Entries Tagged as 'tomato'

Fresh Mozzarella, Tomato, and Basil Couscous Salad

August 17th, 2009 · 3 Comments

couscous_basil_tomato_mozarella_salad

In the spring I found a recipe for Fresh Mozzarella, Tomato, and Basil Couscous Salad. As the summer progressed, I made it a few times for barbecues and stuff. It’s a great summer dish. When I make it I use Israeli couscous, which is a larger-sized couscous. I also use chicken broth instead of water when making it.

Fresh Mozzarella, Tomato, and Basil Couscous Salad

Ingredients

2 cups diced tomato
3/4 cup (3 ounces) diced fresh mozzarella cheese
3 tablespoons minced shallots
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 1/4 cup chicken broth
1 cup uncooked Israeli couscous
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
Basil leaves (optional)

Directions

Combine first 7 ingredients in a large bowl; cover and marinate in refrigerator 30 minutes.

Make couscous according to instructions, substituting chicken broth for the water. Add couscous and fresh basil to tomato mixture; toss gently. Garnish with basil leaves, if desired.

couscous_tomato_basil_mozarella_salad

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Tomatoes! Jalapenos! Hibiscuses..es..es!

July 21st, 2009 · 2 Comments

Look what we’ve got on our roof deck right now:

green_yellow_red_tomatoes

tomato_red_red_green

tomatoes

These grape tomatoes are SO sweet and delicious.

We’ve also got these:

jalpeno_pepper

I haven’t tried the jalapenos yet. Letting them get a little bigger. We have 6 more pepper plants of all different kinds, but they are further behind these jalapenos.

I’ve never grown tomatoes or peppers before and am so surprised and happy that they are bearing any vegetables!

We also have loads of herbs and flowers up on the roof. I planted two hibiscus plants. One died when we were on vacation. The other, she’s a beaut! -

hibiscus_1

hibiscus_2

hibiscus_3

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Tuesdays with the Farmers’ Market

July 23rd, 2008 · 4 Comments

Yesterday morning I went back to the Lincoln Square farmers’ market. The farmers’ market is fun for everyone. In the photo above: spot the hipster, spot the kids, the elderly, the middle-aged. My bag felt extra heavy so I weighed it when I got home. 13 pounds! Ouch. Good thing I took the bus.

I wanted to note that these are my favorite vendors:
- Seedling Fruit, South Haven, MI :: Great fruit, esp. berries
- River Valley Kitchen, Burlington, WI :: All sorts of mushrooms
- Lange’s Farm, Elwood, IL :: Excellent variety of high-quality vegetables
- Dotson’s Farm, Linwood, IL :: Good selection of herb plants

This is what I bought at the farmers’ market:
- cherries
- raspberries
- blueberries
- 5 ears of corn
- 2 cucumbers
- 4 beets (A lady saw my beets and asked me how to prepare them. I said “I don’t know! I have to go home and look it up online!”)
- green beans
- tomatoes
- 4 portobello tops (I want to make these)
- portobello salsa with cilantro & key lime
- 4 free cta rides courtesy of Swedish Covenant Hospital (they were handing them out at the nearby Western Brown Line stop and just kept giving me more)

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$36 Well Spent at the Lincoln Square Farmers’ Market

July 20th, 2008 · 4 Comments


Lincoln Square Farmers’ Market, Lincoln Square, Chicago


Lincoln Square Farmers’ Market, Lincoln Square, Chicago


Farmers’ Market Produce, Roscoe Village, Chicago

Back in Chicago means back at the Tuesday Lincoln Square farmers’ market. For $36 I brought home:

- 3 large portabello tops
- small portabellos
- raspberries
- blueberries
- cherries
- 2 sage plants
- green onions
- two types of zucchini
- yellow squash
- grape tomatoes (various colors)
- green pepper
- 5 ears of corn
- lettuce
- 1 free energy saver light bulb from the 47th Ward alderman Gene Schulter

Everything is so much better when you get it fresh from the regional farmers instead of shipped from who knows where at the supermarket. The berries were unbelievable. So flavorful. And the lettuce was so big and tasty. And the corn! So sweet and delicate.

I don’t think I wrote about this before, but I’ve spoken about it to a few people. I really like the guy in the mushroom stand. I’ve talked to him a lot about the different kinds of mushrooms he has. One day we talked about how portobello’s, the large ones, were actually a mistake. They were the little crimini mushrooms that were let go another 2 or 3 days and grew big, what we now know as portobellos. Then portobellos got to be so popular that they now refer to criminis as baby portobellos and sometimes charge more for them. This last time I was at the market the mushroom stand was crazy. Instead of the one guy there were 2-3 more people working the stand and giving out samples and stuff. They also sell a lot of canned mushroom dips, salsas and sauces that they give out free samples of. The mushrooms are grown in a greenhouse in Wisconsin.

I also went to Jewel later on to get a few more things so I could make this corn/avocado/tomato salad. We actually made this salad a lot when I was in Cape Cod and used the basil that Jessica’s uncle gave us. I don’t really have a specific recipe for the salad, but this is what’s in it. I just added enough of each til it looked good.

- 1 avocado
- 2 cobs of corn, cook & cut off the cob
- about a cup of tomato
- basil
- splash of olive oil
- salt
- pepper
- juice of one lemon

I’d gotten the corn and tomatoes at the farmers’ market and I grew the basil on my patio.

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Joe’s Birthday Dinner

July 10th, 2008 · 1 Comment


Caprese Salad, South Yarmouth, Cape Cod


Joe, Jessica, Jane :: South Yarmouth, Cape Cod

Last week was Joe, Jessica’s dad’s birthday. This week he and Jessica’s mom, Jane, are visiting on the Cape, so one night we invited them to our house for dinner. Jess, Julie and I served a homemade cucumber, yogurt, dill dip with vegetables, hummus and a cheese plate for appetizers. Then we made turkey burgers like we had the other night, grilled vegetables, corn on the cob, and grilled chicken for dinner. Julie made a caprese salad with fresh basil we got from Jess’s uncle, fresh mozzarella and tomatoes. Jane also brought a tasty potato salad – secret ingredient: bacon. Everything was delicious. For birthday dessert we had a Dairy Queen ice cream cake. YUM.

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