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Mmm…sauteed tomato pizza sauce
Absolutely the last of the patio cherry tomatoes. Mrs J hauled the last container away today after harvesting what tomatoes that remained. We wanted to do something nice with the last batch. We had enjoyed the sauteed tomato and pasta dishes so much we decided to try the same process for a pizza sauce. We believe it worked.
Enjoy!
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Now this was a surprise
Big ol’ spider built a web in my basil overnight. It’s a fairly common garden spider.
Argiope aurantia
A Quick Dinner
Busy doing chores and packing for my trip. What to do for dinner? Especially when I’m trying to deplete my refrigerator of fresh foods that will certainly go bad while I’m gone. How about a quick pasta dinner (sorry no pictures, did I mention I was busy packing)?
I put the pasta on to cook. Meanwhile I placed some cleaned baby spinach in a plastic colander, diced up a couple of tomatoes and pulled out some spices. I tossed the tomatoes with olive oil, garlic, basil, oregano, salt and pepper. When the pasta was ready, I drained it in a colander that I held over the spinach colander, wilting the spinach with the hot pasta water. I set the spinach aside and quickly rinsed the pasta with cool water. I drained the spinach well and then tossed the pasta, spinach and tomato mixture together. Toss with some Parmesan and dinner is served.
Marinated Green Beans
Spent Saturday morning at my favorite farm stand. It’s a bit further away, but compared to ones closer to my home, the prices there can’t be beat. My bag full of veggies cost me what just a handful cost nearby. Worth the trip, especially when you can combine it with lunch with a good friend.
I’ve been enjoying the fresh produce. Breakfast today was a smoothie that included fresh pear, peach and carrots. Lunch is Gazpacho and fresh watermelon. There has been a lot of corn on the cob, too. Trying a new recipe tonight for dinner, look for that post later in the week. Here’s a little hint: it will include apple butter, chilies and chicken thighs.
The green beans looked really good and I picked up a bag full. I thought it might be fun to marinate them. They were yummy.
I didn’t really measure everything, but I’ll do my best to give a recipe here.
Marinated Green Beans
- 1 lb green beans, cleaned and trimmed
- 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
- 1 tsp crushed garlic
- 1/2 tsp crushed dried basil
- 4 chopped green onions
- 1 tomato, chopped
- 2 tbsp olive oil (opt)
Steamer basket, saucepan, bowl, serving bowl
Steam beans until tender-crisp 3-5 minutes. Immediately submerge in ice water. Drain and dry completely. In a bowl, combine remaining ingredients, EXCEPT oil. Toss with green beans and refrigerate 30 minutes or overnight. You can toss with oil just before serving. You don’t want to include the oil in the original mixture because it will inhibit the beans absorbing the vinegar mixture.
Mmm…pretty dinner
Meatballs, sauteed tomatoes with fresh oregano, garlic, basil, and thyme all tossed with rigatoni and sprinkled with Parmesan. Meatballs were garlic pork sausage, fennel seeds, fresh basil, Parmesan, bread crumbs, and an egg. Saute the tomatoes and herbs in the same pan you cooked the meatballs in, add some pasta water and a tablespoon of tomato paste.
Mmm…pretty sammich
This is maybe the prettiest sandwich I’ve ever put together. Sourdough garlic bread, ham, salami, pepper jack, colby, and mozzarella cheeses, sauteed tomatoes (I’ll be so missing these guys when they are gone!), and drizzled with herbed olive oil. Basil in lieu of lettuce.
Awesome Sauce [repost]
I’ve made some tomato sauces this summer that qualify for the label. I’m pretty sure I’ve mentioned this one before, and teased the recipe. It is pretty straightforward to make. Juice a bunch of tomatoes and start them boiling on the stove top. Now start adding stuff: The one I’m making today has a head of garlic in it, roughly minced. I brought in some fresh herbs from the patio garden, a good wad of basil, several sprigs of rosemary, and the same for thyme. We started some oregano but it died out early and we make do with store bought dried. There are two grated carrots in there, and a minced onion. A few ribs of celery diced finely. Salt and fresh ground back pepper, a few tablespoons of olive oil. I bet I’m forgetting something, but this will get you very close.
All that’s left to do is simmer the sauce down until it is thick enough to suit you. Today I started with about six quarts of juice. I’m not there yet, but I expect to jar one quart, or less. This stuff makes great pizza sauce. On pasta it is, well, awesome.
[Edit:] Made three pints.
Mmm…awesome pie
Pizza! pie, that is. We found some fresh mozzarella in little cherry sized balls, called ciliegine. They are perfect for a fast pie made on one of my frozen fun crusts. Also on the pie: My awesome sauce, fresh basil, and sauteed grape and cherry tomatoes with a sprinkling of aged Parmesan.
Mmm…celebrating with pizza!
Nothing earth shaking. I passed a self defined milestone with my Flickr page. Don’t really need a reason for pizza. I spread some awesome sauce on one of my fun pizza crusts, added some sliced mozzarella, some fresh basil leaves, a number of roasted grape tomatoes (and the olive oil they are packed in), and grated on some asiago. Yummy!
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TaMara
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