You Say Tomato I Say Tomahto!!

Tomatoes, who has tomatoes…I DO!!!!!!!!

My Dad’s garden is producing a plenty, his plants are 8 feet tall and going wild!!!

I have a few pictures here from the beginning stages, they are about 5 to almost 6 foot at this point,
my Dad here is growing, leaf lettuce, kale, peppers, cucumbers, onions, green beans, eggplants and of course Tomatoes!!!
There maybe be more he grows but I can remember, I do know he has another patch that asparagus is in and the green house that things grow too…

 

but I just decided to write this blog about tomatoes last night, so I don’t have recent pictures of it 🙂 these picture were about the 2nd week of June

So I have been eating a lot of tomatoes lately, but they have really only been from my Dad’s, I don’t buy them usually, but I do love when I get them from him and his garden.

As anyone knows they just taste better than you can get in the store and it’s really the only eat time I do eat them.
My Mom and Dad will freeze them, stew them, roast them, sauce them, slice them for BLT (which I think they east daily during the summer) and chop them for salads.  Plus whatever else they do with them 🙂

I on the other hand I tend to eat them a little differently 🙂

First I blanch them and remove the skins, I have issues with the skins, that’s all I will say 🙂

Here are a few pictures of ways that I have enjoyed using my Dad’s fresh tomatoes from his garden.

I hope you will enjoy too!!!

Making sauce, in my Vitamix are tomatoes, roasted garlic, some Italian herbs, red pepper flakes and salt.
The Vitamix will also cook it too you let it run about 5-7 minutes and you have hot soup or sauce 🙂

Mixing it all up

 

Freezing some for winter 🙂

Cooking some down too

This is the cherry tomatoes, sauteed with garlic, onions and spinach
tossed with the pasta, then fold in some fresh mozzarella pearls
then a drizzle of some balsamic glaze…Delish!!!!

My all time favorite thing in the world is
Polenta with fresh tomatoes and a poached egg!!!
This is heaven for me!!!

 

another day again…YUMMY!!!

This is my FBT…Fake bacon and tomato 😛

Ran out of the cornmeal to make polenta
So I made couscous instead…Delish too!!!

This was last night’s dinner
tomatoes, roasted garlic tossed with pasta and some fresh mozzarella cubes
I was talking about making this a work…so ladies this is what I made…simple and quick 🙂

Oh and here is the kale and I made some kale chips…very good with a
sprinkle of kosher salt and garlic powder 🙂

 

Here are couple of links of 2 more of my blogs that I used tomatoes in the past
First up is my Tomato Cobbler – this turned out really really good so if you
want something a little different try this recipe.

 Second is Orzo Salad with Basil, Tomato & Feta – I made this at one
of my outdoor cooking classes last year.

Enjoy the rest of the summer everyone!!!

What’s next here hopefully sooner than later
my trip to Bourbon Country 🙂

Italian Roasted Shrimp!!

This dish is so easy and quick and its great over polenta, pasta or would be great just served as an appetizer with crostini’s.

We have this great “Red Argentine Shrimp” and it is simply delicious, I have cooked with it several times and its always a big hit 🙂

Ingredients

in skillet add a little oil and shallots

then add garlic & oregano

then tomatoes (sorry the picture is blurry)

top with the shrimp

Mix panko, cheese and parsley together

 

add oil

 

mix again

sprinkle over top shrimp and bake

you can serve over polenta

or over pasta

• Time: 30 minutes
• Difficulty: easy
• Print

Red Argentine Shrimp (about 4-5 per person)

1 large can diced tomatoes with garlic & onion (about 4 cups)
1 large shallot, chopped
1 tsp. garlic, minced
1 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. agave or honey

3/4 cup panko breadcrumbs
1/2 cup grated fresh Parmesan cheese
2 tbsp. Italian parsley, chopped
3 tbsp. olive oil

In a large skillet add a little oil and shallots over medium heat, cook for 5 minutes, add garlic & oregano, stir to combine and add tomatoes, continue to cook for 2 minutes.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees

Mix in a small bowl panko, cheese and parsley, add oil and thoroughly mix, add salt and pepper to taste.  Place shrimp on top of the tomato mixture and sprinkle breadcrumb mixture over top, and bake for about 10 minutes or until shrimp is done and breadcrumbs are golden brown.

