Tomatoes - two ways!

I love shopping at the Farmer's Market but at times it can be a little expensive so I am always looking for a deal. A few weeks ago, I notice that my normal farmer had bags of about 6 large tomatoes on sale for $3. Normally these tomatoes are close to $3 each (since they are almost a pound each!) but since they were already nice and ripe they had them on "clearance". I was able to find a bunch that wasn't over-ripe and since I was going to use them right away anyways I was happy to buy them ripe and ready to use.

One of my favorite meals in summer time is tomato salads. There is nothing so simple and perfect but dependent on the ingredients. Tomatoes are something that still really only taste right in the summer. One bite of a fresh summer tomato is enough to make me want to swear off all of the super market varieties that range from acceptable to almost orange and mealy! But unfortunately, winter will be back soon enough and there will be 8 months worth of salads that rely on these sad tomato like substances!

The first variation is a traditional Italian tomato salad. This is an easy side that is welcome at my dinner table any night. It is best when you make it in advance and give it some time in the fridge to meld together. This is a simple mix of diced tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, fresh basil and some salt and pepper. If you want to turn it up a little a splash of balsamic can also be added. Or some fresh mozzarella to turn it into a Caprese Salad.

The second is more of a chunky salsa using the fresh flavors of Mexican cooking. For this version, I rough chopped the tomatoes with some red onion, green bell pepper, garlic, lime, cilantro and of course olive oil,  salt and pepper. These flavors are naturals with the sweet ripe tomato and the addition of some hot peppers (I used a jalapeno and a cherry bomb) kicks this up to another level. Make sure you are careful with the hot peppers though and use caution when chopping and with your hands after as the oil from the peppers can remain on hands for some time. 

Sausage Stuffed 8 ball zucchini

You might remember a similar post last year where I stuffed these adorable 8 ball zucchini with tomato basil quinoa. This year I have gone for a heartier version and used sausage (squeezed out of the casing) for the stuffing. I didn't use any grains but I think that rice would be a perfect addition to this dish if you would like to have a starch. These little squash aren't around for long - I only see them at the farmer's market for a few weeks each year but I can't pass them up! If you can't find 8 ball squash you can always use green squash with the center hollowed out a bit to make a "canoe". 

 

In case you haven't been experiencing the ridiculous heat that has been all over the east coast, let me fill you in - putting on the stove in my house this month is just not allowed...PERIOD! This means that my big hopes for my triumphant blog return have been delayed a bit since no stove means no cooking which means no dinners to post about! The best thing about this recipe is that I figured out a way to make these without having to use the oven! Yes, you do need to use the stove top but technically you could make these on the grill. Imagine what your guests will say when you take these adorable little sausage stuffed zucchini out instead of a big juicy steak? OK maybe you should warn them first because while they are delicious...a giant steak should never be messed with!

Better Late than Never: Fresh Caught Tuna

While I work for a large company with a few thousand employees, my division is quite small - just 4 of us in the USA! Like most small offices we have our share of office chit chat and as is probably no surprise to my readers - I like to talk food! My coworkers are often subjected to pictures of my latest creation but I figure its just about even as they get to show off their children to me.

Over the summer, Mike was getting ready for a big fishing trip and I made my feelings know on fresh fish....YES PLEASE and MORE! Well monday morning came and as I strolled into the office Mile took me aside very seriously and said he needed to speak to me in private.... uh oh? Um it wasn't me? Luckily instead of a lecture I was gifted 2 lovely tuna steaks...so fresh and beautiful I almost hesitated to cook them. In the end a quick sear  and some salt & pepper was all I could manage on these beauties with a simple side of steamed broccoli. Just another check in the delicious, local, fresh food doesn't need all that crap or a complicated prep to make it mouth watering column!

*FYI these pictures went missing for a while but some fall email cleaning unearthed them and this dinner was too delicious not to share - the fishing trip actually took place around the end of July*