By David Harbilas

This dish may seem short on tomatoes, but like most salads the dressing is what brings it together.

I serve it warm mostly because I think it wakens the flavors.

If you don’t like olives, substitute them with something meaty, like mushrooms or even croutons.

Serves 2

1 large tomato, seeded and chopped
3 garlic cloves
½ cup olive oil Read the rest of this entry »

By David Harbilas

Artichokes are a love-hate vegetable to me.

I love cooking them, but they are a pain to prepare, pulling off the leaves, then cutting out the hairy choke, then keeping them in a bath of lemon water to keep them from discoloring.

Of course, they are worth the effort.

Luckily, we have prepared, jarred artichokes available, and while it would be considered sacrilege for me to suggest you use prepared anything, especially vegetables, I say go for it.

Honestly, I kind of prefer the jarred ones to fresh, as the leaves become very tender after the jarring process. This makes a simple appetizer and is great when entertaining.

Serves 4

1 large jar of artichokes, at least 6 artichokes
1 tomato, peeled, seeded, and diced
2 anchovy filets, chopped Read the rest of this entry »

By David Harbilas

This sauce occurred to me while daydreaming.

Gazpacho is not only a great soup on its own but it also makes a great sauce for some summer dishes.

Yet what happened if you cooked a gazpacho?

The solids and liquids would separate, due to the reaction to heat, creating an odd-looking foam on the surface. Eventually the foam would subside and the sauce would eventually thicken into a sort of consommé. I doubt this is original. Yet it is worth mentioning, if only for the sake of curiosity.

Onions, in particular, have an interesting way of “clarifying” a sauce like this. I omit the cucumbers–some vegetables we eat raw in salads have an interesting taste when cooked, like lettuce or endive, but cucumbers are, in my opinion, meant to be eaten raw.

Makes about 1cup of sauce

4 tomatoes, stemmed and quartered
4 garlic cloves
1 onion, quartered Read the rest of this entry »

By David Harbilas

I love dishes that make use of few ingredients, and aglio-olio, or garlic-oil sauce is a great example.

In its simplest form it is exactly as it says–garlic sauteed in oil and tossed with pasta.

My favorite version comes from Lydia Shire, who chooses to “roast” whole garlic cloves in a pan with olive oil, then puree the oil and garlic and toss the pasta with the puree.

This version is a derivation of that. Italians love the use of toasted bread crumbs with pasta in place of cheese, especially when serving fish. Here you can use either.

Serves 4

1 head of garlic, cloves separated and peeled
2 tomatoes, peeled, seeded and diced
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes Read the rest of this entry »

By David Harbilas

I feel like I’m too young to understand trends in cooking, and when I was a teenager my father used to say that sun-dried tomatoes were a thing of the past.

I can’t remember exactly the words he used, but there was no doubt that he doubted their lasting effect–even though he would occasionally buy them and cook with them.

Yet I feel like it influenced my opinion of them, even after I finally had the opportunity to try them for myself.

The sun-dried tomatoes of that time were almost always packed in olive oil and seemed to taste greatly of some unidentified spice.

I remember not liking them.

They had a leathery texture and flavor that seemed a combination of vinegar and oil, not unlike badly produced and packaged artichokes. Yet it seems that the uses for and packaging of sun-dried tomatoes today have changed greatly, and while I doubt a renaissance is in their future it does seem like they deserve a degree of attention. Read the rest of this entry »

By Mindy McIntosh-Shetter

I am one of those gardeners that plants my vegetables and swears I will remember the variety but….

It never fails that I know what I planted but can not just pick out which variety is which unless it is a unique type.

So this year I have come up with a plan to avoid this situation.

First, I always mark my varieties in my gardening journal. Doing this, one may think, would allow me to remember the varieties but when I plant tomatoes I plant tomatoes.

Last year, I topped 65 plants so keeping track of the varieties, when asked, is not always easy. While the garden journal is an excellent tool and a necessity to a successful gardening season, it is not really conducive to those quick gardening questions.

I have also used plastic plant tags that are pushed into the ground but these tend to break off for me. I have also made my own plant name stakes from new paint stirrers but by the end of the season they look worn and hard to read. Another technique that I have used that works well is to attach the seed packet of the variety to a new paint stirrer. I then cover the paper seed packet with clear shelf liner. The liner is plastic and protects the seed packet from moisture and sun damage but this approach only works for varieties planted in rows.

So this year, I am going to know every variety of tomato plant I have planted without having to pull out my lovely garden journal. But the question remains, how?

Since I plant tomatoes in Read the rest of this entry »