We may not be able to visit our friends in the US or hop on a plane and travel somewhere new and exciting but we can hop in the car and wander around near our home.
This weekend we went apple picking (in and out in 20 minutes and as we were leaving there must have been 80 families lined up to get in - ARGH), checked out country markets, and farms.
Oh my, now that we know what tomato soup is supposed to taste like we'll never be satisfied with the canned variety again.
We've had a run of hot dry days lately that has extended the tomato crop. This is the time to make this soup with fresh from the garden tomatoes.
This easy soup can be prepared in under an hour making it the perfect weeknight meal! Pair it with a grilled cheese sandwich and you have a meal of blissful comfort.
The recipe calls for cream but we never added it - the soup was just perfect as it was.
Enjoy!
Fresh Tomato Soup
3 pounds fresh ripe tomatoes
4 cloves garlic peeled
½ onion diced
½ red bell pepper diced
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt & pepper to taste
½ teaspoon dried basil
½ 2 cups chicken broth<
2 tablespoons fresh herbs basil/parsley/oregano2 tablespoons fresh herbs basil/parsley/oregano
fresh basil & parsley for serving
¼ cup parmesan cheese optional garnish¼ cup parmesan cheese
½ cup heavy cream optional
Preheat oven to 450°F.
Wash and cut tomatoes (cut in half for smaller apricot sized tomatoes, cut larger tomatoes into quarters or eighths).
Place tomatoes, garlic, onion, bell pepper, olive oil, salt, pepper and dried herbs on a large pan.
Roast 25 minutes, stirring after 15 minutes. Turn oven to broil and broil 3-4 minutes or until some of the tomatoes get a little bit of char color on them.
Bring chicken broth to a boil, add tomatoes, and fresh herbs. Using a hand blender, blend mixture until smooth and creamy. Add heavy cream if using.
Top with parmesan cheese, croutons or a drizzle of heavy cream.
We did something on the weekend that we haven't done since March - we went for a drive and wandered about a bit in small town Ontario.
In small towns across Ontario, you’ll see a mix of quaint shops, natural beauty and an abundance of hospitality. Elora is just one of those towns. From the one-of-a-kind local shops to the incredible beauty of the raging Grand River, Elora has that small town charm that people come from all over to explore.
It was a beautiful drive and a great day to park the car and wander about.
The main downtown area is closed to traffic on the weekends making the wandering even more enjoyable.
This is a perfect risotto to feature the last hurrah of summer. Yesterday we harvested the basil before the cool nights finished it off for us. We also had some vine ripened tomatoes that needed to be used up. This was the perfect dish to make with the last of the summer bounty.
The ingredient list and steps are just a but more complicated than with other risottos that I have made (par for the course for a New York Times recipe) but nothing that should be overwhelming.
Don't try to make this when you don't have access to fresh tomatoes grown in the sun - you really want the flavour of the ingredients to shine through here!
Enjoy.
Tomato and Basil Risotto
7 cups well seasoned vegetable stock, garlic stock, or chicken stock
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
½ cup minced onion
Salt to taste
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 pound tomatoes, grated
Pinch of sugar
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
1 ½ cups Arborio rice
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
½ cup dry white or rosé wine, such as Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc
½ pound additional sweet ripe tomatoes, finely diced (about ¾ cup)
¼ cup slivered fresh basil
¼ to ½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (1 to 2 ounces)
Put your stock or broth into a saucepan and bring it to a simmer over low heat, with a ladle nearby or in the pot. Make sure that it is well seasoned.
Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a wide, heavy skillet or a wide, heavy saucepan. Add the onion and a generous pinch of salt, and cook gently until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the rice and garlic and cook, stirring, until the grains of rice are separate and beginning to crackle. Stir in the grated tomatoes, sugar, thyme, and salt to taste and cook, stirring often, until the tomatoes have cooked down slightly and coat the rice, 5 to 10 minutes.
Add the wine and stir until it has evaporated and been absorbed by the rice. Begin adding the simmering stock, a couple of ladlefuls (about 1/2 cup) at a time. The stock should just cover the rice, and should be bubbling, not too slowly but not too quickly. Cook, stirring often, until it is just about absorbed. Add another ladleful or two of the stock and continue to cook in this fashion, adding more stock and stirring when the rice is almost dry. You do not have to stir constantly, but stir often and when you do, stir vigorously. When the rice is just tender all the way through but still chewy (al dente), in 20 to 25 minutes, it is done. Taste now and adjust seasoning.
Add another ladleful of stock to the rice. Stir in the additional finely diced tomatoes, basil and Parmesan and remove from the heat. The mixture should be creamy (add more stock if it isn’t). Serve right away in wide soup bowls or on plates, spreading the risotto in a thin layer rather than a mound.
This amazing marinade and glaze comes together quickly. It sizzles with the flavors of brown sugar, ginger and soy sauce. People who blog about this recipe say it reminds them of being on Hawaii. I've never been so I will take their work for it. Huli means "turn" in Hawaiian.
I had a busy day on Friday with back to back Zoom interviews. On a 15 minute break I raced to prepare the marinade. Proof that it comes together quickly. Unfortunately because I was rushing I wasn't as careful as I should have been when pouring the marinade over the chicken in a ziplock bag. Whoosh - over the floor! I can say from experience that this marinade is both sticky and slippery. SIGH
This chicken is amazing with some grilled pineapple as well.