Meanwhile make your pasta or polenta and serve shrimp right over top.

Which ever way you serve it Enjoy!!!

 

Key Lime Margarita Bars!!!

I just love Key Lime!!!

Give me anything Key Lime…cake, cookies, Ice cream, yogurt, pie, candy, I think you get the picture 🙂

So I thought I would make a little something for the “taste tasters” in  out office 🙂

I was going to do something with chocolate or Key Lime and the word in the office was Key Lime since it was the summer.

So by using the pretzels in the crust I thought, oh salt…lime…okay Margarita!!!  Of course minus the Tequila 😦

But if you wanted to add tequila you could, what I would do is cut the lime juice in half adding the tequila as the other half (1/4 cup lime juice & 1/4 cup tequila).  But then add the zest of 3-4 limes instead of one, this will bring out the lime flavor, but I guess if you love tequila you could add all tequila and then just more lime zest.

I think if I was going to use Tequila, I would make the batter with out the juice, mix together, then add some Tequila and taste it, so you don’t over power it with Tequila 😛

Ingredients

Crush your pretzels, I did not crush them finely because I wanted to
make the texture like coarsely chopped nuts

Add pretzels and sugar to a bowl

 

add melted butter and mix together

 

mixed

Press mixture into a 9×13 sprayed pan and bake

 

Meanwhile whisk eggs, milk, lime zest and juice together

 

Baked crust, let cool about 15 minutes

pour mixture over top of crust

 

Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes

baked

Slice add lime zest for a garnish

Eat and enjoy

• Time: 2hrs
• Difficulty: easy
• Print

Crust

1 1/2 cups pretzels, crushed
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 sticks butter, melted

Mix all together in a bowl, then press into a 9×13 pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for 9 minutes.  Let cool 15 minutes.

Meanwhile make batter

2 can 14 oz. sweetened condensed milk
3 eggs, at room temp
1/2 cup Key Lime or lime juice (see note above if you want to add Tequila)
zest of 2 limes and extra for garnish

Whisk together in a medium bowl, then pour over top the baked crust, spread evenly and bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.  Center will not jiggle and edges will be light brown.

Let cool completely on counter, then refrigerate till cold, over night if you can.  You can garnish the top with lime zest or if you serve pieces individually you can add strips of lime zest on top of each piece.

“CHEF” El Jefe!!

“the Chief” or “the Boss”

When I first heard about this movie and saw the trailer I thought this looks like a really cute funny movie.

Here is the wiki if you want to read about it http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chef_(film)

As I sat in the movie theater as the credits rolled, my mind was reeling, I was like what did I just see!!

The trailer

 

Feeling of inspiration  was so overwhelming, I just wanted to leave the theater and go and COOK!!!

There was so much about this movie that I could relate too, the passion in cooking  and sharing it with other people!!

Whether you are a Chef or Foodie you will love and understand this Movie, you will walk away with the same feeling of joy and inspiration that I did…if you are not…you will walk away and say oh that was a cute and funny movie.

There were so many scenes that I just loved…I think the big one (well all food scenes really) was the making “Grilled Cheese” scene, really the part when he starts to eat it 😛

The crunch…the CRUNCH!! was out of control, the sound of that Crunchy bread and the gooey cheese hanging from the bread, it was like I was there eating it myself.  I could smell it, I could feel the crunch and I could taste it!!!

Here is that scene

 

The food scenes have been described as ‘Food Porn”  and have all been “designed” just like the set is designed, the food cooking scenes were designed by Chef Roy Choi, he worked as an technical adviser.  Chef Roy Choi is a Genius in my mind!!

