Thomas' tomato salad

Every summer my mom would pack us three kids into the white Ford Aerostar. We'd drive eight hours south before arriving in a very small town in Georgia to visit her side of the family. My grandparents were divorced and lived 40 minutes apart, so we spent half of the week with each of them.

His name was Thomas, but to us he was Grandaddy. A jovial man with a heart of gold. He'd whip up amazing farm-to-table meals before I even understood what that meant. There would be a low country boil thrown out onto newspaper-covered picnic tables and freshly-caught catfish shaken in paper bags of cornmeal and flour before throwing into the deep fryer. The man could cook.

One of my favorite things he would make was probably the simplest. He would cut ripe tomatoes from the garden into wedges, cover with Italian dressing, and set aside to marinate on the lazy susan in the middle of the dining table. Oh, how I loved those tomatoes.
Slowly tomatoes are starting to appear at the farmers market. I've been anticipating this moment for months. Last weekend I decided to make my Grandaddy's tomatoes for an afternoon snack, but instead of store-bought Italian dressing, I made my own vinaigrette. I think he would approve.

Thomas' tomato salad 
Serves one
1 large local ripe tomato, cut into wedges
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp white wine or champagne vinegar
pinch of sea salt & cracked pepper
1/4 tsp oregano, dried
1 tbsp fresh dill
2 basil leaves, chiffonade

Put the tomato into a small bowl. Mix the oil, vinegar, salt, pepper, and oregano. Pour over the tomatoes and sprinkle with dill and basil.

I prefer the tomatoes at room temperature, so I eat them immediately. A few goat cheese crumbles wouldn't hurt either.

Curried tomato soup with toasted coconut

I was intrigued by this week's Food Matters Project recipe. I love tomato soup and all things coconut, but I haven't used coconut milk in tomato soup before. I noticed the idea recently when I read Heidi's simple tomato soup post. After looking at the ingredient list for this week's Food Matters Project recipe, I was excited to see coconut milk listed, because I wanted to give it a shot.

If coconut isn't your thing, don't worry. This soup doesn't taste like coconut. The coconut milk gives it body and richness, without overpowering the flavor. The curry really stands out here. It also departs a lovely yellow-orange color to the classic red tomato soup. I replaced the potatoes with the humble turnip. Turnips are a lovely vegetable that often go unnoticed. They're perfect here as they provide a similar starchiness to the potato as well as adding a healthy dose of vitamin B and C, potassium, phosphorus, calcium, and trace minerals to the soup (1).

Bittman garnishes his soup with hard-boiled eggs, but I was lazy and decided to sprinkle with toasted coconut and cilantro instead. Make this into a heartier dish by serving over leftover rice, quinoa, or millet. Soup always seems to taste better with age.

Curried tomato soup
Adapted from The Food Matters Cookbook
1/4 c coconut flakes (or shredded unsweetened coconut)
4 tbsp coconut oil or ghee (I used a mixture)
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp ginger, minced
1 tbsp jalapeño, minced
2 tbsp curry powder
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp garam masala
1 carrot, chopped
2 small turnips, chopped
1-28 oz. can of whole peeled tomatoes (chopped), and the juice
1 medium tomato, chopped
1-13.5 oz can of full fat coconut milk
2.5-3 cups of water or vegetable broth
half a head of cauliflower, chopped
1 tbsp of fresh lemon juice
Garnish with cracked pepper, cilantro, & toasted coconut

Preheat oven to 350. Add coconut flakes to a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 5 minutes or until lightly browned. Set aside.

Heat dutch oven or large soup pot over medium heat. Add coconut oil. When hot, add onion, garlic, ginger, and jalapeño. Cook for a few minutes, then stir in the spices. When the spices are fragrant, add the turnip and carrot. Cook for a few minutes, stirring frequently. Add the tomatoes, tomato juice, coconut milk, and water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Add the cauliflower and cook for another 10 minutes, until all the vegetables are soft. Remove from heat, add the lemon juice. Blend with an immersion blender (or regular blender) until smooth. Be careful with the hot liquids. Garnish with freshly cracked pepper, cilantro, and toasted coconut.

This recipe makes 9-10 cups of soup, so I decided to freeze some for later. I let the soup completely cool—by pouring into several containers and sitting in a large tub of ice water—then I put a little over a cup into each sandwich bag. Sandwich bags work better for individual servings, and gallon bags are better for families. I labelled the bag with the contents and date, then laid the bags flat in the freezer. Once frozen, they stack easily. When you're ready to eat them, put the bag into a bowl of hot water until the soup is almost liquid again. Pour into a soup pot, heat, and enjoy!

See how Joanne and others made the recipe this week. Don't forget to follow the group on Facebook or to follow Adrienneats there as well!

Source: (1) Wood, Rebecca. The New Whole Foods Encyclopedia. p. 367. 

Smoky black-eyed pea fritters with braised greens

It's a Southern tradition to have collard greens and black-eyed peas on New Year's Day. Collards are eaten because they symbolize money and fortune while peas are thought to bring good luck. Every year as long as I can remember, my mom would make cornbread, collard greens drizzled with vinegar, and black-eyed peas cooked with ham. Some believe the more you eat, the richer and luckier you will become. Do you have any New Year's traditions?

I decided to start our own tradition this year. I braised collard greens in vinegar and made smoky black-eyed pea fritters with tomatoes for dinner. The collards are cooked long and slow, but are silky from the olive oil and flavored with the vinegar. The fritters get their smokiness from smoked paprika and chili powder. Instead of using eggs and breadcrumbs in the fritters, I substituted millet, which makes them gluten free and vegan. When cooking millet, start with cold water if you want a creamier texture, which is perfect for these fritters or these croquettes. If you were to add the millet to hot water, it would keep the grains intact, which is ideal for a pilaf.

