tomato help {works-for-me-wednesday}

there's maybe nothing more gross than pale tomatoes.  they're lackluster as far as flavor goes, and as for their texture, sometimes they go straight to grainy... YUCK! 

i almost never buy tomatoes unless i can hold them and smell them, but occasionally we get a great deal through our organic co-op and i risk it and unfortunately they sometimes come looking like this:

sorry, but ain't no way i'm going to eat sad, pale tomatoes like this; neither will we waste good organic produce!  to the rescue: roast them!

slice them in half.  we're going to roast these babies.  drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt.  super simple.  if you want, sprinkle with dried herbs, but do this before the olive oil or the herbs will possibly burn.  burned herbs do not work-for-me.

into the oven with you, little guys!  a little note here: it's best to use a pan with a bit of a lip to catch those wandering juices.  a happy side effect we accidentally discovered is that the acids do a nice job on all the unwanted "seasoning" built up on our pan.  if you actually have a well-seasoned pan, do not use it for this recipe. 

i've tried doing these under the broiler, which is great if they're fairly  ripe and rich in color.  sprinkle those with parmesan and broil just till the cheese browns.  for these critters, though, a little more help was needed.  with a temperature of around 400 degrees, roast them for 30 minutes or so.  we're not going all the way to sun-dried (which you could, which is also delicious), but just till they're nice and gooey and rich, with a golden crust on top.

there you have it.  delicious, delightful tomatoes - saved from their sad pale previous state.  and that's what works for me this wednesday!  if you love this tip and would like to see more, click here!  (temporarily hosted at rocks in my dryer for march 3rd and march 10th. - thanks!)

enjoy!  and if you like what you see, leave a comment!  hugs.

works for me wednesday!

just a few short years ago, i was a cooking maniac.  i was even featured on some local tv stations and was a candidate for a Food Network reality series... one would think i am a super-cook!  flash forward... our family has five homeschooled kids, we are running a family photography business, and i make occasional television appearances.  something's gotta give!  well, cooking gave - now we often grab (gasp!) premade frozen meals or whip up (double-gasp!) canned soup for lunch.  i know, i know, but it's survival!!

here's where my favorite recipe site kicks in... for a decade, i think, i've been loyal to my go-to food site, allrecipes.com.  i love this place!  i can quickly find any amount of recipes both familiar and new.  there's a wealth of information by way of tutorials and ingredient information pages.  i can rate recipes and post my own. i create my own recipe box and shopping lists.  but one of my favorite features about allrecipes.com is the ingredient search where i can type in "ingredients i want" and ingredients i don't want."  it's fabulous for dealing with picky little stinkers individual preferences and also for making the most of what we have in our frugal pantry!  (and even though we're working to be frugal, we are somewhat food-snobs, so this helps us truly balance the two!).  it's also great for sending the oldest ones, who are now cooks in their own right, to find recipes for impromptu cooking sessions with what's-on-hand-in-the-pantry.

i've seen some other sites out there, but in a pinch, my works-for-me go-to site is allrecipes.com.

here's one of my favorite recipes from allrecipes - sesame tilapia.  it's simple and fast and tilapia is both mild and reasonably priced. (and this picture is one from the site - couldn't dig mine up from the files in time!!!  :)  go here for the recipe.

p.s. to see what "works" for other bloggers, visit We Are That Family!!

what's for dinner?

well, technically, what WAS for dinner... this was a night this weekend. a super simple, but delicious, summer meal.
started with fresh basil (gift from next door neighbor - yay!).

had some chicken breasts (the go-to-wonder-meat.) we sliced sweet vidalias and layered them in a casserole dish and topped with fresh spinach.
next we topped with the chicken breasts and seasoned with steak and chicken seasoning blend (the kind you grind as you use it.)



fresh, juicy, sun-warmed tomatoes sliced atop the chicken give it another layer of sweetness.

sprinkle with basil chiffonade. (fancy-talk for fine ribbons. stack your basil leaves and roll them like this:) next, run your chef's knife through, finely cutting into ribbons. (this technique is awesome for any fresh leaves...)
and your "french-for-ribbons" chiffonade...

yummy!

i'm sure you know, but you should always use the quality of wine you'd like to drink when you cook... not just in case you want a sip while you work! this was left from the night before - a sprinkle of Chardonnay (or any white would work...) lends the onions and spinach and chicken some delicious juiciness!

bake at 350 for - well, till it's done... whole-wheat-drop biscuits make it the perfect meal.

purple cauliflower... it's what's for dinner.

yum! i love purple and green together. we picked up purple cauliflower from our last produce co-op. so tonight...

after sauteeing some onions and garlic in a bit of olive oil, i added three heads of cut purple and white cauliflower, around 2 cups of water, and salt and pepper.. pureed with the stick blender, adding a bit of half-and-half... and topped with chopped dill from our friends' 4H garden. next, a salad of fresh spinach, carrots, celery, scallions, and this: queso fresco - a mild crumbly white cheese - right on top! top it all with fresh sliced oranges, and drizzle with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and fresh cracked pepper. enjoy...

holy cauliflower, batman!

... and cherry tomatoes, too!


as if our bounty from the organic produce co-op today wasn't enough, the kids went to harvest a few of their latest "crops" at the 4H gardens. can you even BELIEVE this cauliflower? it was so sweet and juicy right off the head out in the front yard this afternoon. tomorrow night, at bj's request, we'll have it pureed. mmmm!