I imagine that this sweet and savory glaze is fantastic on pork chops, too.
Grilled Huli Huli Chicken
1 cup pineapple juice
1 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup ketchup
3/4 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce
1/3 cup chicken broth
2-1/2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger
1-1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
24 boneless skinless chicken thighs about 4 pounds or 4 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts
In a medium bowl, whisk together juice, brown sugar, ketchup, soy sauce, broth, ginger and garlic until combined. Reserve 1-1/3 cups marinade for basting. Cover and refrigerate. Divide remaining marinade between two large resealable plastic bags. Add 12 chicken thighs to each; seal bags and turn to coat. Refrigerate for 6 hours or overnight.
Drain and discard marinade from chicken. Moisten a paper towel with cooking oil; using long-handled tongs, lightly coat the grill rack.
Grill chicken, covered, over medium heat for 6-8 minutes on each side or until no longer pink; baste occasionally with reserved marinade during the last 5 minutes. Yield: 12 servings.
Since we can't really travel anywhere right now one of the popular social media activities right now is for people to post pics of places that have made them happy. You know the pics, the ones you look at and you get that feeling of calm and happiness inside. I've decided to do that for this week's edition of Travel Tuesdays.
This is the 21sr edition from my self isolation of sorts . . .
Since you’re already firing up the grill to cook the fish, have a little fun and take advantage of that fire by first grilling a pepper, some tomatillos, and a thick slice of onion so that you can whip up a flavorful salsa before putting your fish on the grate.
Tomatillos look like tough, green tomatoes. They have a similar composition of skin on the outside, seeds on the inside. They come wrapped in a waxy, leafy exterior that needs to be removed before you cook with them. They have a naturally acidic flavors and balance out really nicely with Mexican peppers.
This dinner comes together very quickly and is a great meal to mix into your weeknight menus.
Grilled Halibut with Tomatillo Salsa
1 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil; more as needed
4 large tomatillos, husked, rinsed, and dried
1 medium poblano or anaheim chile, split in half lengthwise, stemmed, and seeded
1 thick slice from a large yellow onion
1 Tbs. fresh lime juice; more to taste
1/2 tsp. minced garlic
1/4 tsp. cayenne
2 Tbs. coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 6-oz. skinless halibut fillets extra-virgin olive oil, for grilling
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Fresh lime juice (optional)
Lime or lemon wedges, for serving
Red radishes, thinly sliced, for garnish
Cilantro leaves, for garnish
Prepare a medium (350°F to 375°F) charcoal grill fire. Using a long-handled spatula, push the coals to the center of the grill; or light the center burner on a gas grill and heat to medium. When the grill is hot, oil the grill grate. Grill the tomatillos, turning, until browned and softened, about 12 minutes. Grill the pepper until blistered and charred, about 13 minutes. Grill the onion until charred on both sides, 10 to 15 minutes.
Transfer the vegetables to a work surface. Remove the skin from the pepper, and coarsely chop the vegetables. Scoop the vegetables into a medium bowl, and add the 1 Tbs. of oil, lime juice, garlic, and cayenne. Let the salsa cool to room temperature, and then stir in the cilantro. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and lime juice.
Lightly brush the halibut on both sides with oil, and season with salt, pepper, and lime juice, if you like. Oil the grill grate, and grill the halibut until just cooked through, with the grill covered and the vents open, turning once, until a digital meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the fish reads 125°F, about 8 minutes total, depending on the heat of the grill and the thickness of the fish.
With a fish spatula, transfer the halibut to individual plates and serve with the salsa, lime or lemon wedges, radishes, and cilantro.
Whatever you do, don’t forget to wear gloves when you chop the peppers. I learned the hard way that even mild bell peppers, if you chop enough of them, will burn your bare skin, not to mention more sensitive areas like eyes and lips. Not fun.
Red Pepper Jelly
2 cups finely chopped red bell peppers
5 1/2 cups sugar
2/3 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup lemon juice
1 or 2 finely chopped jalapeno peppers *
1 pouch liquid Certo
*If you're not a fan of heat, you can use 1/2- 1 teaspoon Tabasco Sauce may be substituted for the Jalapeno pepper.
Cut open and take seeds out of 2-3 red bell peppers and the Jalepenos.
Chop fine in food processor or blender.
Place peppers, sugar, red wine vinegar and water in large dutch oven over high heat.
Heat and stir until it boils.
Remove from heat and let stand for 15 minutes.
Place pot back on heat and reheat to boiling.
Add lemon juice and liquid Certo and Tabasco Sauce stirring well.
Bring to a full rolling boil and boil 1 minute.
Cool 5 minutes, stirring occasionally
Pour into clean, hot 1/2 pint canning jars
Top with hot lids and screw bands
Since we can't really travel anywhere right now one of the popular social media activities right now is for people to post pics of places that have made them happy. You know the pics, the ones you look at and you get that feeling of calm and happiness inside. I've decided to do that for this week's edition of Travel Tuesdays.
This is the 20th edition from my self isolation of sorts . . .