Posts tagged as:

tomatoes

Midsummer’s Garden Vegetable Ratatouille

July 28, 2010
Thumbnail image for Midsummer’s Garden Vegetable Ratatouille

Is there such a thing as too much zucchini?
Oh yes, there is.
We went away for a week and our garden went crazy. It was scorching hot while we were gone and the garden responded as if breathing its last breath; it pumped out extra vegetables in a last ditch effort to get all its children off a sinking ship.

So what to do with all this bounty? Well, besides cooking up many of the other garden inspired recipes I have, I like to make a simple and fresh ratatouille. This dish is not only versatile, but freezes well for later when all the fresh vegetables are gone. See the end of the post for some ideas on what to do with extra ratatouille.

The vegetables are cooked in stages in this recipe. I did it this way for two reasons; first because I could not fit everything in my pan all at once (even though I have a gigantic saute pan) and second, because cooking the vegetables separately keeps the first ones added from getting over cooked before everything else is done. This way the flavors remain fresh and distinct.

Go to the post for the recipe and more…

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Some of my favorite recipes…

July 12, 2010

I’m on vacation this week and in my absence I thought I’d share some of my favorite recipes from the past. These are all “oldies but goodies” but if you’re new to the blog, they may be new to you too! How to Make Fresh Lemonade What could be easier than lemon juice, sugar and water? [...]

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Kick-Ass Homemade Bloody Mary Mix

December 31, 2009

When I was little, I used to spend every holiday with my grandparents. While they always hosted Christmas, on New Years Day we would usually go to a party held at the house of a family friend. I remember this tradition fondly and about 10 years ago, decided to recreate it, inviting friends over for a [...]

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How to Make Fresh Ricotta Cheese plus an Easy Pasta Recipe

October 6, 2009

 Click here for printable recipe. I really hate to waste food. It’s definitely a result of my upbringing. My grandparents were children of the depression and never threw anything away. Add to that, being fairly poor as a small child, and thriftiness was indoctrinated from a very young age. So when I had 6 cups of whole milk [...]

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How to Make Basic Marinara Sauce

September 1, 2009

There are as many recipes for tomato pasta sauce as there are Italian grandmothers. My Sicilian grandmother used to make her sauce every year from the tomatoes in her garden. Much of the time the sauce had meat in it but I don’t think it was ever exactly the same twice.  A child of the depression, my grandmother would throw into the pot whatever [...]

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How to Peel and Seed Fresh Tomatoes

August 20, 2009

I love my garden, I really do. And I think the fresh tomatoes were quite possibly the best thing about it. But late in the season, due to some insects eating the leaves and the blazing summer sun, I got some really ugly tomatoes. These were not the picture perfect ones seen in previous posts, but [...]

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