He also sent actor Jon Favreau who directed, co-produced, written and starred in, to French culinary school and then had him train in several of Choi’s kitchens.
Here is a behind the scenes clip with Chef Choi and Jon Favreau

 

I just loved every minute of this film and have already gone back and to see it again with my best foodie friend Danny, he got the movie just like I did 🙂

I have made my takes on some of the food that was made in the movie here are couple, of course the “Grilled Cheese” and the “Pasta” scene.

For the “The Cuban” sandwich, I search the Cincinnati area for the best, some good some not so good, but I found a place “Paula’s Cafe” downtown.  I heard that the owner Paula was from Miami and the sandwich was pretty authentic, so I finally got down there and had it…it was the best i had yet.  Pork could have been a little more and spread out on the bun, but everything else was perfect!!!   If you are in the area I recommend the Cafe, it is only open M-F 10:30 am to 2:30 pm and its crowded!!!  Its small so getting it to go is popular if there are no seats, I went at 1:15 pm and it was starting to clear out, by 1:30 pm only a few people.  But the “To Go” line was really non-stop, soup of the day (cream of chicken with wild rice) and the Tuna Salad seemed to be the most popular for the “To Go” customers.  Also the friendliest  waitresses around town!!!!!  I will be going back for sure!!

Enjoy my pictures and it the Movie “Chef” is playing still near you go see it!!

Grilled Cheese

Pasta 🙂

The Cuban from Paula’s Cafe

So if have a passion for food, then please go see this movie, you will not be disappointed, I can’t wait till I can get it on DVD 🙂

Apple Cake

This recipe I first made because I was teaching a cooking class and I was using different beers and Redd’s Apple Ale had just came out.

Which if you never tried it, it really is a great light beer, its very refreshing, when I first tasted it my first thought was this beer would be fantastic on an extremely HOT!! day 🙂 
It just gave me that refreshing feeling…I thought it was great, so I paired it with this Apple Cake.

(I was doubling the cake in these pictures, I used a 11×15 pan)

Ingredients (missing in photo, butter and brown sugar)

 

 

 

Peel, core and slice apples

 

 

 

add flour, cinnamon and baking powder, whisk together

 

Add softened butter and brown sugar

 

 

Cream together

 

add eggs and vanilla

 

when mixed

 

add 3rd of flour, mix, then half applesauce, mix
another 3rd flour, mix, rest of the applesauce, mix
add rest of flour, mix

 

 

fold in the flour on the sides

 

spread mixture in sprayed baking dish

 

layer you apples over top and bake

 

Meanwhile in a sauce pan add cider, beer & brown sugar

 

reduce down and let cool slightly

 

Baked

 

pour over cake using a pastry brush to spread around

 

 

Then let cool down, then slice and serve

Recipe – Apple Cake

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 3/4 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. salt
2 cups brown sugar, packed, divided
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
3 large eggs
1 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 large apples, peeled, cored, sliced
1 1/2 cups apple cider
1 cup Redd’s Apple Ale

Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees, spray a 9 inch square pan.

In a medium bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.  In a large bowl beat with a mixer butter and 1 1/2 cups brown sugar for 3 minutes.  Add vanilla and eggs, beat until combined, reduce speed to low; add flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with 2 additions of applesauce and beat until just combined, scrap the sides and fold in by hand.

Pour batter into pan and smooth out, arrange apple slices in rows on top, if you like more apples you certainly use more, and overlap them more closely.

Bake until toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs, 45 minutes to 1 hour.  Set on wire rack to cool about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile in a medium sauce pan add cider, beer and remaining brown sugar cook over medium-high heat until reduced to about 1 cup and let cool slightly.  With a pastry brush brush mixture all over the top of the cake, letting drip down the sides.  Let cool, then serve.

If you did not want to use beer you can just add more cider.

