Frozen Tomato Pasta

Fast, Easy and Vegan

Sun-ripe tomatoes are flavorful and are great for snacking almost daily…I wish I could say that we grew them but these beautiful tomatoes are from a friend’s backyard…I’m a bit envious!

I had a planned to make Angie’s ‘Oven Baked Chicken with Italian Seasoned Tomato Sauce’ (looks fabulous, right?)…wait, no chicken?  We’re planning a trip very soon so we are limiting the number of grocery shopping trips lately…just buy the bare necessities…
Look for the bare necessities…
The simple bare necessities
Forget about your worries and your strife
I mean the bare necessities…
Old mother Nature’s recipes that brings the bare necessities of life!

What?…no song necessary?… I was about to dance….Anyway, I would like to introduce you to this very minimalistic dish so let’s put the candle…I mean tomato in the freezer!

Ingredients and Instruction for two servings (Print Recipe Here) Modified recipe from cookpad.com (recipe #3328313)

• 1 large ripe frozen tomato (put in the freezer overnight)
• 2 –3 cloves of garlic minced
• 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• Spaghetti noodle or angel hair pasta (I used about 200g/8oz)
• 5-6 basil leaves tear by hand plus 3-4 whole leaves for garnish
• Salt and pepper

1. Put the minced garlic in a microwave proof bowl along with the olive oil. Microwave for 2 minutes at 60% power. Let it cool. Set aside.
2. Cook the pasta 2 minutes longer than the package direction. Drain and soak in icy cold water until pasta is cold. This is my way of cooking pasta – put pasta in a skillet, cover with water then cook at medium heat.
3. Grate the tomato, skin and all ( I advise to wrap the tomato with paper towel… it is very cold).
   
4. Mix the cooled garlic with olive oil, grated tomato and basil well in a bowl. Salt and pepper to taste.
5. Drain the noodles and shake off the excess water. Combine well with tomato sauce (#4). Garnish with basil. Add more salt and pepper if you like.

A not-vegan arrangement: Add cooked bacon and grated cheese

My favorite way to eat tomato is actually oven-baked tomato…yum!

We have seedless grape vines in our back yard which wild birds love…Hey, leave some for us!I made grape clafoutis and posted the pic on Instagram (#todaystapas). It’s French but resembles Dutch Baby pancake.

I saw a Watermelon Shark on the internet and I wanted re-create but my watermelon was round not oblong…I had to improvise…right?

The haze (from the wildfires) is gone for now… we’re grateful that we had some rain in the last few days.
This photo was taken two weeks ago when it was still hazy. My husband and I are leaving for Japan to see our newest grandchild. I hope I’m able to resume my blog when I get back though I just would like to say to all my readers ‘Thank you’ You’re truly my inspiration.

Angel Hair Pasta Salad

Quick Main Pasta Dish for warmer weather

Hello Microsoft and Google people, please fix the ‘Live Writer’ program fast! Unable to post my blog since last week,  ‘Copy and Paste’ approach is not so cool! I thought the smart people who work there can all straighten up the problem in the matter of couple hours but….really?

The temperature was pushing upper-80’s last weekend, we turn on the air-conditioning rather than endure…The month of May’s hasty departure, I wasn’t ready for…a basket full of clean clothing ready to be folded…three days ago…in my defense, visiting sick friends take priority. I hope they like this weather appropriate light meal…even though it doesn’t look pretty in a plastic container.

Ingredients and Instruction for 3-4 servings (Print Recipe Here)

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 3 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar, white balsamic preferred if you have it.
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Fresh ground black pepper to taste
• 10-12 cherry tomatoes halved
• 1/2 peppers, I used yellow, thinly sliced…to bring bright color in!
• 10 or more basil leaves thinly sliced
• 4 slices of thick cut bacon roughly chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic thinly sliced
• Angel hair pasta, about 3 oz. per person
• Parmigiano reggiano cheese thinly shaved

1. Make dressing - In a medium bowl vigorously whisk olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper.
   
2. Add tomato, pepper, basil (leave a little bit for garnish) and toss to coat. Chill it in the refrigerator until needed.
   