I topped the fritters with diced tomatoes marinated in a little olive oil, sea salt, pepper, and white balsamic vinegar. They add a little color and texture to the dish. These fritters would make an excellent vegan appetizer as they make great finger food.

Smoky black-eyed pea fritters
Adapted from Cafe Flora
2.5 c black-eyed peas, cooked
4 garlic cloves, minced
3 celery stalks, small dice (.25 in.)
1/4 onion, small dice (.25 in.)
1 tsp chili powder
3/4 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp smoked paprika
3/4-1 c cooked millet

Preheat oven to 350.

Add all the ingredients to the food processor, except the millet. Pulse about 4 times, scrap down the sides, and pulse a few more times. You should have a rough coarse meal. Add mixture to a large bowl with the millet. Mix well with hands. Form 1 inch patties with hands. If the mixture is still too wet, add more millet. This recipe should yield 22-25 small 1 inch patties. I like to keep them smaller, so they get crispier.

Bake on an oiled or parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake 12-15 minutes, flip patties over, and baked for another 8-10 minutes on the other side. Remove from oven and top with tomato mixture.

Braised collard greens
1 bunch collard greens
~1/4 c olive oil
1/2 medium sweet onion
3 garlic cloves
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp pepper
dash of red chili flakes
1/4-1/2 c cider vinegar

Rinse collard greens well, sometimes they're rather sandy. Remove stems and dice small. Cut leaves into thin ribbons or bite-size pieces. Heat olive oil over medium heat in a dutch oven or large saute pan. Add the onion and saute until translucent. Next add the garlic, salt, pepper, and red chili flakes. Saute for about 2 minutes, then add the collard stems. Cook for about 5 minutes, reduce heat to low, and add the leaves. You might need to add the leaves in two bunches, stirring to make room for the rest of the greens. Add the vinegar and stir well. Cover. Cook for about 45 minutes. Check the greens from time-to-time, stirring, to make sure they aren't dry. If so, add a bit more vinegar or water. Add a dash of salt and pepper to taste. They taste even better the next day.

The best Greek salad

I love Greek salads. Salty olives and feta with the refreshing bite of cucumber and tomato is perfect. This salad is so simple that it relies on the integrity of its few ingredients. Buy the freshest tomatoes, cucumber, onion and basil you can find (probably at your local farmers market). We all know that eating Greek salads in winter, when tomatoes and cucumbers are out of season, isn't very tasty.

This is a great healthy lunch that can be made in minutes. Or make the night before so the flavors have time to meld and pack for lunch the next day.

Greek Salad
1-2 pickling cucumbers
1 cup of cherry tomatoes, halved
1/4 c kalamata olives, pitted & halved
1/4 red onion, sliced
1.5 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
dash of sea salt and pepper
handful of basil, chiffonaded
goat feta to garnish

Chop the cucumbers into slices and cut in half. Toss into a bowl along with the tomatoes, olives, and onion. Drizzle the olive oil and vinegar over top. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Garnish with basil and goat feta. Enjoy with a slice of baguette or this cold soup.

Thanks again for all your comments on what you like reading here!

Tomato-watermelon salad with feta

Hope you all had a great holiday weekend. I can't believe it's already July. That means the year is already half way over, and we're getting closer to getting married (!).

Here's what I whipped up for a Fourth of July potluck. This salad screams summer. I love the combination of tomatoes and watermelon, especially with fresh herbs and salty feta. A great seasonal salad and a nice change from the regular ol' green salad.

Like tomatoes, watermelon contains the amazing antioxidant, lycopene. Watermelon is also an excellent source of vitamin C. I love how refreshing watermelon is on hot and humid Carolina days (which is everyday lately).

Tomato-watermelon salad with feta
3 large ripe heirloom tomatoes
4 cups watermelon, cut into cubes
1 small cucumber, chopped
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
juice of 1 lime
3 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup of herbs (basil, mint, cilantro)
dash of sea salt & cracked pepper
Garnish with feta

Mix the tomatoes, watermelon and cucumber into a large bowl. Drizzle with balsamic, lime juice and olive oil. Toss in the herbs, salt and pepper. Mix well. Garnish with feta. Feel free to omit the feta and add avocado to make this vegan. Enjoy!

Green olive chickpeas

I stopped by my favorite Mediterranean bakery and deli to grab some pita bread last weekend. I didn't realize I was hungry until I stood in front of the counter with hummus, baba ghanouj, tzatziki, bean salads, potato salad and tabouli staring back at me. I normally grab hummus or tabouli, but this time I grabbed a chickpea salad. I took a bite expecting it to taste like an regular chickpea salad with lemon and parsley. But I was wrong. There were salty green olives sprinkled throughout which made it something special. I decided I had to make this at home (as an alternative to this yummy salad).

Green olive chickpeas
2 c chickpeas or 1 can, rinsed
1/4 c green olives, sliced
1/2 c parsley, chopped
1 bunch of scallions, chopped
handful of cherry tomatoes, chopped
juice of 1 lemon
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp za'atar
cracked pepper

Mix chickpeas, olives, parsley, scallions and tomatoes into a large bowl. Mix remaining ingredients in a small dish. Stir well and pour over the bean mixture. Let flavors meld before serving. Enjoy as a cold salad or stuff inside a pita for a tasty lunch.