Baked Tomatoes, Squash, and Potatoes

Serves 8

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
1 onion, thinly sliced
2 small tomatoes, sliced 1/4-inch thick
1 medium yellow summer squash, sliced 1/4-inch thick
1 medium Yukon Gold potato, sliced 1/4-inch thick
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Heat oil over medium and cook onion until tender and lightly golden, 6 to 8 minutes. Arrange the onion on the bottom of a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Overlap tomato, squash, and potato on top of the onion. Season with salt and pepper, sprinkle with thyme and Parmesan, and drizzle with more oil. Bake covered for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake until golden, 30 minutes more.

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Pumpkin Enchiladas

The Filling:

4 cup black beans (measured after soaking)  This also equals about 2 cans.
2 cup pureed cooked pumpkin
1 sweet potato chopped
6-8 vine ripened tomatoes chopped
2 cups corn (please try to buy this organic)
1/2 cup veggie broth
2 tsp garlic powder (or 3 to 4 cloves minced)
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
optional: 1 jalapeno diced, seeds and all
I soaked the black beans the night before. I also roasted my own pumpkin and pureed it myself, but pureed pumpkin in a can would also work. Add everything to the crock pot. Turn on high and walk away for 6-8 hours or so. A tip, I did this part at night. I woke up to the most amazing smelling house. For some real heat, you can throw in a jalapeno to really give this filling some kick.  Melissa doesn’t like much spice, so I left that out of my recipe.
The Enchilada:
(Per each one)
1 tortilla
3 heaping spoonfuls of filling
Cheese sauce
1 T pistachio dust per enchilada (pistachios that have been processed into a course consistency)
1-2 T diced raw red onions
Now you have the filling, not to mention an awesome pumpkin chili to gorge on. First thing is first, the pistachio dust is essential to this recipe. You can just buy pistachios and food process them until they are course. Real simple. To put together the enchilada, pick a tortilla of your choice, lay it flat, and put three good sized spoon fulls of the filling slightly off-center in a line.  We used Food for Life tortillas. Next add the cheese sauce. I didn’t put an amount because really this is personal taste. Add as much to your heart’s cheese-loving content. We used our cashew cheese sauce, but you could also melt your own cheese in some milk and butter for you omnivores out there. Lastly, add the red onion. Wrap the filling in the tortilla like you would a burrito or a sandwich wrap. Next, add some more cheese sauce on top. Finally, add your pistachio dust on top of the cheese sauce. I did several at once in an 8X8 baking dish and put it in the oven for five minutes or so. Remove and you are done.
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Tomato and Watermelon Salad

4 servings

2 1/2 cups seedless watermelon, in 1-inch cubes or balls (cut over a bowl to catch the juice and reserve it)

1 1/2 cups cherry or grape tomatoes, cut in half
1/2 cup finely diced or crumbled Stilton, Gorgonzola, Roquefort or Maytag blue cheese
1/2 cup minced scallions
Salt
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
Pinch cayenne
1/2 cup cilantro or parsley, roughly chopped.

1. Combine the watermelon, tomatoes, cheese, scallions and salt in a bowl.
2. Whisk or blend together about 2 tablespoons of the watermelon juice, oil, vinegar and cayenne. To serve, dress the salad with this mixture, and garnish with cilantro. Do not refrigerate, and serve within 30 minutes.

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Zucchini with Tomatoes

Serves 4
2 medium zucchini (or summer squash)
2 medium onions, peeled and chopped
2 medium tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped
1-2 cloves garlic, peeled and mashed
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
4 Tbsp butter
4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp. pepper
Peel tomatoes, by dipping them into boiling water with a slotted spoon, for about 5 seconds each. Cut in half around the equator, hold tomato half in the the palm of your hand and gently squeeze out the seeds. Cut ends off of squash, slice into quarters lengthwise and slice thinly. Mix with sea salt and let stand about an hour. Rinse in a colander and pat dry. Saute squash in butter and olive oil in batches over medium-high heat until golden. Set aside. Saute onion in butter and oil until tender. Add tomato, raise heat and saute a few minutes until liquid is almost all absorbed. Add zucchini, garlic, thyme and pepper. Saute about one more minute until flavors are amalgamated. Don't let squash overcook!

