. Still had pizza dough from what I made over the weekend...and lots of Basil...so, here's another pizza!  Oh, and lots of garlic - also home grown :)

Barbecue Chicken Pizza

Started my day thinking about what I had to do, where I had to go, and - of course - what I wanted to cook :)

I knew I had some chicken thighs in the freezer, and I figured I'd grill them.

As I started thinking about what pantry and household items I needed while I was out - I some how thought of yeast. Not that that is a pantry item I usually think about and keep stocked, but somehow it crossed my mind - it must have been divine intervention. Lol.  Anyway, that immediately spawned the thought of barbeque chicken pizza!  And suddenly I knew what I was doing today :)

Here's the dough after rising...

While the dough was rising I grilled the chicken and red onion.

I first marinated boneless, skinless chicken thighs in low fat Italian dressing for about 20 minutes.

Then seared them on my Infrared grill (that rocks, thanks Mom & Dad!) until they had some nice grill marks.  Dipped each one in a bowl of barbecue sauce.

Then moved them to the low-heat side of the grill to caramelize a bit.

Towards the end, I sliced some red onion, nice and thick, threw them on the grill, and brushed them with some of the same barbecue sauce

Once that grilling was done, I threw the pizza stone on the grill and let it get good and hot.

Meanwhile, I punched down the dough, and let it rest some more.  After resting, I rolled it out as thin as I could get it. If it started getting elastic and shrinking back, I covered it with a damp kitchen towel and let it rest some more.

Then building the pie :)

First the BBQ sauce...

Then the cheese and the onion…

Then the chicken, some fresh oregano, and some more cheese…

By now the grill and the pizza stone were a good 550⁰.

A little bit more than 10 minutes in the 'oven' and…

Let it cool 5 minutes, then slice and serve...

Laurie's Shrimp Primavera

Shrimp Primavera

courtesy of L.V.