This cake is super most and the cider/beer reduction is so good, soaks right in 🙂

Enjoy!!!

Brown Bread!!

No I don’t mean like Whole Wheat bread…I mean Brown Bread, this is a sweet or quick bread and bake in a CAN!!  

Yes I said a can…you know a can that veggies come in or soup 

I grew up having brown bread in our house my Mom would make this as well as my Grandma…I don’t think I ever thought it was odd baking it in a can…I was a kid it was a cool thing 🙂

Wikipedia says – 

New England or Boston brown bread is a type of dark, slightly sweet steamed bread (usually a quick bread) popular in New England. It is cooked by steam in a can, or cylindrical pan.
Brown bread’s color comes from a mixture of flours, usually a mix of several of the following: cornmeal, wheat, whole wheat, graham flour, or rye, and from the addition of sweeteners like molasses and maple syrup. Leavening most often comes from baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) though a few recipes use yeast. Raisins are often added. The batter is poured into a can, and steamed in a kettle. While most variations are quick breads, and can be made in less than an hour, several commercial brands are available. Brown bread is somewhat seasonal, being served mostly in fall and winter, and is frequently served with baked beans.

I really had forgotten about this Brown Bread until I read this blog “A Small Insight” http://asmallinsight.wordpress.com/2013/04/09/mammas-fruit-loaf/
Lucy call it “Mamma’s Fruit Loaf and when I read this post and saw what it was, I immediately thought of Brown Bread 🙂 

So go to her blog and check her out and her recipe for her Mamma’s Fruit Loaf 🙂

All  know is that I really was not a big fan growing up, but now this stuff if great and I like mine with butter, now my Mom likes her’s with cream cheese.  So its up to you on which way you eat it, its also good heated in the microwave 🙂

My recipe here is is made with a couple of can, I also used small paper loaf pan, easy to give as gifts and I made some today for our office and I used a Bundt pan and it just came out so nice…perfect with you were having people over for coffee or tea, it’s perfect.

Now I did compare my brown bread to the ‘Can” kind you find in the store and let me say, I thought the store bought one was very dense, dry, very little raisins compared to mine.  And the flavor well I am sorry to say it was just plan awful…sorry if you like it, I just didn’t care for it 🙂

Store bought

 

Ingredients

 

Raisins and water in a small sauce pan

 

add flour, salt, baking soda and bran/bran buds to bowl 

 

Mix together

cream butter and sugar

 

 

stir in egg and vanilla

 

 

add dry mixture and stir a little

 

add raisin mixture

 

Fold to combine

 

pour batter into your containers

 

bake

 

this is the can

 

this looks so good

 

this is store on left and mine on right

 

You can see that mine has so many more raisins

 

Both buttered and ready to eat

 

Out come, like I said did not care for the store bought, took one bite 😦

Mine oh it looks so good!!!!

Brown Bread Recipe

1 1/2 -2 cups raisins
2 cups water
1 cup Bran or Bran Buds Cereal
1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup granulated sugar
2 tbsp. butter, softened
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla

4 – 16oz. cans (fill 2/3 full)- bake for 35-55 minutes, small loaf pans (fill half full) – bake 30 minutes, large loaf pan (fill half full to 2/3’s) – bake 40 – 50 minutes, bundt pan (whole recipe) – bake 45 minutes.  With any of these just keep an eye on it, when you stick a toothpick or skewer in bread it should come out clean, it then is done.   Cool upside down on a cooling rack.

Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees

In a small to med sauce pan add water and raisins, bring to a boil over med-high heat, once it boils, remove from heat and set aside for 10 minutes.

In a small bowl add flour, bran/bran buds, salt and baking soda, stir to mix…set aside
In a large bowl cream together butter and sugar for 1 minute, then stir in egg and vanilla, then add dry mixture, stir it a little and raisin mixture, fold to fully combine.

