Donut Army

This is the week of tomato-heavy recipes, for sure! For those of you unsure of how to go through the 10, 20 or 30 pounds of tomatoes you may be getting from your summer CSA box - especially those of us getting them for half off through Johnson's Backyard Garden - let's go with something simple today! Highly recommended. Linguine with Tomatoes and Basil Silver Palate 4 tomatoes, cut into 1/2" cubes 1 lb soft cheese, crumbled (original recipe calls for Brie; here, I used chevre) 1 c basil leaves, cut into strips 3 cloves garlic, minced 1 c olive oil 2 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 tsp pepper 1 1/2 lbs linguine Parmesan, grated Combine tomatoes, cheese, basil, garlic, 1 c olive oil, 1/2 tsp salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Leave at room temperature for 2 hours before serving. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Cook noodles until tender, but still firm, about 8-10 minutes. Drain pasta and toss immediately with tomato sauce. Serve at once, toppi...

My good friend, the best-selling author, Barbara Kingsolver gave me this recipe, It is from her family's collection of recipes.  Oh wait - I don't know Barbara Kingsolver. But, she does maintain an interesting food website that allows you to get to know her a little better. This recipe really helped me process some remaining tomatoes in my kitchen. Specifically, I went through 30 pounds of tomatoes in this one batch - some from my yard, but most from the Johnson's Backyard Garden CSA box. And, boy, was this recipe delicious! Again, pictures are minimal, given my difficulty with producing attractive photos of pureed tomatoes. Family Secret Tomato Sauce A Year of Food Life (opens as a PDF) 10 quarts tomato puree (about 30 lbs tomatoes) 4 large onions, chopped 1 c basil, dried 1/2 c honey 4 T oregano, dried 3 T salt 2 T lemon peel 2 T thyme 2 T garlic powder 2 T parsley, dried 2 tsp pepper 2 tsp cinnamon 1/2 tsp nutmeg To ...

This lovely recipe highlights the sugar sweetness of the tomato. Roasted Heirloom Tomato Sauce The Tomato Festival Cookbook 5 lb tomatoes 12 cloves garlic 12 sprigs of thyme, leaves only 1 c olive oil 2 c Spanish onions, chopped 2 c dry white wine 4 stems basil salt and pepper Preheat oven to 350. Wash tomatoes and cut out the stem end with a paring knife. Cut tomatoes in half and, with a teaspoon, scoop out the water seeds. Set seeds and water aside in a separate bowl. Place halved tomatoes in a roasting pan, cut side up. Chop half of the garlic and scatter ove the tomatoes. Sprinkle tomatoes with thyme leaves then drizzle with 1/2 c olive oil. Roast until the tomatoes are very soft, 30-40 minutes. Let tomatoes cool to lukewarm. Then, pass through a food mill, or, rub roughly with your finger to remove any skins and seeds. In a large pan over medium heat, warm the remaining  1/2 c olive oil. Stir in onions. Chop remaining garlic and ...

Update from 2020 - This dish is still going strong in my regular rotation. The combination of lavender with potatoes is just such a delightful and unexpected twist. It makes the convention potato become a vehicle for just a hint of perfume and mystery. I have made this time and again. Originally posted in 2011 - Can I begin to tell you how delicious this is? And how wonderful it makes the house smell? As these lavender-covered potatoes roasted in the oven, the entire house started to smell of potpourri. Yeah - I know. That's not a smell that is going to encourage you to eat a potato. But, trust me. The roasting smell of lavender is strong -- but, placed on the potato, the taste is delicate and well-balanced. Highly recommended! Lavender Roasted Potatoes School of the Seasons dot com 6 small golden potatoes (I used Yukon golds) olive oil dried lavender (I used about 1 T) coarse salt (about 2 tsp) pepper (about 1 tsp) red pepper flakes (about 1 tsp) ...

I love when I take the time to  make a refreshing summer cooler, like this one. So simple. Such a lovely addition to a table. I used my hand-juicer to "encourage" the pineapple to release its juices -- just took a few pieces in the juicer and squeezed straight into the pitcher. Pineapple-Mint Infused Water Martha Stewart Living  1/4 pineapple, peeled and cut into triangles 8-10 mint leaves Place 8 cups of water in a pitcher or large bowl. Add pineapple and mint leaves. Refrigerate at least 3 hours before using. Keep refrigerated up to 2 days. Strain before serving.

A fun variation on Rice Krispie Treats! Full of peanut butter goodness, rather than marshmallows. The only downside is that these really do need to come to room temperature before you bite into them - lest you risk losing a tooth. I failed to take a picture of the assembled item, largely because my topping failed (see below). A quick Google request of "scotcheroos" will tempt you, though. I tried to make mine with 100% butterscotch chips (instead of the mix of butterscotch with milk chocolate). But because of the lower fat content of butterscotch chips, my melting process yielded burnt butterscotch, which was then thrown away. Burnt butterscotch = butterscortch ? Scotcheroos Penzey's One 1 c sugar 1/2 c corn syrup 1/2 c honey 1 c creamy peanut butter 2 tsp vanilla extract 6 c rice cereal 1 c milk chocolate chips 1 c butterscotch chips Grease a 9x13" baking pan and set aside. In a 3-quart saucepan, combine sugar, corn syrup, and...

