Taste of Tuesday :: Sun Dried Tomatoes

It's difficult to think anything but pleasant thoughts while eating a homegrown tomato.  ~Lewis Grizzard

This photo above still makes me laugh as I was making tomato-less bolognese sauce while those beauties sat waiting.

And sure, it's been months since I've walked into the kitchen just to see all of our home grown tomatoes staring back at me. But it's only been minutes since I've tasted the sweetness of summer... even with all the cold weather and snow outside. This year, in my effort to not let anything from our gardens go to waste, (and doing so without canning because I haven't been brave enough to take on that endeavor) I decided to make sun dried tomatoes. But instead of the sun, we used our oven. Super easy!! 

Sun Oven Dried Tomatoes: 

Quarter larger tomatoes, half smaller romas, and leave cherry tomatoes as is. Spread onto several baking sheets. (Some websites advised not letting them touch, but mine did and they shrunk up just fine).

Set your oven to the lowest temperature and bake for 6-24 hours. I checked mine after 7 hours and they were finally done after 12 hours. But if you are using larger tomatoes it may take longer. 

Just put them into mason jars and freeze. They are great for on top of salads or just as is. On a cold, gray, dark, winter day, there is nothing better than tasting the sweetness of your homegrown tomatoes.

Taste of Tuesday: GF, SF, DF Curried Butternut Squash Soup

Mmmm... it's that time of year, when squash are abundant and the chill in the air makes me crave soup. 

Looks to me like the tree of life. 

The thing with squash is the cutting it up. I wrestled with this butternut for the better part of an hour with two dull knives (Though squash is known to give even the sharpest knife a run for it's money). I was so proud of myself though when the outcome was a delicious soup. But the very next night, I met Mara Jane King -- "Just put the whole squash in the oven on 400 until your kitchen smells delicious", she said. I couldn't be more thrilled as I have made this soup several more times since - and who cares that we don't have a sharp knife in the house. It's sooooo easy!!!


I found this beautiful recipe from Karina over at Gluten Free Goddess. My edits in red.

Gluten Free, Sugar Free, Dairy Free Curried Butternut Squash

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 medium onion, diced

2 stalks celery, diced

2-3 teaspoons mild gluten-free curry powder

4 cups (diced) butternut squash 

4 to 6 cups light vegetable broth (or fresh water)

Sea salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste

1 tablespoon pure maple syrup or raw agave nectar, to taste

½ to 1 cup coconut milk

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400. Put whole butternut squash on a cookie sheet and cook until your kitchen smells delicious (45minutes to an hour). Take out of oven, let cool until you can easily peel off the skin. Scoop out seeds and such. Cut up. 
Heat the olive oil in a soup pot, over medium heat. Add the onion, celery and curry powder; stir and cook until the onion softens. Add the squash and broth. Cover the pot and bring to a simmer.

Simmer until the squash is very soft and fork tender- maybe 30 minutes. Because I cook the squash in the oven, I simmer for about 10 minutes to meld favors.  

Puree the soup with an immersion blender till smooth. Stir in the maple syrup and coconut milk. Season with sea salt and pepper, to taste.

Warm through gently and serve. Enjoy!!

Taste of Tuesday: Sugar Free, Dairy Free, Gluten Free Apple Crisp (and contemplations on food waste)

The average American wastes more than half a pound of food per day (source). 

This whole idea of food and waste has weighed on me for years. I shop with the intention of cooking up that bok choy only to find it rotting weeks later in the back of the fridge. I try to be a conscious consumer but I'm still guilty. I think I'm most especially effected when I see the food we have grown with our blood, sweat, and tears go to waste. But this year, I was trying my best to put all of our food to good use... and this is coming from someone who hasn't yet learned how to can. The basil got made into pesto which is now stored in cubes in the freezer. I picked all of the tomatoes (including the green ones) in the moonlight before the first frost. And the apples -- cortland and golden delicious -- harvested from our trees and sorted into two piles: apples for eating and apples for baking. In the past, I would have overlooked these worm laden, rotted spotted, mushy apples. Or I might have picked them all with the intention of using them, but watched as the fruit flies swarmed while they rotted in the garage or on the counter. Not this year!! I made applesauce and lots of it. But I still had apples left. And the kicker was that I was doing an intense nutritional program in which I cut out sugar, gluten, and dairy. So pies and crisps seemed out of the question. Until...