Pour into your WELL greased or spray baking container, and bake.  Let cool enough to handle and then you can dig in 🙂

The Bundt pictures

 

Savory Tomato Cobbler!!

Okay so my Dad has a ton of Tomatoes…wait let me capitalize that “A TON” from his garden…I think he gets like 20 a day 🙂

So I was thinking what could I make…hhmmmm oh what about at Tomato Cobbler!! 

Now this turned out in my mind just okay, after I made it I tasted a piece and thought I could make it better for sure 🙂

I then hopped in my car to take the over to my “food tasters” my “parents” 🙂

And they absolutely loved it!!!!!!!!  I was so surprised but very happy.

When I went to the office the next day someone brought in a huge bag of fresh roma tomatoes from somebody’s garden, and as people were in our kitchen getting the tomatoes 🙂  

Pat one of the many Great Men that work in our Corporate office, said “Oh I just love tomatoes”…I then said well you would love this new recipe that I came up with, I’ll take some of these tomatoes here and I will make it and bring it in for everyone to try.

So I did…and well as I’m sitting here typing this I have getting lots of emails and people stopping by and telling how good it was and can I get the recipe 🙂  Mostly from all the Great Women in our office 🙂

I am so happy that everyone loves it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!   Now I did change it a little from the first time I made it today so here is the recipe!!

Ingredients – added fresh basil – not in picture

 

score your tomatoes

boil your water

add tomatoes

peel tomatoes

 

chop or squish tomatoes add to a colander to drain, keep juices

add melted butter and sugar together

mix 

add flour, seasonings, salt, pepper, baking powder mix

then add cheese and fresh chopped basil

add milk

 

mix together

baking dish I used

add batter to baking dish

smooth out

add tomatoes

then 1 cup of juices from tomatoes

bake

add basil and cheese and bake till melted

this is the one I made of the office, didn’t take a picture till it was almost gone 🙂

 

Recipe – Savory Tomato Cobbler

I used a 2.75 qt. baking dish   Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

Batter

1/4 cup sugar
1/2 stick butter, melted
1/2 cup milk
1 cup flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. black pepper
2 tsp. Southwestern seasoning, **See Note below
1 tsp. Italian seasoning,  **See Note below
3 tbsp. fresh basil, chopped, plus extra for topping
1 2/3 cup fresh Parmesan/Romano cheese, shredded, divided  ***See Note below

1 3/4 to 2 cups tomatoes, skinned and drained

Spray your baking dish really good

Boil water in a large pot, score your tomatoes on the bottom with an “X”
Once water in boiling add tomatoes and boil for 30 seconds to 1 minute depending on size.
Pull them out and take a paper towel to pull skin off, then core and place in a colander over a large bowl.  Add all tomatoes to colander then squish with your hands to release all juices, let drain as long as you can or over night in the fridge.  (you will need the juice)

Batter – in a medium bowl add sugar and melted butter and stir to combine, then add flour, seasonings, salt, pepper, basil, cheese, baking powder and mix and fold to combine, then stir in milk.  This will be sticky, once combined then spread out evenly into baking dish.

Top batter with tomatoes, then use 1 cup of the juices from the drained tomatoes (if you don’t have 1 cup add cold water to make 1 cup)

Pour over tomatoes the 1 cup of juices, then bake for 1 hour,  once done you can top the cobbler with some more fresh chopped basil all over it and then sprinkle the rest of the cheese all over as well.  The cheese will melt a little or you can return to the oven for a few minutes more to melt.  Let set for 10 minutes before serving.

****Seasonings note – the southwestern blend that I used had a combination of cumin, garlic, oregano, cilantro leaves, coriander and chives.  To make this I would take a heaping 1/4 tsp of each, that would make up what you need for this recipe.  Or you can just use Italian seasoning entirely for this recipe.

****Cheese note – in my pictures I have Parmesan and Romano cheese, you do not have to use both you can just use Parmesan cheese.  But Please…you must you fresh….you can shred a wedge or you can buy in a tub already shredded.