Once again, Cooking Light saves the day with this very easy version of aThai classic - highly recommended! Crispy Tofu Pad Thai Cooking Light , January 2009 1 package firm tofu,d rained 1 T cornstarch (I used potato starch) 6 oz rice noodles, flat, uncooked 1/2 c ketchup 2 T sugar 2 T asian fish sauce 1 T sriracha sauce 2 T canola oil, divided 2 eggs + 1 egg white, lightly beaten 1/2 c scallion, chopped 2 T cilantro, chopped 2 T peanuts, unsalted, dry-roasted, chopped 4 lime wedges Place tofu on several layers of paper towels and let stand 30 minutes. Remove from paper towels and cut into cubes. Place on  a freezer-safe dish. Place in freezer until solid, about 30 minutes. Remove from freezer and let thaw. When thaw, gently squeeze each cube to release the water. Toss with starch until coated and set aside. Boil a pot of water. When water reaches boiling point, add noodles and turn off heat. Let noodles soak in hot water for 6-8 m...

Not necessarily the easiest dish in the world, but, not hard either! This was actually a pretty simple way to prepare a ranchero sauce, especially first thing in the morning. The hard part was for a gringa kitchen to have homemade tortillas ready for the base. You can use store-bought, but believe me when they say that it's just not the same. Highly recommended! Huevos Rancheros Rick Bayless, through the in-flight magazine on Southwest Airlines 1 28-oz can fire-roasted tomatoes, drained 4 T vegetable oil 1 white onion, chopped into 1/4" pieces 3 serrano chiles, seeded and finely chopped 1 clove garlic, roasted, peeled and finely chopped 1/2 tsp salt 8 eggs 8 corn tortillas, warmed 2 T queso fresco, crumbled cilantro, chopped In a food processor, blend the tomatoes to a coarse puree. Set aside. In a large pot, heat 2 T oil over medium heat. Add onion and hot peppers. Stir frequently until the onion is lightly browned, but still slightly c...

It's that time of year where the CSA farm box starts to give me some vegetables that can be a problem -- squash and zucchini. (Squacchini?) Now, I love the stuff! But when you've had countless buffet platters where the vegetarian option consisted of an entire dinner plate of sauteed squash and zucchini, you kind of lose interest in the vegetables overall. This was a nice salad that helped me use up the squash from this week's farm box. Plus, it kept the squash semi-crisp, which I like. Plus, everything tastes better with goat cheese! Warm Squash Salad with Mint NPR: Kitchen Window 1 T olive oil 3 medium zucchini, about 1 lb, trimmed and chopped into 1/2" pieces 3 small yellow squash, about 3/4 lb, trimmed and chopped into 1/2" pieces Coarse salt Pepper 1 15.5 oz can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained 1/4 c mint leaves, chopped 4 oz goat cheese, crumbled Add the olive oil to a large skillet and heat to medium. Add all the squ...

I have always wondered about the mysteries of the spring roll. What is this rice wrapper, and how do people get it from firm and flat, to soft and pliable? I figured it was an ancient cultural secret that I may never access. But after passing a stack of rice papers in the Asian market, I thought, "What the heck. How badly can I mess this up?" Turns out, not that badly! Spring rolls and fantastically easy to prepare, and they may be my new favorite midday snack. The only thing I haven't figured out yet is how to work with multiple pieces of rice paper at once -- do you know how to keep them from sticking together? Spicy Thai Wraps Vegetarian Times , June 2001 Dipping Sauce (note: I served mine with peanut sauce I had already made for another purpose) 1/4 c hoisin sauce 1 T vegetable oil 2 T peanuts, chopped, unsalted, dry-roasted  Wraps: 3 carrots, peeled and julienned 1 T vegetable oil 1 lb firm tofu, drained and cut into strips 12...

This was a simple-dimple variation of Thai eggplant. Super easy to prepare, and not calling for any ingredient that is too unusual. Thai Spicy Eggplant with Sweet Basil Vegetarian Times , June 2004 1 c jasmine rice 2 T peanut oil 1 tsp red pepper flakes 3 baby eggplants, cubed into bite-sized chunks 1 onion, diced 1 red bell pepper, diced 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped 2 T white vinegar 3 T tamari sauce 2 T dark brown sugar 20 leaves basil, shredded or torn Cook rice according to package directions. Heat a deep skillet over high heat. Add oil and red pepper flakes. Let sizzle 10-15 seconds.   Add eggplant and stir-fry for 2-3 minutes. Add onion, bell pepper and garlic. Cook 3 minutes. Add vinegar and soy sauce. Sprinkle with sugar and toss 1-2 minutes longer. Remove eggplant from heat. Add basil leaves and toss to combine. Serve over rice.

I thought I was having guests for dinner on a night when I had prepared a Thai eggplant dish. Not knowing how much they liked eggplant, or how much they might miss meat in their meal, I quickly put these satay strips together. The satay part was embarrassingly simple to prepare, and very attractive to present. I served with a peanut dipping sauce, but am not thrilled with the version I used. I will continue experimenting and hopefully have a better version to share in the future. Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce 3 T lime juice 1 tsp curry powder 2 tsp honey 1/2 tsp coriander 1/2 tsp cumin 1/8 tsp salt 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut into 1" cubes Mix all ingredients, except the chicken. Place chicken in a Ziploc bag. Pour lime juice mixture over chicken; toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate 2 hours. Set oven to broil. Spray broiler pan with cooking spray. Remove chicken from marinade, and reser...

I. Heart. Peas. So, why don't I eat them every day? I have no idea. These were delicious. And simple enough to eat every day. Buttered Peas Gourmet magazine, April 1971 3 lb peas 1/2 c butter 1 tsp sugar pepper mint leaves, chopped Shell peas and cook in boiling water for 20-25 minutes, until tender. (If using frozen peas, boil according to package directions.) Combine cooked peas in a saucepan with butter, softened. heat gently for a few minutes. Then, add sugar and pepper, to taste. Serve, sprinkled with chopped mint leaves.     Combine cooked peas in a saucepan with butter, softened. heat gently for a few minutes. Then, add sugar and pepper, to taste. Serve, sprinkled with chopped mint leaves.