3. Cook pasta my way - Lay the pasta (break in half if the pasta is too long) in large skillet and barely cover with cold water. Cook the pasta on medium heat, stirring occasionally so that pasta won’t stick together until al dente. Drain water through colander.Set aside.
4. Heat the same pan on medium heat; sauté bacon until it renders the fat and begins to brown, add garlic and cook for a few minutes longer. Note: do not brown garlic. Turn off the heat.
   
5. Bring the drained pasta back in the pan and combine with bacon and garlic.
   .
6. Divide pasta in 4 bowls. Top with chilled vegetables. Don’t forget to spoon over the dressing. Garnish with shaved cheese and basil. Salt and pepper to adjust flavor.
   

Arrangement #1: Add red pepper flakes (about 1/4 teaspoon) in the dressing for accent.

Arrangement #2 If you like lot more green then use salad green mix that comes in a bag.

From the TAPAS (#todaystapas) – Incredibly soft, light yogurt bread dough recipe from a Australian blogger Bake for Happy Kids…my husband made into cinnamon rolls…Fabulous! He took some to his office and got nice reviews…he will make more for the other critics/ foodies.

More of garden jewel – dangling earing like Gumi tree

Although the temperature dropped 20 degrees yesterday, still no complaints here. My sincere prayers are with those affected by terrible weather…

Noodling

Tomato and Basil Cold Noodle Soup

I quite like watching documentary films on Netflix such as ones from Animal Planet. I was alarmed by ‘Forks over Knives’ . Can I stick to a plant based diet for the rest of my life?…probably not…the opposition is too great in my household…What can you expect from a farm boy, right? (Not an) As You Wish situation here…and I’m not ready to commit either.

I could make small changes however, ‘eat less’ meat for a number of reasons. Today’s recipe is just that. And the weather is cooperating and this is something easy and refreshing for a meal on a warm summer evening.

Ingredients and Instruction for 2 to 4 servings (Print Recipe Here) 

• 600ml of water
• 1 cube of vegetable bullion , for those who prefer a stronger taste, 2 cubes
• 2 Tablespoons of sake
• 2 Tablespoons of lemon juice
• Angel hair pasta (I used half package)  Note: For gluten free recipe, use rice noodle.
• 3-5 tomatoes,stem removed and cut in wedges or chunks
• 6-8 basil leaves, roughly chopped if the leaves are large
• 3 Tablespoons of olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• Fresh ground black pepper

1. Pour water in sauce pan, add vegetable bullion, sake and lemon juice bring to boil and cook for 5 minutes. Leave in a pan until it cools to room temperature then transfer to refrigerator to chill.. Note: You could use ready made vegetable stock/broth in place of water and bullion. 
2. Cook angel hair pasta according to the package. When it’s done, drain and rinse with cold water. Set aside
3. Mix tomato and basil with olive oil and salt in a bowl. Set aside.
4. Assemble by piling up pasta in a dish then add tomato and basil mixture on top, don’t  forget to add the liquid left in the bowl, then pour some chilled vegetable soup over and finally top with ground black pepper. More salt and pepper to taste if needed.

 

Our project for last 3-4 weeks – making Fruits Enzyme Extract - basically fermented fruits (in this I used apples, kiwis, oranges and carrots).Three weeks later, it turned to umber color and bubbling… 

Diluted with water is easiest way to use it. I wasn’t sure for food safety though…Here honey, drink it all up! Good, right?

Then my husband used the juice in kefir pancakes…mmmm, not so angry bird!

I used the fruits pulp paste to make ice cream. The texture is quite interesting.

The cook book clamed that fruits enzyme makes you beautiful and look younger from inside (your body). I don’t see that result yet but this is expensive to make. The key ingredient is the special sugar, which cost nearly 10 bucks and you need two bags.  Ah oh! Seems like someone forgot to spell check…’beet’ not ‘beat’ I guess you can beat the argument that the sugar turn sucrose into beneficial glucose in the process which is an energy source for your brain. No I’m not sugar coating the facts.

My husband spent a couple of hours and thinned one Asian pear tree. Three more to go. What? You missed the bucket? With all of them?

Have a happy July!