DO NOT use the Non-refrigerated kind in the Jar!!!

This dish would be great with a nice big salad!!  I hope you will give it a try!!!  Enjoy!!

Banana Bread!!!!

Okay who doesn’t like Banana Bread 🙂

I love Banana anything…cakes, muffins, cookies, bread, ice cream, yogurt, candy!!!  

Oh and have you seen the **NEW** Dole Dippers, slices of bananas dipped in dark chocolate and FROZEN can you say

YUMMMMMMMMYYYY!!!!!!   

I can, I have had them and they are addicting, they even have them with chopped almonds sprinkled on top too 🙂  They come 6 packages in the box, 100 calories a package, so well worth it 😛

So have a pack of those so when you have a slice of this Banana Bread you will not feel so guilty 🙂

So we’ve all had the few bananas sitting on the counter that are slightly or way past their prime…right 😛

I think what most people think of when that happens to the bananas is….BANANA BREAD TIME!!

So here’s my Banana Bread recipe 🙂  Hope you enjoy it!!

Ingredients

 

whisk together, four, salt and baking soda

 

add bananas to bowl and mash

then add sour cream and vanilla to bananas

mix together

cream butter and sugar

for about 3 minutes

 

add egg yolks

beat to combine

fold in half flour mixture

 

then add banana mixture and rest of dry

 

 

beat egg whites just until frothy

 

fold into batter, but don’t over work it

 

I used mini loaf pans, you can also find paper baking loaf size too, for easy gift giving

 

 

Then bake and done

 

This recipe is so moist you will never use another 🙂

Recipe

1 stick of butter, softened
1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs, yolks and whites separated
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
4 tbsp. sour cream
3 overripe bananas, mashed
1 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 325 degrees

pans – 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 x 2 1/2 loaf pan, or mini loaf pans or small bundt pan.

In a small bowl add mashed banana, sour cream and vanilla, mix to combine.

In another small bowl add flour, salt and baking soda, whisk to combine, set aside.

Cream butter and sugar together in a large bowl for about 3 minutes, then add egg yolks and beat until combined.
Fold in 1/2 of dry mixture, then add banana mixture and the rest of the dry.

In a clean dry bowl add egg whites and beat for about 30 – 45 seconds just until frothy, then fold egg whites into the batter.

Just until combined, try not to over work the batter.

Bake for regular size loaf pan 45 minutes to 1 hour, mini loaf pans about 30 minutes, check by inserting a toothpick in the center and comes out clean.

Enjoy!!!!

Zucchini and Nectarine Crisp

So this weekend was my Mom’s Birthday and I was trying to come up with a dessert that was different. I had a few Nectarines and I thought…cobbler…crisp???? but not enough to a full recipe and I’ve done that before….but not with zucchini 🙂

So this is what I came up with and I thought it was yummy!!! 😛

Ingredients
a co-worker gave me some nice spices from Penzeys, so I used them, otherwise I would
have used whole nutmeg and grated it myself 

peel, slice zucchini

put into large skillet

add lemon juice, butter, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and brown sugar, stir and cook

meantime, peel and slice nectarines, and set aside

once zucchini has cooked and softened, remove from heat

fold in nectarines

pour into a 9×9 (8×8 will work too)

make the crisp topping

add cold butter cubes, mix with fingers, or use pastry cutter

you want it to be crumbly, about pea size pieces

sprinkle on top of zucchini mixture

bake

Recipe – Zucchini & Nectarine Crisp

Filling 

3 medium zucchini, peeled, halved lengthwise, then sliced
3 good size nectarines, peeled, sliced, set aside
3 tbsp. butter
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup lemon juice

Add zucchini slices to large skillet, add butter, lemon juice, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt, cook over medium high heat, once butter is melted and mixture starts to boil, reduce heat to medium and continue to cook for about 5 minutes until zucchini is softened.  Remove from heat and fold in nectarines, spray a 9×9 or 8×8 baking dish and pour mixture in baking dish.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Topping

1 cup rolled oats
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup cold butter, cut in cubes
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon

Add all dry ingredients to a medium bowl, then add butter, with your fingers squeeze butter cubes with dry ingredients, to make a crumbly mixture.   Sprinkle mixture all over zucchini mixture and bake for 35 to 45 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly around the edges.

