Tomatoes are Delicious: Tomato Soup

Whoever invented tomato soup was some kind of brilliant idiot. Honestly, it is so good to eat, but so inexplicably inefficient to make.

It boils down to this: if you have a lot of time on your hands and want to show off a bit, make tomato soup. It's certainly worth it.

I'm a soup addict. Tomato soup is the perfect summer or winter dinner. The problem with craving tomato soup in the winter is that you can't get good tomatoes! Last night, Coy and I each enjoyed our soup with cheese on top, and sparkling lemonade and a whole wheat baguette on the side. Then I put the rest in the freezer for safe keeping. I'm like the ant, always thinking ahead.

I made my soup at the very peak of tomato season. I got big, red beefsteak tomatoes and sweet vidalia onions from the Nashville Farmers' Market. I roasted them with garlic, rosemary and fennel and blended it all together with basil from my windowsill. It's like preserving the best of summer in a bowl.

Roasted Tomato Soup:
-Serves four as a meal, six as a side dish

4 1/2 pounds red tomatoes
2 small vidalia onions
1 large bulb fennel
1 head garlic
2 cups milk (I used 2%)
1 cup fresh basil
4 sprigs rosemary, roughly torn

Slice fennel and onion in 1/4 inch rounds, slice tomatoes in half and chop the top off of a whole head of garlic. Cover vegetables in lots of olive oil, kosher salt and rosemary. Roast in oven at 400 until onions and fennel are caramelized and tomatoes are soft (this could take up to 55 minutes depending on your oven and your vegetables; check them after 30 minutes, and then every 10 minutes after that). Discard rosemary when vegetables are done. Meanwhile, warm (do NOT simmer or boil) the milk with the basil in it for 30 minutes. Blend everything together (be sure to squeeze the garlic out of its skin). Strain through a fine mesh sieve. Add 1/2 a cup of remaining pulp to thicken soup.

*Note: I recommend roasting tomatoes in something shallow like a pie dish. Juice will come off of them and caramelize in the bottom. That juice is delicious! Plus it will make a mess in your oven if it drips off a cookie sheet.

Tomatoes are delicious: BLT Casserole

Last summer I made BLT stuffed tomatoes and let me tell you, I made a mess. "Gutting" whole tomatoes, as I like to call it, is downright barbaric. It bruises the tomatoes and stains my shirts; I will not stand for it.

My friends, on the other hand, raved over the end result. Like Madonna in the '80's, the BLT stuffed tomatoes had everything going for them: caramelization, gooey cheese, crunchy bacon, soft bread, fresh spinach and a touch of spice. They have begged me to make them again ever since.

When Coy told me that he bought a steak to grill, I briefly considered revisiting my barbarism. What could be a better accompaniment to a steak than anything BLT-flavored? Luckily, I couldn't find uniformly sized heirloom tomatoes at the farmer's market. So I made BLT casserole.

Personally, I like it even better than the stuffed tomatoes! You just can't go wrong with quinoa and an egg- it makes everything light and fluffy. The tomatoes are juicy, the bacon is smokey, the top is caramelized. It hit the spot.

BLT Casserole
-serves 2 as a meal, 4 as a side dish
1/2 cup quinoa
1 small sweet onion, diced
1 one pound tomato, preferably heirloom
1 cup spinach
3 slices applewood smoked, thick cut bacon
1 large egg
1/4 cup cheese, grated (you guessed it, I used goat milk gouda)
2t fresh rosemary
1t hot sauce (I used Sriracha)

Sauté onion in pot until golden brown. Add quinoa to same pot and cook with water or stock (I used low sodium vegetable stock). When it is done, take it off the heat and add spinach, tomatoes (chopped into 1/2 inch cubes) and rosemary. Toss to combine. Meanwhile, cook bacon in separate pan until crisp. Reserve 1t of drippings to beat with egg, rosemary, cheese and hot sauce. Chop bacon very fine. Toss everything together and bake in an au gratin dish at 400 degrees for 25 minutes and then broil top until golden and bubbly.

*Note: I used a small pinch of salt while caramelizing the onions. Other than that, I do not recommend adding salt or pepper. The stock, bacon and cheese already have plenty of salt and the Sriracha has pepper.