From "Nourishing Traditions" by Sally Fallon, page 411

Purslane and Tomato Simple Salad

Tomatoes
Purslane
Olive oil
Lemon juice
Salt
Toss all ingredients together and enjoy!
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Spring Roasted Corn Salad with Avocados, Radishes, and Tomatoes

Serves 1, can be multiplied

1 ear of corn, husked
6-8 grape tomatoes, halved
3-5 radishes, quartered
1/2 avocado, diced
1 scallion, sliced
2 tablespoons basil, chiffonade

Dressing
olive oil, to taste
lime juice, to taste
cayenne, salt and pepper, to taste

Char corn over medium heat, turning frequently until it's evenly cooked. Cut the kernels off the cob and add to a salad bowl. Fold in the rest of the ingredients. Whisk together dressing, taste, and mix with the salad. Eat this right away. If you are enjoying the salad for lunch, it might be substantial enough on its own. For dinner, pair it up with grilled chicken, shrimp, or fish. Or simply with a charred piece of bread.

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Spaghettini with Checca Sauce

Ingredients

• 8 ounces spaghettini or angel hair pasta
• 4 scallions (white and pale green parts only), coarsely chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 (12-ounce container) cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 (1-ounce) piece Parmesan, coarsely chopped
• 8 to 10 fresh basil leaves
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente, tender but still firm to the bite, stirring often, about 8 minutes. Meanwhile, combine the next 7 ingredients in a food processor. Pulse just until the tomatoes are coarsely chopped (do not puree). Drain the pasta, reserving some of the pasta water. Toss the pasta with the tomato mixture and fresh mozzarella in a large bowl. Add some of the reserved pasta water (about 1/4 cup) if the sauce looks dry. Serve immediately.

Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis
Recommended by Betsy Buford 'Sooo good. Err on the side of too many tomatoes, or it could get onion-y'

Roasted Garlic and Squash Soup with Tomato Salsa

This comes from a CSA member, and while it calls for butternut squash, any sweet, flavorful squash will do.

• 2 heads (bulbs) garlic, outer papery skin removed
• 5 Tbs olive oil
• A few fresh thyme sprigs
• 1 large butternut squash, halved & seeded
• 2 onions, chopped
• 1 tsp ground coriander seed
• 5 cups vegetable or chicken stock
• 2-3 Tbs chopped fresh oregano or marjoram
• Sea salt and ground black pepper

For the Salsa:

• 4 large ripe tomatoes, halved and seeded
• 1 red bell pepper, halved and seeded
• 1 large fresh red chile, halved and seeded
• 2-3 Tbs olive oil
• 1 Tbs balsamic vinegar

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Place garlic bulbs on a piece of foil and pour half of the olive oil over them. Add thyme sprigs then fold foil around bulbs to enclose them completely. Place the foil parcel on a baking sheet with the squash halves. Brush squash halves with 1 Tbs of the remaining oil. Add tomatoes, pepper and chile to the baking sheet. Roast the vegetables for 25 minutes; remove tomatoes, pepper and chile and reduce temperature to 375 degrees F. Cook squash and garlic 20-25 minutes more until squash is tender.

Heat remaining oil in large heavy pot over medium-low heat and cook onions and ground coriander until soft, about 10 minutes. Remove the skin from the pepper and chile. Blend in blender with tomatoes and 2 Tbs of the olive oil. Stir in vinegar and seasoning to taste. Add remaining oil if desired.

Squeeze the roasted garlic paste out of its papery skins into the onions. Scoop the squash out of its skin and add it to the pan. Add stock and salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in hlaf of the chopped fresh herbs and allow the soup to cool slightly, then blend until smooth, working in batches if necesssary. Alternatively, press the soup through a fine-meshed sieve. Reheat the soup gently and adjust seasoning if needed. Serve topped with remaining fresh herbs and tomato salsa.

Bruschetta in a Bowl

What do you do when you are too lazy to slice and toast the bread for Bruschetta? Toss it in with the rest of the ingredients, warm it in the oven and Voila! Less messy for the kids, too!



While this version has quite a few ingredients (I was trying to use up little bits of everything I had in my fridge/pantry!), it can be as simple or varied as you like. Even just tomatoes and basil work, and I also recently saw a recipe for roasted beet bruschetta. Of course you can still serve this the traditional way as well, spooned onto sliced, toasted bread.

• 1 eggplant, diced
• 2 tomatoes, diced (or 1/2 can)
• 1 Tbs capers
• 1 leek (white part), sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup fava beans
• 1/2 cup mixed olives
• 1 Tbs sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp dried parsley
• 1/2 tsp dried basil
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 Tbs balsamic vinegar
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• 2-3 slices crusty stale bread, broken into bite-sized pieces
• 1 cup cubed mozzarella cheese

Combine all ingredients except bread and cheese in oven-proof dish. Bake at 450 degrees F for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until eggplant is soft. Toss in bread and cheese and return to oven for 5-10 minutes, until heated through and cheese is melty.