I am like a proud mommy all over again. After 3 months of daily watering, weeding and watching I finally birthed my first tomato harvest! Granted, only one of the two plants that I started off with survived (hail storm in July…) but still, I am happy! The tomatoes are big beefy “mortgage lifter” heirloom tomatoes. Supposedly they got that name when the man who first bred them used the profits to pay off his mortgage…I have a looooong way to go until my gardening is that profitable ;-).

For now I am enjoying the fruits of the harvest, literally. The mortgage lifters are sweet and earthy tasting. Supposedly they are good cooking/roasting tomatoes. Since I had about 10 in my first harvest I decided to eat a few and cook a few so nothing would go to waste.

I made a fresh tomato sauce that is easy to freeze and take out as an alternative to canned sauces. It is a good recipe to make on a Sunday or a day that you don’t have to rush out of the house, as it takes a few hours to simmer. Here’s the scoop:

Garden Fresh Tomato Sauce

Makes about 3-4 cups

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time 2-3 hours

You will need:

5-6 large tomatoes , chopped (I used my heirloom tomatoes but any beefy variety will be fine, could also use double the amount of Roma tomatoes as they are much smaller)

4 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

1 medium zucchini, chopped (*optional…could substitute a number of different vegetables such as green pepper, red pepper, mushrooms, etc)

¼ cup olive oil

1-2 teaspoons salt

1 Tablespoon brown sugar

1 large handful of fresh basil, stems removed

Directions:

Chop all ingredients, set aside.

In large and deep saucepan heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and sauté until transparent (~2 minutes). Add zucchini and garlic and cook another 1-2 minutes. Add tomatoes and salt. Bring ingredients to a boil. Turn heat down to medium and cover. Simmer for 1 hour, stirring every so often. 

After about an hour, add brown sugar and basil (mixture will be more sauce like now as the tomatoes will have cooked down and formed a liquid). Cover and simmer another 1 hour.

Remove

from heat and let cool for ½ hour. Place sauce in Tupperware and put in freezer.

May also use right away with pasta. You could add ground turkey or beef to make a classic meat sauce or pour it over roasted/pan seared chicken as an alternative or eat simply with noodles and parmesan cheese.

That's amore!

Over the weekend I hosted my sister’s “Vintage Circus” themed baby shower. She is having a little boy (Leonardo or “Leo”) at the end of September!  A vintage circus was the perfect theme for a baby named Leo (the Lion!).  Again, the theme guided the party planning but I did not go overboard. I found some vintage clowns at a thrift store; a toy carousal that I spray painted and I used popcorn holders as a vase for flowers. I also set up a tent outside and decorated with draping fabric and ribbons. I spent about $50 on all of the decorations…not bad!  Instead of getting to carnival-y on the food I went for fresh and summery. I also didn’t do anything too heavy because my Aunt Lin made beautiful and decadent circus cupcakes for desert!

Here was the menu:

Caprese Salad and baguette

Fresh Spinach Dip and veggies

Torta di Riso (My grandmother’s Italian recipe)

Fresh Fruit

Pesto Green Beans**

Balsamic Glazed Chicken

The menu was the hit of the party. The combination went well together and left people satisfied but not overly full. I will share the pesto green beans recipe. This was a hit and I used the pesto that I made last week and picked up green beans at the farmer’s market the day before.

Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures while I was making this dish, but it is very simple so I think just following the recipe you will do just fine!

Pest Green Beans:

Serves 4-6

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 2 minutes

You will need:

2 lb green beans, stemmed

1/2 recipe Presto Pesto

1 cup fresh parmesean cheese, grated

1/4 cup walnuts, toasted

It is basil season. I have 2 things planted in my garden: tomatoes and basil. I decided to keep it simple this year and only plant my 2 favorite ingredients. I over-planted last year and could not keep up! The tomatoes are still green but I am overflowing with basil. An abundance of basil = time for pesto. Pesto is very easy to make and very adaptable. Later this week I am going to be making a cold bean and pesto salad so I thought I would pre-make the pesto and freeze it.