I saw this post from my friend Lisa over at Little Coffee Beans. She had concocted a crisp without sugar. Now, to go back a little, Apple Crisp... I grew up on it. Ate it for breakfast (alongside the fruity pebbles) topped with a huge blob of vanilla ice cream. I have monkeyed with the several crisp family recipes over the years and even created a gluten free version. Then a better gluten free version. It's probably the only thing that I can bake without a recipe. But I had yet to experiment with how to make this kid friendly - meaning without sugar. So Lisa inspired me to create my own crisp -- a crisp that I could enjoy even while doing this intense nutritional program and a crisp that I could share with Avi - a boy who eats his veggies and doesn't get sugar. 

So I took a bit of her concoction and tinkered with it to make it not only sugar free, but gluten free and dairy free as well! And because this isn't too sweet, it's actually great for breakfast... far greater than that sugar laden one I ate as a kid. 

Sugar Free, Gluten Free, Diary Free Apple Crisp

• Lots of Organic Apples. Cut into chunks, skins left on. (I used cortland and golden delicious).
• 1 Tbsp organic fresh squeezed lemon juice
• 1 Tbsp arrow root powder
• 1-2 Tbsp of organic coconut oil
• 3/4 (or more) Tbsp organic cinnamon
• 2 drizzles of organic maple syrup
• 1 Cup gluten-free oats 
• 1/4 Cup brown rice flour (though I may try coconut flour next)
• Large handful of your favorite coarsely chopped nuts or seeds

Preheat oven to 375. 

In a glass baking dish (8x8 or larger if you have more apples) combine apples, lemon juice, arrow root and cinnamon together with a drizzle of maple syrup. In a separate pan melt coconut oil and stir in the oats, flour, and any nuts or seeds you are using and another drizzle of maple syrup. Once mixed together nicely (about 2 minutes), remove from heat. Spread mixture evenly over the apples. Bake uncovered for 20 minutes. If browning too much, cover with foil and then cook for another 15-20 minutes. Enjoy!!!

What are the favorites from your childhood that you have remade?

What are you doing to lessen the wasting of food? 

Taste of Tuesday :: Banana & Cinnamon Quinoa Breakfast Deliciousness

A super simple go to breakfast when you have had enough eggs (which can be really nice when you keep chickens).

I love cooking with quinoa because of it's versatility in the kitchen and it's considered a complete protein because it contains all nine of the essential amino acids. I tend to cook up a bunch of quinoa when I have the time (20 minutes). Then this breakfast can be heated quickly when you're in a hurry to get out the door or get your day going or feed your toddler.

1 - 2 Cups cooked sprouted quinoa (less or more depending on how many you're feeding)
1 or 2 bananas mashed with a fork (less or more depending on how many you're feeding)
A splash of milk of your choice (I use rice or hemp or almond depending on what's in the fridge)
A sprinkle of cinnamon

Heat quinoa and banana and milk on medium heat in a sauce pan until warmed through. Serve into beautiful bowls, sprinkle with cinnamon. Sit in the sunshine and enjoy!

Taste of Tuesday: figs

Honey-Carmelized Figs with Yogurt

I made this delicious treat a few weeks ago and thought I would share it as I'm moving into a month of gluten, dairy and sugar free. I'm hoping someone else can enjoy this while I can't.

1 Tbsp honey (plus more for drizzling if you like)

8 oz fresh figs, halved

2 cups plain low-fat Greek yogurt

Pinch of cinnamon

1/4 cup chopped pistachios

1. Heat honey in medium skillet over medium heat. Cook figs, cut sides down, until caramelized, about 5 minutes. 

2. Serve over yogurt with cinnamon and pistachios. Drizzle with honey if desired. 

(Caramelize a pound or more and keep them in your fridge for pairing with oatmeal or cheese)

I pulled this recipe from a magazine but forgot to write down which one. If anyone else knows the source, let me know so I can link it. 

a taste of tuesday: Pea Shoot BLT Salad

BLT Pea Shoot salad

Pea shoots are basically the leaves of young pea plants. I got ours from our local farmer's market.

