With the super-abundance of fresh tomatoes and other veggies right now, there’s no better way to blend them all together than by making a delicious gazpacho.
Although the recipe has a lot of ingredients and may seem complicated, it really isn’t. Be sure to chill the soup well before serving. 🙂
My mom called me the other day, enthused about her super abundance of tomatoes. She wanted to start making sauce, and lot’s of it 🙂
The Pomarola Sauce from a couple of weeks ago hailed from Naples. Today’s recipe is a Tuscan classic. In Tuscany, the rule of thumb is is combine only necessary ingredients, of the highest quality, and in perfect proportions, in order to produce the very best results.
Given the fact that this recipe only has three ingredients, I think you’ll have the chance to taste a bit Tuscany, and how could that not be a good thing?
Tomorrow is the Feast of St. Ignatius of Loyola, who grew up in the castle depicted to the left. Because he was born and raised in the Basque country of Spain, where Loyola castle is located, I thought it would be fun to find an appropriate recipe to share with you this Saturday. So, in honor of St. Ignatius, I hope you’ll try this hearty vegetarian paella, which can be easily adapted to include chicken and shrimp.
I was out for a hike at the Nature Center near my house the other day. Many of the trails there border acres and acres of corn, and it’s been pretty cool to watch those stocks grow from week to week.
I don’t know where I heard it, but there’s an old saying that, in these parts, a farmer is happy when the corn is knee-high by the fourth of July. The farmers must be very content this year 🙂
Unfortunately, most of the corn grown in my community is feed corn, not meant for us humans. Luckily, some farmers grow delicious corn for us, and my next door neighbor always tells me that the tastiest comes from Old Mrs. Leister, just off Route 27. That sounds far away, but in reality, it’s less than 10 minutes from my house. Yes, her corn is wonderfully sweet. I’m sure you’ll enjoy this healthy recipe, no matter where you get your corn 🙂
Hope you’re having a great start to your weekend. Today’s pasta sauce comes from Naples, and you can use either fresh or canned tomatoes.
My brother gave me a couple of earthbox containers a few years ago, and that’s where I plant my tomatoes. Although they grow a bit smaller, the tomatoes have great flavor and I’ve been harvesting for about three weeks now. I had to supplement my crop with some from my local Farmer’s Market for this recipe, but I’m sure we’ll enjoy every drop of this tasty sauce.
I had to go to the nearby town of Emmitsburg yesterday, and whenever I’m in that area, I always try and stop by the Catoctin Mountain Orchard. They have some of the best local produce around, and I picked up some great stuff yesterday, including a quart of fresh English peas.
I had wanted to make a pasta dish for some friends, and seeing the peas, I remembered I had a recipe for Pasta Piselli, a classic Italian favorite. This is a simple dish, and the ingredients are few: Fresh peas, tomatoes, herbs and onions. That’s about it. If you can’t find fresh peas, frozen are o.k. But try and find fresh.
I was sitting in an outdoor cafe in Florence the first time I had Panzanella. The main component of this frugal Tuscan dish is stale bread.
Teamed up with tomatoes, onion, cucumber, and basil, mixed together in a vinaigrette, the dish sings.
Now that things are getting hot and humid, this recipe makes for a terrific light lunch or dinner. Serve it up with a Pinot Grigio or some other light white, preferably from the same region of Italy where this bread salad is a lunch/dinner-time staple.
OK, friends, it’s about 100 degrees where I am today, and it’s just too darn hot to think about making soup. So, as we move into the summer months, Soup on Saturdays may sometimes have something other than soup. Forgive me in advance, but I don’t want to change the catchy page title. 🙂
Just a reminder, lentils are highly nutritional, and you get the added benefit of a healthy dose of vegetarian protein.
Last weekend, I ventured out to a local institution called Baugher’s. Initially a 60 acre farm, now Baugher’s has morphed into a restaurant, market, and nursery. Because of all the chain stores and restaurants that have popped up in our area, this 100-year-old establishment is struggling.
I was there to buy a pie, which are also famous in these parts, and ended up with a bunch of very ripe, on-the-vine tomatoes. Since my tomato plants are only just now in flower, it will be many weeks before I’ll be able to eat my own.
The one’s from Baugher’s must have come up from Florida, and usually, I don’t take a risk with store-bought tomatoes, which generally have no taste. Not these. They packed tons of flavor, and I was glad I bought them. Since they were so ripe, I needed to do something with them quickly, so used up some other veggies I had on hand, and the result was this soup. Enjoy 🙂
There were slim pickings at the farmer’s market today. Maybe I got there a bit late…
Well, today’s soup is just right for a light and easy meal, perfect for this long holiday weekend. You may not be able to get your ingredients at the farmer’s market near you, but I found the zucchini in abundance at my local grocery store. I had the basil at home.
My basil is doing great, and I’ve got it growing in several different pots. With the sunny and warm weather we’ve been having, the new growth is spilling out all over. This recipe uses a lot of basil, so I’m hoping my plants will appreciate the hair cut.