Oven-Dried Tomatoes

I'm not a fan of raw tomatoes. Cooked, in soups and sauces especially...great! Just not impressed with them raw. Some of it is definitely a textural thing for me, but flavor too. So I'm not a good judge of a really 'good' tomato. Recently heard some friends (who ARE tomato lovers) complaining over the flavor as tomatos are not in season now, and read about how slow-roasting is the key to improving and concentrating flavor while slowly caramelizing their natural sugars. (I can definitely taste THAT!) I slow roasted cherry tomatoes -- it's what I had on hand, and trying out the process and getting to the point of sampling the results was much quicker with their smaller size. Fixed pasta and a salad for dinner last night and threw some of the tomatoes on both. They're awesome. They're still not raw. But I'm definitely a fan.

Ingredients
tomatoes
   That's it. Nothing else. No seasoning. No oil. Just naked tomatoes.

Directions
Line a baking sheet with parchment.
Cut tomatoes in half; place them cut-side up on parchment lined tray.
With larger tomatoes, I may try quartering them, but halves sit on the tray very nicely without leaking their juices out, so that might still be the best way to go.

Roast tomatoes at 200° F for 3-5 hours. The timing will really depend on the size of the tomatoes. They should be about the consistency of soft fruit leather...a subtle squish of moisture in the center, with a darker (but not too dark!), richer color, and curled edges.

Rosemary Garlic Parmesan Crisps

Ingredients
6 oz parmesan cheese, grated
1 T fresh rosemary, minced
1 tsp finely minced garlic (or garlic powder)

Directions
Prehead oven to 425°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment; lightly coat with non-stick cooking spray. Toss rosemary and garlic with parmesan. Drop tablespoons of seasoned parmesan onto parchment sheets, spacing 2 inches apart; flatten slightly.

Bake 4-5 minutes until edges begin to brown. Carefully slide parchment off baking sheet onto wire rack to cool until firm; remove crisps using spatula directly onto wire rack to cool completely.

Grapefruit Poppy Seed Bread

Breakfast? Dessert? Well, yes! I love grapefruit, and this is a refreshing updated version of the more common lemon poppy seed...

Ingredients
1½ C flour
2 t baking powder
1¼ t salt
1 C sugar
1½ T grapefruit zest
2 eggs
1/3 C vegetable oil
1½ t vanilla extract
¾ C sour cream
½ C grapefruit juice
1½ T poppy seeds
¾ C powdered sugar

Directions
Preheat oven to 350°. Line a loaf pan with parchment; lightly coat with non-stick cooking spray.

Whisk flour, bakingpowder, and 1 tsp salt in a bowl; set aside.

In a large bowl, stir together sugar and grapefruit zest until sugar begins to clump slightly. Add eggs, oil and vanilla; beat on high speed until light and thick. Add 5 T grapefruit juice. Blend in half of dry ingredients, then sour cream, then remaining dry ingredients. Fold in 1 T poppy seeds.

Pour batter into loaf pan; bake 50-60 minutes, until top is golden and toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. use toothpick to poke holes in top; brush with remaining grapefruit juice, reserving 1 tablespoon.

Let loaf cool 15 minutes in pan; remove -- lift from pan using edges of parchment -- to wire rack to cool completely.

Mix powdered sugar, remaining ¼ tsp salt, and remaining grapefruit juice until smooth. Drizzle over loaf; sprinkle with remaining poppyseeds.

Mediterranean Chickpea-Tomato Salad

Ingredients
1 15-oz can chickpeas
1 C small diced tomato
¼ C crumbled feta
¼ C chopped kalamata olives
2 T finely chopped fresh ming
1 T finely chopped fresh parsley
2 T olive oil
2 T red wine vinegar
1½ t sugar
1 t salt
½ t pepper

Directions
Drain and rinse chickpeas. Gently toss all ingredients in a bowl.

Lemon Rosemary Pork Tenderloin

(This photo isn't mine; I made this for company today -- with roasted red potatoes! -- but didn't stop to photograph the dish before serving. Maybe next time I'll take an original shot.)

Ingredients
1 or 2 pork tenderloin, 1-1.5 lb each
zest of 1 lemon
¾ C lemon juice
½ C + 2 T olive oil
2 T minced garlic
1½ T minced fresh rosemary
1 T chopped fresh thyme leaves
1 T Dijon mustard
salt & pepper
Optional: extra rosemary or thyme sprigs for garnish

Directions
Combine lemon zest, lemon juice, ½ cup olive oil, minced garlic, rosemary, thyme, Dijon mustard, and 1 teaspoon salt in a large zip-tight plastic bag; knead or shake to combine. Add pork tenderloin(s), turn and massage to coat tenderloins. Squeeze excess air from bag; seal. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or overnight.

Prehead oven to 400°F.

Remove pork tenderloin(s); discard excess marinade. Season with salt and pepper. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in an oven proof skillet over medium-high heat. Sear tenderloins on all sides. Roast tenderloins in 400°F oven approximately 25 minutes, until meat thermometer inserted in thickest point registers 140-145°F.

Remove from oven; cover with lid (or tinfoil) and let rest 6-8 minutes.

