Category Archives: Summer

The first time I had the classic pasta dish with chunks of fresh tomatoes, basil and garlic tossed through thin strands of angel hair, I was fairly young and out to dinner at a fancy-schmancy restaurant with my grandparents. My step-grandmother Patti Grande’s first husband worked in old Hollywood and she brought a bit of that glamour to my family’s life when she married my grandpa, aka Opa. That meal was the first of many delicious dishes, because my grandparent’s only wanted to eat delights and treat us whenever we visited. It was a great lesson in my otherwise busy childhood full of dance lessons and homework to stop and eat something beautiful; to dine with elegance. As an adult, I loved to cook for them, thrilling them both with dishes inspired by some of those exciting dinners we had shared in my youth.

That Fresh Tomato Pasta stuck with me and became one of the first dishes I felt I truly mastered as a budding young cook. Not that it is anything beyond simplicity since you rely exclusively on the glories of good seasonal tomatoes, but that in and of itself was a lesson. Never settle for out of season, flavorless, salmon colored tomatoes.

Over the years that sauce has made appearances on thin slices of toasted french bread rubbed with garlic to become Bruschetta, to smoother fillets of Chicken Pomodoro, as filling in a Tomato Omelette, or tossed with eggs or tofu for a Tomato Basil Scramble.

Make a huge batch of this fresh sauce and store for a day or two in the fridge for all of these various delights. Use a slotted spoon to scoop out the sauce as the juices start to flow as it rests and melds. Extras of the sauce are also perfect in my version of Shrimp Scampi which relies on tomatoes & herbs to give it even more flavor.

Fresh Tomatoes & Basil

1 pound tomatoes

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1/2 cup fresh basil, washed and dried

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 teaspoon salt, more or less, to taste

1 pinch black pepper, to taste

Cut the tomatoes into quarters. With your finger, gently remove the seeds and juice. Chop into small pieces and toss with the minced garlic.

Stack up the basil and roll into a cigar. Thinly slice and then roughly mince the strips. Toss with the tomatoes, extra-virgin olive oil, salt and pepper. Taste. Adjust any of the flavors to your desired taste.

Balsamic Quinoa Salad is quick and satisfying

As a follow-up to my last post, I wanted to talk a bit about how we manage our “no cooking indoors” rule during hot summer nights.  As the mother of two rapidly growing girls and the wife of a guy with the fastest metabolism in the West, the lovely cold soup paired with a beautiful green salad that would tantalize my girlfriends simply isn’t an option.  We need protein, healthy fats, and complex carbs to fuel the furnaces in this house.

One of the strategies we use here is to give our salads some heft by making them from a base of whole grains and legumes.  The rice cooker on the deck is used for brown rice salads, or else I’ll make a large pot of quinoa or beans early in the week and then use it in multiple ways in the days that follow.  In a pinch, I also keep several different types of canned beans in the pantry. (there is no comparison between canned and homemade beans, and the pressure cooker whips up those babies pretty quick, but let’s be realistic here, sometimes we all need canned beans.)

Grain salads are so easy and satisfying, and are incredibly versatile and can easily be adapted to whatever you have lying around the house.  My basic guidelines for grain salads are as follows:

2 cups cooked grains
2 cups cooked beans (or one can)
2 cups chopped vegetables
½ cup chopped fresh fruit or ¼ cup dried fruit
¼ cup chopped fresh herbs
¼ cup toasted chopped nuts or seeds
2-3 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp vinegar or juice of ½-1 lemon or lime
salt and pepper to taste

For picky kids or infants over 8 months, you can serve cooked rice or quinoa, beans, and fruits or veggies as separate items without dressing.
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The version of this recipe as pictured above:
Balsamic Quinoa Salad

2 cups cooked quinoa
1 can drained garbanzo beans
¼ cup chopped, toasted almonds
1 chopped carrot
1 large chopped stalk of celery
½ chopped red bell pepper
¼ cup sliced kalamata olives
¼ cup chopped chives (with flowers) and dill
3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp grated parmesan
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients and enjoy!