Tomatoes are Delicious: Savory Crepe Cake

I am very happy to welcome you, dear reader, to tomato week! In the next five days, I will be sharing three tomato recipes with you. Tomatoes are at the peak of ripeness here in Nashville; they are so good and we love them so much that we have a Tomato Art Festival. It has been voted "Best Festival" by Nashville Scene reader polls for the last four consecutive years. Yes, it's just that great. And it's this Saturday, if anyone's interested. 

"The tomato: a uniter, not a divider," I read on @TomatoArtFest when I woke up last Saturday morning. This rang especially true to me. When I was little, even my pickiest friends swooned when my Mom nestled a slice of sweet tomato between two pieces of white bread and a little bit of mayo. Everyone likes a good tomato. 

I knew I wanted to start my tomato week with a dish that would bring people together. What that dish was...well, that was up to the tomatoes. After waiting out Saturday's rain, I walked to the Nashville Farmers Market. Katie, who had a "love affair with a tomato" last time she visited, helped me pick out two heirloom tomatoes. One was bright red, the other golden yellow. Each weighed in at about a pound. As we walked home, we talked about all the things that make the flavor of tomatoes pop: eggs, basil, rosemary, bacon, cheese, pasta, olives, capers, artichokes...

With tomatoes as scrumptious as these, cooking them was out of the question; pairing them with something too bold (like olives) or too heavy (like brie) seemed sinful. 

We finally settled on a tall, rustic crepe stack and planned to eat it at brunch the next day. 

It was just right. I made the crepes with dark, earthy buckwheat flour. They were "thin as lady's undergarments" and sauteed gently in small pools of sweet butter until golden brown and ever so slightly crispy. I layered them simply with ricotta cheese and thick, juicy slices of tomato. The ricotta was chilled and sweetened with fresh, minty basil and smooth, creamy raw honey. The tomatoes were dressed with just a kiss of kosher salt. I especially liked how they peaked out of the edges of the stack, as if they were shy. I topped the whole thing off with warm, toasted pine nuts. 

The best part was cutting into it. The red and yellow tomatoes formed a beautiful mosaic on the sides of each slice. I served it with a piece of crispy applewood smoked bacon and a fried egg. All of the red and yellow colors seemed happy on the plate together. And we were happy with them. Happy and full. 

Katie, Andrew, Coy and I spent nearly two hours lingering over brunch. We talked and laughed; we took pictures; we sipped coffee. We enjoyed each other's company. 

Tomato Crepe Stack:

-serves six

4 large crepes (I used this recipe from Gluten Free Girl)

two tubs of ricotta cheese

fresh basil

4t raw honey

2 one pound tomatoes (preferably heirloom), sliced

kosher salt to taste

1/4 cup toasted pine nuts

Put one tub of ricotta cheese into food processor with a large handful of basil and honey. Puree until smooth. Reserve 1/4 cup basil ricotta to dress the very top. Layer stack in the following order: crepe, plain ricotta, tomato slices, salt, crepe, basil ricotta, tomato slices, salt... repeat. Scatter pine nuts across the top. Serve immediately.  

Beer is Delicious: @BeerProject

Well friends, it's been a while. But I am back with good news: every Tuesday from here on out is Brews-day!

Brews-day will feature beer in my recipes as well as beer pairings. Why not? I have a constant supply of craft beer from my boyfriend and the talented gentleman at The Better Beer Project.

This beer is called BlueberryHOPtart (be sure to hash tag it as such if you mention it on Twitter!). It is ever so slightly sweet, ever so slightly sour and has the fresh smell and taste of Summer. (via @BeerProject: "BlueberryHOPtart is a spicy, complex French farmhouse ale brewed with fresh blueberries and Belgian candi.") And do I really need to say it? My favorite part is the beautiful color.

Today I am drinking it with leftover summer salad made with local vegetables and cheese. Outside it is 97 degrees; I cannot tell you how happy I am to be in the air conditioning with a cold drink and a fresh lunch!

Summer Salad:
2 zucchini, sliced into 1/4 inch rounds and grilled with salt, pepper and olive oil
one pint cherry tomatoes, halved
1/4 cup fresh basil

Dress salad with olive oil, lemon pepper, goat cheese and balsamic syrup (recipe follows). Serve hot or cold. Serves two as a meal or four as a side dish.

Balsamic syrup:
2/3 cup balsamic vinegar
1/3 cup honey

Reduce by half in an uncovered pot over medium (DO NOT BOIL). Let cool completely before using.

Happy eating and drinking to you all!