But I borrowed this picture from here

Everything tastes better with meat candy. That's what my brother, Gene, calls bacon. Meat candy.. and there is good reason for it. This recipe (from Everyday w/ Rachael Ray) is fun, easy and delicious, but not one that I would recommend eating everyday. Even though 3 of the 4 main ingredients are veggies, the bacon (and accompanying grease) makes this dish far from what I'd call 'healthy'... but it was delicious none the same! Did I say it was delicious? 

Ingredients

• 4 ounces sliced bacon, cut crosswise into 1/4-inch pieces
• 1 large clove garlic, smashed and peeled
• 12 ounces fresh pea shoots
• 1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
• Salt and pepper

Directions

1. In a wok or large skillet, cook the bacon over medium-high heat, stirring, until nearly crisp, about 3 minutes. I prefer to cook my bacon in the toaster oven at 400 for 15-18 minutes - less mess and you can control the amount of grease that ends up in your final dish. Cook and then transfer bacon and a little bit of it's geasy goodness into a large skillet.
2. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the pea shoots and stir-fry until just wilted, about 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes; toss. Season with salt and pepper. Serve hot.

What's your favorite pea shoot recipe?

a taste of tuesday: Quick Rhubarb Pickles

Quick Rhubarb Pickles

I love rhubarb. But not for the reasons one might think. It's not the taste I'm in love with, but the memories. 1980-something, summertime, free range of the neighborhood for whatever game we (anywhere from 4-15 neighborhood kids) came up with, munching on the tart stalks of rhubarb that grew behind the Garbe's house. 

This is an über easy recipe (from Everyday with Rachael Ray) for that overgrown rhubarb you have in your garden. 

If you'd rather use your rhubarb for something sweet, check out this rhubarb cardamom galette.

Ingredients

• 2 cups cider vinegar
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons coarse salt
• 1/2 teaspoon yellow mustard seeds
• 10 whole cloves
• 10 whole black peppercorns
• 1 piece  (1 1/2 inch) fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1 lemon
• 1 pound fresh rhubarb, cut crosswise into 3/4-inch pieces

Directions

1. In a nonreactive medium saucepan, combine the vinegar, sugar, salt, mustard seeds, cloves and peppercorns. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar is just dissolved, about 5 minutes. Add the ginger, then use a vegetable peeler to slice strips of zest from the lemon; add to the saucepan. Let the liquid cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes.
2. Divide the rhubarb among 3 clean, small glass jars. ladle in the cooled brine mixture. Top with the lids and refrigerate the pickles for 2 days before eating. (The pickles will keep refrigerated for up to 1 month.)

They taste great! Use as a snack, side dish, or to top a salad. 

a taste of tuesday: Energy Balls

I have been experimenting with making organic energy balls. There are a million different recipes for them. Literally. Type in "energy ball recipe" into google and come back with 4,990,000 results.  So when I say millions, I'm not lying. But I have to say that my blogger friend, Kim at your green baby, has been most of my inspiration with all the yummy delicious snacks she makes for her little guy. So, last week I scoured the pantry and came up with this concoction: 

Gluten Free Organic Energy Balls Recipe:

1 Tbsp organic hemp seeds 

1 Tbsp organic chia seeds

1 Tbsp organic honey
1/4 C organic sunflower seeds
1/4 C organic pumpkin seeds
1/4 C organic coconut flakes (I crushed them into smaller pieces after I took this photo)
1/4 C organic gluten free oats
1/4 C organic dried cranberries
1/2 C organic nut butter


Note: Next time I will use more nut butter since I kept adding more ingredients. My end product was a bit crumbly. You decide how much you need based on what texture you like. And experiment with ingredients... try adding granola instead of oats, agave instead of honey, chocolate chips or raisins instead of cranberries.  The possibilities are endless!!

Combine everything in a large bowl and mix well.

Roll into balls and set on wax paper and refrigerate minimum 1 hour. Enjoy.

Everyone in our family loved these... and they went so fast I didn't get a chance to take another 'pretty' photo of them... or a photo of any one of us enjoying them!! 

What is your favorite snack for the whole family?