Tomato, Plum, Mozzarella & Basil Salad

Disclaimer: I recognize that we've already unwittingly waved goodbye to summer, and hence summer produce, but this salad is too good not to share. And honestly, I think we still have a few weeks of fresh, juicy tomatoes left (and hopefully plums).

I didn't see this recipe in magazine or on a blog, nor did I have it at a restaurant. I was simply inspired by the gorgeous plums at the farmers market. I knew I had to buy them, but at the time I had no idea how I'd use them. It didn't take long before my wheels started turning. Why not add a sweet kick to my summer sustenance: tomato and mozzarella salad? The texture of plums isn't all that different from that of tomatoes (perhaps a bit more tough, but these were so ripe).

I couldn't have been more right. With a little olive oil and honey drizzled on top, this was perfect. And so elegantly simple, with only six ingredients (counting the olive oil and honey). After eating it for a week straight I made it for a few girlfriends I had over for dinner, and their reaction was exactly the same. How is it that I'd never thought of this before? So what are you waiting for? Make this while you still can. Otherwise it's tah-tah until next summer.

Tomato, Plum, Mozzarella & Basil Salad

Time: 10 minutes

Serves: 2

1 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced in half

1 cup plums, diced

1/2 cup fresh buffalo mozzarella

2 tablespoons fresh basil

2 teaspoons olive oil  

1 teaspoon honey 

Salt and pepper to taste

Mix ingredients together in a bowl and enjoy!

Roasted Tomatoes with Feta

I'm back with a new, delicious and super easy recipe that's sure to be a hit this summer, whether you make it in the oven or on the grill.

If you're like me, you love tomatoes. Especially when they're ripe and juicy. I've been making a big effort for the past year or so to buy organic and/or local produce when I can, and I have to tell you, it makes such a difference in the flavor. In my book, it's worth spending a little extra.

 I often find myself with extra produce (or just food in general) in my fridge, and I hate to waste it. So sometimes I have to improvise. Improvising is fun. Last week I had spinach and feta that I wanted to use, so I got a little creative. Full disclosure I don't love feta, but I had some left over from another recipe involving baked chicken, tomatoes and feta. So I stopped by the grocery store on my way home from work, grabbed some red, plump tomatoes, and threw together a healthy and very satisfying dinner.

One of the great things about this recipe is that it's completely vegetarian, and with the spinach and tomatoes it's pretty chalk full of nutrients. I'm trying to make more of a conscious effort to eat vegetarian when I cook during the week. Yes Mark Bittman, you have forever rubbed off on me. If you make enough, you should be satisfied, but you can always throw in some quinoa or millet on the side if you're afraid of going to bed hungry.

Roasted Tomatoes with Feta

Serves: 1
Cooking time: 15 - 20 minutes

Ingredients:

2 ripe tomatoes
1 teaspoon olive oil
2 tablespoons feta
1 - 2 cups spinach

Pre-heat oven to 400º. Cut the tomatoes in half, put them in a glass baking dish and cover lightly with olive oil. Sprinkle with feta and cook for 15 minutes. Place on a bed of spinach, drizzle with balsamic and add salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy!

Yellow Tomato and Mango Gazpacho

I made my first soup! I don't know why I've been intimidated by the thought of it for so long, because I've had numerous people tell me how easy it can be to make.

I love soup. Hot soup, cold soup. If I ever buy lunch at work, which is pretty rare, you can bet I'm buying soup. Even during the summer. Fresh & Co., which has five locations in Manhattan, serves delicious soups, a number of which are gluten-free. My favorites are their split pea and kale, lentil, and quinoa soups. Oh, and I should also give a quick plug to The Splendid Spoon, a subscription-based soupery based in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Friends of mine own it and best of all, they deliver! Their soups are incredibly good and I believe all of their ingredients are local.

So why, until last night, had I never made soup? Oh right. I was intimidated. Well, I told myself before I started this blog was that I wasn't going to let myself be intimidated in the kitchen anymore. One of my goals is to get out of my comfort zone and try recipes that intimidate me. Not all of the time, of course, because as I've mentioned, I want to post quick and easy recipes as much as possible, but the only way I'm going to become a better cook is by pushing myself.

I recently subscribed to the DailyBuzz Healthy Living's "Today's Top 9" daily email, which aggregates their top nine favorite recipes from around the blogosphere. There's usually a theme, be it an ingredient, cuisine, etc., and yesterday's theme was mango. When I saw this recipe for Golden Tomato + Mango Gazpacho from The Smart Kitchen I knew it was going to be dinner, and my first attempt at making soup!

Much to my dismay summer is quickly coming to an end. I want to make the most of the local seasonal ingredients available as often as possible. So after work I walked down to the Union Square Greenmarket and bought as many of the ingredients as I could: yellow tomatoes, yellow peppers, and a sweet onion. The cucumber is straight from my dad's garden right outside of Washington, DC, where I was over the weekend.