Slice. Garnish, if desired, with rosemary and/or thyme sprigs.

Sweet Breakfast Grits

I've used this recipe in my Intro to Foods & Nutrition class for years. Somehow I never yet got it onto my blog...until now:

Ingredients
2 C water
1¼ C milk
2 T honey
1 tsp salt
1 C quick cooking grits (not instant)
¼ C butter

Directions

In large pot, bring water, milk, honey, and salt to boil.

Slowly add grits to boiling mixture, stirring constantly so grits don’t clump.

Return pot to boiling again. Reduce temperature to medium-low; cover with a lid.

Cook for approximately 30 minutes, stirring about every 5 minutes. Add more water if needed; grits should be thick, but creamy, not lumpy.

Stir in butter.

Serve topped with a little additional butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, raisins, fruit, granola…

French Quarter Beignets

My students have asked to make beignets, so I'm testing out a recipe I've had for ages -- seeing how we can make the rising stage work to fit our schedule...

Ingredients
¾ C warm water
¼ C granulated sugar
1¾ tsp yeast
1 egg
1 tsp salt
½ C evaporated milk
3¾ C flour
2 T shortening

non-stick cooking spray
oil, for deep-frying
confectioner's sugar
optional: cinnamon, syrup(s) for dipping

Directions
In a large bowl, mix water, sugar and yeast; let sit 10 minutes.

In another bowl, while the yeast is blooming, beat egg, salt and evaporated milk. In a third bowl, measure out flour.

After 10 minutes, stir egg mixture into large bowl with yeast mixture. Blend in half the flour. Add shortening and continue cutting in the shortening and continue to mix in remaining flour.

Knead dough on a lightly floured surface until smooth, adding just enough flour to keep it from sticking.

Wash the large bowl and lightly coat with non-stick cooking spray. Return dough to bowl; cover with plastic wrap lightly coated with non-stick cooking spray. Let rise for at least an hour.

Punch down dough to remove excess air bubbles. Roll out dough -- on a very lightly floured surface -- to ¼ inch thick. Use a bench knife to cut into 2-inch squares.

Preheat oil in a deep-fryer, electric skillet or fying pan to 350° F. Deep fry beignets, flipping constantly with a fork (or slotted spoon, or tongs...) until they are light golden brown. Remove and drain on briefly paper towels.

Toss gently in a bowl with powdered sugar. Optional: Toss with powdered sugar and cinnamon...and/or serve with fruit syrup dipping sauce. Raspberry is my favorite!

Honey-Mint Grapefruit (Citrus) Salad

The original recipe calls for all grapefruit -- a mix of white, pink & red makes for the most interesting presentation -- and personally, I LOVE grapefriut. But right now, I have both grapefruit and oranges in quantities that I need to use up; so, that's what I used. It's delicious immediately, but kind of nice if the flavors marinate for a while.

Ingredients
grapefruit (white, pink & red)
honey - about 1 T for each grapefruit
mint -about 1 T for each grapefruit
salt

Directions
Supreme the grapefruits. (There are YouTube videos that demonstrate how to "supreme" citrus. Basically, you're cutting away all the peel and membranes. Cut off the ends, then slice carefully along the membranes so that segments of the grapefruit fall loose.) Reserve all the juice, putting it in a separate bowl from the fruit.

Mince the mint. Whisk the mint, honey and a pinch of salt into the juice. Pour over grapefruit segments, stirring gently to combine. Best served chilled.

Cauliflower Hummus

Kind of debated whether to even post this one. It's not bad (in fact, for not being hummus at all, it's a reasonable substitute), it's just...why? Why would you want to turn cauliflower into hummus, if what you really want is hummus? But, if you're going really "low carb" and you want hummus, then...it's an option (about 1/4 of the carbs of chickpeas).

Ingredients
3 C raw cauliflower florets
2 T water
5 T olive oil
1½ t salt
5 cloves garlic
1½ T tahini paste
3 T lemon juice
olive oil & smoked paprika to garnis for serving

Directions
Combine olive oil, water, 2 T of the olive oil, 1/2 t salt and 3 cloves of the garlic in a microwave safe dish. Microwave for 10-12 minutes on high, until cauliflower is softened and somewhat darkened in color.

Put cauliflower mixture in mini blender or food processor and process until smooth. Add tahini paste, lemon juice, remaining garlic and olive oil; blend again. Add additional salt as needed, to taste.

Transfer to serving dish; drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with smoked paprika. Serve with raw veggies, crackers, thinly sliced apples...

Bourbon Sour

I'm not much of a drinker. When I do, it's often some fruity cocktail -- often citrus. I had the bourbon out for a bourbon caramel sauce (have to post that recipe later...), so decided to mix up a simple version of a bourbon sour (recipe complements of Evan Faber @ Salt bistro in Boulder, CO)

Mix roughly equal parts:  
bourbon
vanilla simple syrup*
lemon juice

Suit your own taste... Evan's recipe is actually 3 parts bourbon, 2 parts each vanilla syrup & lemon.

* Make your own (sugar, water, and vanilla, often boiled to dissolve more sugar) or use a prepared, bottle syrup like the Torani syrups or other brands readily available at supermarkets.