Tomato Salads

Tomato, Cucumber, and Feta

Earlier in the week, I wrote about all the great things I picked up over the weekend at my local farmers' markets.  I sincerely hope you guys go out and explore the markets in your area as well.  The quality of produce available at these markets will blow your mind.  Of particular note, in my opnion, are the fresh tomatoes.

Along with peaches, tomatoes have been a victim of giant agri-business.  The fact is you simply cannot sell a vine-ripened tomato in a chain grocery store.  They are far too perishable and don't travel well.  As a result, giant farms pick millions of tomatoes while they are still hard, green balls and gas them with ethylene to ripen them off the vine.  Here is a handy guide.  Artificial ripening, coupled with genetic selection for roundness, bruise tolerance, shelf life and perfectly uniform color, has resulted in nearly inedible fruit.

On the other side of the spectrum from the mass produced, hunk of crap tomato, we have beauties like the ones in the salad at the top of this post.  They're sweet, juicy, and sublime.  To my palate, a superbly constructed tomato salad, prepared with respect for the ingredients, is transcendent.  

Read on for a couple of really simple salads that, I hope, can bring you closer to nirvana.

Recipe - Quick Salmon Stir Fry with Baby Choy

Today's entry is a quick and easy stir fry, ideal for a mid-week dinner.  Stir-frying is a great technique for producing a healthy, tasty meal in a hurry.  This entire dish can be done in the time it takes to make the rice.

I was inspired this time by a sale on sockeye salmon at my local market.  There must have been a massive salmon season this year because they're practically giving it away.  I can't pass up a good deal and have been cooking salmon at least once a week all summer.  We do cedar plank salmon with a maple-brown sugar glaze, salmon tacos, etc.  In this dish, we are going to dust the salmon in tapioca starch and quickly fry it to keep it crisp and moist, without being greasy.  Read on for the details.

Kid Friendly Recipe - Mmmmmm, Marinara

The Secret of San Marzano

The other day a reader asked me to help her out with some recipes that are "kid friendly."  In fact, a lot of people ask me about what I feed my 3 year old son when my wife and I are eating Portobello Pasta with Mushrooms and Caramelized Leeks.  Well, the answer is that he eats the same things we eat - for the most part (he REALLY loves that dish, btw).  I mean, he's not into oysters or anything, but more often than not he dines as we do.  Having said that, I realize that my kid is a bit odd and most curtain climbers are more interested in chicken nuggets and such.  Well, kids love "spaghetti", no?

Click below to check out the recipe for a simple, and kid-friendly, pasta with marinara sauce that you can have on the table in less than 30 minutes.

Recipe - Portobello Pasta with Mushrooms and Caramelized Leeks

Mushrooms are one of life's great pleasures. Earthy, woodsy, mushrooms. Every time I taste one, I'm transported back to my youth. Back to a cool, crisp autumn morning spent slowly strolling through the thick forest that surrounded our family cabin. A gentle mist blankets the brown patchwork of fallen leaves at our feet. My father and I scan the earth, searching for our treasure. Crinkly morels, velvety oysters, pungent porcinis. We fill our baskets with the terrestrial bounty of fall, and return home to prepare supper.


Okay, that story is completely fabricated. My point is this: mushrooms are delicious...and possibly hallucinogenic. If you like fungi like I like fungi, then this dish is really going to grow on you. We start with some fresh, locally made portobello mushroom pasta and prepare it simply with fresh shitakes and criminis, some caramelized leeks, and parsley. Click the read link for more details.

Recipe - Roasted Eggplant on Garlic Toast

The aubergine is one of my all time favorite foods.  Eggplants, as we call them here in the States, are members of the nightshade family and are indigenous to India and southeast Asia.  They arrived in the West no earlier than about 1500.  The particular eggplant pictured above arrived at my house no earlier than Saturday, and was quickly dispatched.

Eggplants have such a velvety flavor: rich and smooth on the tongue.  They are excellent grilled, fried (particularly in Eggplant Parmesan, which I will share at a later date), and also roasted.  Inspired by a superb loaf of crusty bread procured at our local farmer's market, I decided to roast this fine specimen.  Read on for the details.

Recipe - Belgian Waffles with Strawberry Compote

Hungry yet?

Compote?  I hate the word "compote."  Too close to "compost," and who wants to eat that?  I prefer "goo," which more accurately describes a "compote" in my opinion.  Nomenclature notwithstanding, compotes do make delicious toppings for Belgian waffles.  My dear wife particularly likes strawberry goo on her waffles.  Strawberry goo is crazy simple to make, and it really dresses up Sunday brunch.  Read on for the quick and dirty details.

Recipe - Saturday Morning Frittata

Frittata with Steak, Hatch Chilis, Potato, and Scallions

Growing up, my dad had a rule about breakfast.  He would come to my room, open the door, and announce "Tony, time to get up!".  That was my only alarm.  If I decided to keep sleeping, I would miss breakfast entirely and be left to my own devices until lunch.  Often, that missed breakfast would consist of a frittata (a kind of Italian omelet), and some black coffee ("black" referring to coffee made in a "moka pot" on the stove - I had mine with cream and sugar).  If you've never had a frittata, you should really try making one.  You will understand why I rarely slept through breakfast. 

The word "frittata" must be Italian for "delicious leftovers", because that's exactly what it is.  Take anything left over from Friday night's dinner, cut it into pieces, fry it in a skillet, dump scrambled eggs on it and bon appetito!  You have yourself Saturday morning breakfast...or lunch...or a snack.

Click the read link for the recipe.