Yellow Tomato and Mango Gazpacho

Makes about 3 and 1/2 cups (about 5 servings)

3 cups yellow tomatoes, coarsely chopped (roughly 2 large tomatoes)
1 cup yellow bell pepper, coarsely chopped (roughly 1 large pepper)
1 cup cucumber, peeled and coarsely chopped (roughly 1/2 large cucumber)
1 cup mango, peeled and coarsely chopped
1/3 cup sweet onion, chopped
Juice of 1 lime
Salt and pepper to taste
Mint or cilantro for garnish

Combine all ingredients in a food processor. Pour into a bowl and it's ready to eat! I added chopped mint, fresh from my new mint plant, but cilantro would probably taste just as good.

This was incredibly easy to make (chopping time included, it probably took 20 minutes at the most) and the perfect summer soup. I'm a little embarrassed to tell you that it was so good I had not one but three bowls last night.

And, as a total side note, I have to tell you that as I write this I'm sitting here listening to Regina Spektor's new album, What We Saw From the Cheap Seats, and it's fantastic. Listen to "Don't Leave Me (Ne me quitte pas)." The perfect song to start the day!

Kale, Heirloom Cherry Tomatoes, and Chicken Sausage

Sometimes when I get home late and I'm too tired to make an intricate meal I throw a few ingredients in a pan and see what happens. Lately one of my favorite go-to dishes has been sauteed kale, heirloom cherry tomatoes, and chicken sausage. It takes ten minutes tops and is a very healthy, satisfying meal. 

Kale, Heirloom Cherry Tomatoes, and Chicken Sausage

Serves 1

1/4 cup yellow onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 -3 cups kale (it shrinks down like spinach when you cook it)
3/4 cup sliced organic heirloom cherry tomatoes
2 links Al Fresco Apple Maple Chicken Sausage

Saute the onion, garlic, and olive oil in a pan until it starts to brown. Add the kale and cook it until it looks like cooked spinach (3-4 minutes).

Put the sausage and tomatoes in another pan, and cook until the sausage is brown on the outside (4 minutes) and the tomatoes are withered down.

Put everything together on a plate, add parmesan, salt, and pepper if desired, and enjoy! I've also recently been adding cooked millet for a carb if I'm especially hungry. (More to come on millet in another post.)

Summer Tomatoes and Caprese Salad

This summer I'm having a love affair with tomatoes. That's a weird thing to say, right? But I am! I've always liked tomatoes, but I don't think I've ever loved them or eaten them as much as I have this summer. Two words: farmers markets. The tomatoes I've bought thus far at farmers markets have been unbelievably delicious, juicy, flavorful... I could go on, but I'll spare you. 

We all know there are a million different ways to eat tomatoes, but in my opinion, the simpler, the better. One of my favorite dishes is the ever-popular caprese salad. It's so simple, but the flavors of the mozzarella and tomato compliment each other extremely well. 

Whether over a bed of arugula with balsamic glaze drizzled on top (my balsamic glaze from Eataly is one of my most treasured items in my pantry, and well worth the $15 I spent on it), or just with a little salt and pepper, you can't go wrong. And of course basil. Yesterday I bought a basil plant for my apartment from the Rockefeller Center Greenmarket and I can't wait to have fresh basil at my disposal anytime, day or night. I also bought rosemary and mint plants, but that's beside the point.  

You can also get really good, inexpensive mozzarella. I've been buying mine from Whole Foods recently and pay somewhere around $3.50 for two baseball-sized balls of mozzarella. My absolute favorite is burrata, but it's more expensive and not something you'd buy every week. The outer shell is solid mozzarella, while the inside contains both mozzarella and cream. I kid you not, it melts in your mouth. The best burrata I've had in New York City (over a bed of arugula and tomatoes) is from San Mateo, a little Italian pizzeria on the Upper East Side. It's owned by Italians, the wait staff is Italian, what's not to love? When I'm there I feel like I'm re-living my semester abroad in Rome. 

So there you have it: my love affair with tomatoes! No recipe necessary. 

Shrimp, Simply Spanish

I'm a huge fan of Mark Bittman (and, bragging rights: I've worked on the publicity for three of his books), so when I saw his "recipe" (he's not so much of a recipe kind of guy as a throw-in-a-handful-of-this-and-a-pinch-of-that kind of guy) and video for Shrimp, Simply Spanish, I knew I had to make it immediately. 

Even though this summer in New York City has been hot as blazes, my roommate and I figured we'd crank up the A/C and make this mouth-watering, gorgeous dish. Preparation included, it only took 15 minutes! I amended his recipe slightly because we didn't have all of the ingredients, and I think the only things I'd add next time would be a little fresh chili for some heat while the shrimp is cooking, and I'd sprinkle some fresh parsley on top at the end for some added flavor and color.

Shrimp, Simply Spanish

Serves 2

3/4 pound fresh shrimp, peeled (Bittman doesn't peel them until after he cooks them, but I think this is easier)
3 diced garlic gloves
1 cup sliced organic mini-heirloom tomatoes
1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
Salt and pepper to taste

Saute the garlic in olive oil in a pan for 1 to 2 minutes (don't let it brown). Add the shrimp, tomatoes, paprika, and cumin and saute it for 3 to 4 minutes, or until the shrimp turns pink and looks ready to eat.

And you're done! We had the shrimp as is with a side salad, but it would be delicious over jasmine rice or gluten-free pasta (my favorite is Trader Joe's Gluten Free Rice Pasta).