<p>Okay Ladies - I’m enjoying this thread immensely! Here is my famous tomato tart which is perfect for this tomato season. </p>
<p>1 frozen pre-rolled piece of puff pastry (Peppredge Farm)
2 tsp dijon mustard
1 cup shredded swiss cheese
1 Tbs Basil Leaves
1 tsp Garlic powder
1/2 tsp thyme leaves
9 medium tomato slices
1/4 cup sliced, pittted black olives
2 tsp olive oil</p>
<p>Place puff pastry square on parchment lined baking sheet. With a sharp knive, score pastry edges. Prick pastry with a fork. Spread mustard over pastry leaving 1/2 inch border. Sprinkle cheese and half of combined seasoning on top. Arrange tomatoes and olives. Top with remaining seasoning and olive oil. </p>
<p>Bake in preheated oven at 400 for 20 to 25 mins. or until pastry is golden. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. Serve warm or at room temp. Makes about 2 doz. appetizers or 4-6 luncheon servings.</p>
<p>Everyone in my household loves this. I will make a whole meal out of it (2 pastries) or serve it as first course or it is a wonderful appetizer. I have never made this when guests/family have not raved. And it is really easy!</p>
<p>Mafool, they are the egg-shaped kind of eggplant.</p>
<p>Worrywart, I wasn’t familiar with caponata, so I looked it up, and it sounds very good. </p>
<p>I really don’t have much eggplant experience! Last spring I had baba ghanoush at a friend’s and liked it, then the next week I saw the little plants in the garden store and decided to give them a try.</p>
<p>When I was looking up caponata, I also learned that it is firmness, not size, that determines if an eggplant fruit is ready. And not only that, there are male and female fruits, and the females have an indentation around the blossom end, and the males have fewer seeds. Of course, I had to go check, and I have a male and female ready to pick!</p>
<p>One last eggplant tidbit - they are anti-oxidant super-heroes.</p>
<p>Cali, the tomato tart sound great, adding puff pastry to the shopping list.</p>
<p>I’m planning to try an experiment tonight: I have some frozen shrimp, and I’m going to make some Shrimp Creole and serve it over cheese grits. That will make use of summer tomatoes, scallions, green peppers, and fresh herbs. I think I’ll use Emeril’s recipe online as my jumping-off point. If it goes well, I’ll let you know!</p>
<p>I found a great recipe for any kind of summer squash–you take the squash and clean and cut it into cubes. Clean/cut into cubes an equal number of new potatoes. Sautee them all together until tender and season with salt, pepper, and a few red pepper flakes. I use EVOO, but canola works too. Sometimes, I’ll add onion or garlic to the squash and potatoes. It’s a great way to use up all the summer squash from the garden.</p>
<p>The shrimp creole turned out OK, not great. If I make it again, I’ll make a much simpler version; this one was not worth the time & effort. The grits were fantastic, though. I’ve been making a lot of polenta and cornmeal dishes in general this summer, and having a lot of fun with them.</p>
<p>gazpacho:
one pint tomato sauce
one clove garlic, minced
one medium onion, chopped fine.
1/2tsp salt
3 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tomatoes, diced.
one cucumber, diced
one green pepper, diced</p>
<p>combine all the ingredients except for the tomatoes, green pepper, and 1/3 of the cucumber (the rest should be mixed with the other ingredients). Put in blender. Mix in the 1/3 cucumber, tomatoes and green pepper.</p>
<p>Wow, a blast from the past- some real gems in here, thanks for reviving. </p>
<p>I just read Binx’s post #12- about Tomato Feta Salad, and she suggested googling it for the recipe.
Found this 5 star -Ina Garten, and the reviews are glowing-will be making this soon.
South Jersey + summer= yummy produce </p>
<pre><code>* 4 pints grape tomatoes, red or mixed colors
1 1/2 cups small-diced red onion (2 onions)
1/4 cup good white wine vinegar
6 tablespoons good olive oil
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
1 1/2 pounds feta cheese
</code></pre>
<p>Directions</p>
<p>Cut the tomatoes in half and place them in a large bowl. Add the onion, vinegar, olive oil, salt, pepper, basil, and parsley and toss well. Dice the feta in 1/2 to 3/4-inch cubes, crumbling it as little as possible. Gently fold it into the salad and serve at room temperature.</p>
<p>A great addition to the tomato/feta salad in post 114 would be to add it all to some quinoa. I made a greek type of orzo salad recently subbing the orzo for quinoa. It was delicious.
I am trying to eat healthier and one way I am finding to get an added serving of vegetables is to make some sort of salsa or fresh vegetable topping to go over meat. This week I have made a marinated tomato salad with thyme that I served on top of a small piece of steak. Last night it was a salsa of roasted corn, roasted red pepper (done my me in the oven). jalapeno, onion, cilantro, balsamic vinegar and a small amount of olive oil. Served that over a boneless chicken breast.</p>
<p>Here is a recipe I picked up only a couple of years ago, from our Minneapolis Star Tribune. Somehow, it has become “what we eat” when someone in the family arrives or departs.</p>
<p>Easy Summer Pasta</p>
<p>In medium-sized bowl, combine 1/3 cup olive oil, 1/3 cup chopped fresh basil leaves, 1/3 cup chopped Italian parsley, 1/4 cup fresh grated parmesan cheese, 2-3 cloves chopped garlic, three chopped Roma tomatoes, 1/4 pound fresh mozzarella (in small chunks), and salt and pepper to taste.</p>
<p>Cook thin spaghetti for 3-4 people. Drain, return to pot, and add the above mixture. Serve in pasta bowls. Enjoy!</p>
<p>BTW, today I am en route to Istanbul, Turkey, where my husband and I have been transferred (his job). Kind of a switch having Mom and Dad depart and the kids stay behind. . . feels a bit unnatural. But with our youngest just graduated from college, I guess it’s time to get a life.</p>
<p>We will be there 2-3 years, and I am psyched to experience one of the most interesting countries in the world!</p>
<p>Thanks for sharing your pasta recipe. I’ve printed it out to try this week. All the best in your new venture. Hope you’ll bring along our CC community.</p>