LEMON GARLIC PESTO

(makes about 2 cups)

Prep time: 20 minutes

You will need:

4-5 cups fresh basil leaves, stems removed

2 garlic cloves

1 cup walnuts, toasted

1/2 lemon

1/2-1 cup olive oil

salt

Directions:

Remove stems from basil, add to food processer (or blender if you don't have one).

Toast walnuts in oven or broiler for 5 minutes, be careful not to burn! Allow them to cool for 5 minutes and then add to food processor.

Pulse/blend the mixture

Chop garlic and add to the mixture along with olive oil, lemon and salt. Blend ingredients until smooth.

Scrape into a tupperware, label with the date and place in freezer! OR use right away on pasta, meat, potatoes, fish or as a spread to bread. You will also want to add some fresh parmesean cheese when you serve, however, because I am freezing mine I withheld the cheese.

Stay tuned for my pesto bean salad I will be making at the end of the week!

Pesto has so many variations. I used walnuts and lemon for a non-traditional twist. You can substitute pine nuts or pecans for the nut and add variations such as roasted red pepper or arugula to the pesto. Use your imagination!

Air conditioning has been the ‘hot’ commodity here for the past few weeks. I have scheduled my day around being in it and if I am unable to be, I make sure I am near a body of water!  That said, this heat wave has made cooking a dwindling priority. I would rather not turn on any appliance that conducts heat, so there has been a lot of eating out ($$) and getting by on cold sandwiches and fruit.

Today, I decided to try my luck in the kitchen but with one exception: no oven, no stove. I was not going to let any heat creep into my perfectly cool 68 degree home. I had some kale left over from the weekend farmer’s market trip and I remembered this amazing salad my sister made a few weeks ago. It was so delicious to actually be kale! So I tried my hand at it and it turned out so good AND my house stayed cool! I even had my fiancé, an extremely finicky eater, try the salad (before I told him it was kale, he though t it was spinach) and he LIKED it. So, it’s that good ;-)

Kool Kale Salad

Serves 4

Prep time: 5-10 minutes

Cook time: NONE

Chill time *: ½ hr (give or take)

You will need:

1 bunch of kale, chopped and stems removed

1 lemon

¼ cup olive oil

1-2 cloves garlic, chopped

½ cup bread crumbs

½ cup parmesan cheese, grated

Dash of cayenne pepper

Salt to taste

Directions:

Remove tough stems from the kale. Rip the de-stemmed kale and place in large bowl.

Chop garlic into small pieces (‘mince’), add to kale.

Squeeze the juice of the lemon and pour over kale.

Pour olive oil.

Add bread crumbs, parmesan, salt and cayenne pepper.

Mix well with tongs or fork. Check the bottom of the bowl, which is where all the ingredients will want to hide.

 Make sure all of the kale gets drenched in the oil/lemon juice mixture.

I like to chill my salad for at least ½ hour to allow all of the flavors to mix and for the kale to absorb the juices. You can also serve it immediately. This salad is good in the fridge for 2-3 days (if you can keep it that long!).

Eat alone as a light lunch or snack or serve as a side dish to grilled meat! Enjoy!

To head to the Farmer’s Market that is…

Most of your city’s local markets have opened and have an abundance of fresh fruits, vegetables and other products for sale, with many of them grown and produced locally. 

Make a morning of it…it is a GREAT start to your day!  Many of them are open on the weekends and offer perks such as coffee and local food to fuel up on!  I went last Saturday and enjoyed a fresh cup of coffee and a caramel roll while I strolled the rows and rows of fresh fruits, vegetables, arts/crafts and flowers.  I bought ingredients for my dinner and a bouquet of flowers just for fun…. best of all I supported my local farmers and had an awesome time!

If you are in Minnesota, check out this site to help find your nearest Farmer’s Market:
http://www.mda.state.mn.us/food/minnesotagrown/farmersmarkets.htm, otherwise check your official state department of agriculture website for locations near you!  

Happy Summer!