Serve with sweet whipped cream or vanilla ice cream….Enjoy!!!

Summertime Pasta!

Summertime, don’t you love it 🙂

I love it when its not “humid” 😦  if you have a breeze then its not that bad, but here in the Greater Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky area it seems to be humid a lot…or maybe its just that I only remember when I’m hot and humid instead of when its just hot without the humidity 😛

I recently bought some nice mini heirloom tomatoes and some oyster and shiitake mushrooms, not really sure what I was going to make when I got home but I knew I’d come up with something.

Once I got home I had some fresh spinach (from my Dad’s garden), I thought salad but then I was like I know pasta!!

I also had some fresh mozzarella, lets talk fresh mozzarella for a minute…I LOVE IT!!!

Give it to me any way and I love and for the summer once your tomatoes come up in your gardens 🙂
You can make Insalata Caprese with tomato slices, sliced fresh mozz, fresh basil, a touch of salt a drizzle of oil olive and you have it

Now I like balsamic vinegar on mine and most of the time I only use the vinegar and no olive oil, and as I’ve said in several posts we sell a fantastic balsamic vinegar, this is so important to spend a little more money and get a good aged balsamic vinegar.  The difference will change you life…okay maybe not your life but your taste buds will be very happy 🙂 

So back to Fresh Mozzarella, it comes in many forms as you can see

For this dish I had the Ciliegine already in my fridge so that is what I used

and here is what else I put in my Summertime Pasta!!

Ingredients

I started in skillet with a little olive oil and crushed red pepper, which you can leave out if you don’t like a little heat 🙂

then I added my shallots and mushrooms, cooked them until a nice brown in color

  

Then I added the tomatoes, some red wine & balsamic 

    

I scrapped the bottom of the pan to get up all those good brown bits
Added a lid and turned it on medium low till all my tomatoes in all
their juiciness burst 🙂

I added my cooked pasta and fresh spinach

  

just tossed that through and added my fresh Mozz (ciliegine)

and then served it right on up 🙂

Recipe

1 pkg. spaghetti, cooked as directed
1 – 2 pounds mini heirloom tomatoes (cherry or grape tomatoes will do)
1-2 large shallots, sliced
8 oz – 12 oz mushrooms (I used oyster and shiitake)
2 tsp. fresh garlic, I wanted more garlic  so I used 9 cloves 🙂
2 tbsp. olive oil
1/2 – 1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
3/4 – 1 cup sweet red wine***
1/4 cup good balsamic vinegar
2-3 cups packed fresh spinach
1 container of fresh ciliegine mozzarella
salt and pepper to taste

***Red Wine note – I used 100% concord grape wine, red moscato would work too, but can use red or a nice white as well, this is up to you and what you like…don’t want to add wine, add a little more balsamic and some of the pasta water to make it more saucy.

Cook pastas as directed

In a large skillet over medium heat add oil and crushed red pepper flakes if using, once oil is hot add mushrooms and shallots, cook until nicely caramelized.  
Then add tomatoes, red wine, balsamic and grated or minced garlic, stir, scrapping the brown bits off the bottom of the skillet, cover and turn on medium low.  

Once tomatoes start to soften and burst, taste for seasonings add salt or pepper if desired, drain pasta, add pasta to skillet along with spinach, toss through just as spinach starts to wilt, then fold in the mozzarella and serve!!

servings 4 to 6, cut in half for 1-3 servings.

Just look at that mozzarella melt…Love it…I hope you make this and enjoy!!!