Vegetable Pie

From: Gold’n Delicious – Junior League of Spokane, page 193

Crust

1 ½ cups all –purpose flour

1 ½ teaspoons sugar

2 tablespoons milk

½ teaspoon salt

½ cup vegetable oil

½ cup Parmesan cheese, grated

Filling

3 cups broccoli florets

½ cup green onions, sliced

2 cups Monterey Jack cheese, shredded

½ cup Parmesan cheese, grated

¼ cup all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon dried thyme

3 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped, or 1 tablespoon dried

¼ teaspoon black pepper

1 large ripe tomato, thinly sliced

1 tablespoon butter, melted

Combine crust ingredients and shape into a ball. Press dough into a 9-inch pie plate, covering bottom and sides.

Place broccoli in boiling water and simmer for 3 minutes. Plunge broccoli into cold water and drain well.

Combine onions, cheeses, flour, thyme, basil and pepper. Place half the cheese mixture into the pie shell. Layer broccoli on top of cheese and follow with tomato slices. Top with remaining cheese mixture. Drizzle with butter and bake, uncovered, at 350° until thoroughly cooked, about 30 minutes. Serves 8

This recipe doubles as a vegetarian entree or a colorful side dish. It may be assembled up to 4 hours early and baked just prior to serving.

 

Nancy’s Notes: Made 11/2/09 – Good, I liked the crust. Would make a nice potluck side dish.

Tomato & Bread Salad

From: Art of Cooking – Junior League of Ogden (Utah), page 62

 

¾ pound day-old crusty bread, cut into 1-inch cubes (about 6 cups)

2 cloves garlic, mashed with 1 tablespoon of coarse salt

2 large tomatoes (about 1 pound), trimmed and cut into 8 wedges each

¼ cup cucumber, sliced

½ cup red onion, sliced

½ cup extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

10 fresh basil leave, shredded

In serving bowl, stir together bread, garlic, tomatoes, cucumber, onion, oil, vinegar and basil. If your bread isn’t stale, toast it until lightly golden brown. Adjust seasonings as needed. Stir well. Let stand for 1 hour before servings.

Serves 4-6.

Nancy’s Notes: Love this during tomato season – we ate immediately before the bread gets soggy. I’ve used dried basil if I don’t have fresh and once didn’t have a cucumber so used diced fresh red pepper for some crunchiness. We make it a meal.

Linguine with Tomatoes & Basil

From: Art of Cooking – Junior League of Ogden (Utah), page 91

4 ripe large tomatoes, cut into 1/2 –inch cubes

1 pound Brie cheese, rind removed and torn into irregular pieces

1 cup cleaned fresh basil leaves, cut julienne

3 garlic clove, peeled and finely minced

1 cup plus 1 tablespoon best-quality olive oil

2 ½ teaspoons salt

½ teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground

8 ounces linguine or angel hair pasta

Parmesan cheese, freshly grated

Combine tomatoes, Brie, basil, garlic, 1 cup olive oil, ½ teaspoon salt and pepper in a large serving bowl. Prepare at least 2 hour before serving and set aside, covered, at room temperature.

Bring 6-quarts water to a boil in a large pot. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil and remaining salt. Add the linguine and boil until tender but still firm, 8-10 minutes. Drain pasta and immediately toss with the tomato sauce.

Garnish with freshly ground pepper an grated Parmesan cheese. Serves 4-6.

Nancy’s Notes: Made August 2007 – I found this somewhat disappointing, seemed a waste of a pound of Brie. Perhaps I need more seasonings.

Posole

From: Beyond the Rim – Junior League of Amarillo, page 64

2 (12-ounce) packages dried posole or dried black beans

1 pound mild bulk pork sausage

1 pound hot pork sausage

1 large onion, diced

2 (14-ounce) cans diced tomatoes

1 (10-ounce) can diced tomatoes with green chiles

1 (16-ounce) jar thick chunky medium salsa

4 teaspoons salt

1 tablespoon cumin

1 tablespoon oregano

2 garlic clove, minced

2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

2 tablespoons chili powder

Sort and rinse the posole. Place the posole in a large bowl with water to cover and soak overnight. Drain the posole and place in a 6-quart pot. Brown the mild pork sausage, hot pork sausage and onion in a large pan, stirring until crumbly; drain. Add the sausages and onion to the pot. Add the peeled tomatoes, tomatoes with green chiles, salsa, salt, cumin, oregano, garlic, Worcestershire sauce and chili powder. Add enough water to cover. Cover the pot and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer several hours or until the posole is tender but not mushy. Add water occasionally if necessary. Yield: 12-18 (1-cup) servings.

Nancy’s Notes: Made Nov. 9, 2009 – Very good, I’m not a huge posole fan but I even liked this one. Bob and Michael really liked. Made a big pot full. I used a 1-pound package of posole and 1 cup of chicos (dried sweet corn). Never planning very far ahead, I didn’t do the overnight soak. I was making this as a side dish and decided to use only a ½ pound of each sausage – turned out to be plenty. Of course, I added some of my Chimayo Holy Chile.

Nancy’s Gazpacho Soup

 

2 cups cherry tomatoes

3 medium tomatoes

½ large cucumber – seeded

¼ white onion

1 avocado

Chop above ingredients in food processor. Pour in large non-metalic mixing bowl.

4 cups V8 juice2 T red wine vinegar

2 T raspberry vinegar

Smoked sea salt

Black Pepper

Sea salt

Sprinkle Holy Chimayo Chile

Mix juice and seasonings, add to chopped mixture.

¾ cup Kalamata olives

¼ cup cilantro

Chop olives and cilantro in food processor. Add to soup. Chill several hours or overnight.

Serve with dollops of sour cream. Pass a bowl of croutons.

Enjoy!

Nancy’s Notes: This is my version of a recipe from Maryanne Wire of the old Montessori bookclub.

Fresh Tomato Risotto

 

From: Glitter to Gourmet, Junior League of Las Vegas

2 cups chopped plum tomatoes

3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon salt

2 garlic clove, minced

8 cups (or less) chicken broth

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

2 cups arborio rice

½ cup dry white wine

2/3 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Combine the tomatoes, basil, 1 tablespoon olive oil, salt and garlic in a bowl and mix well. Set aside. Bring the chicken broth to a broth to a boil in a saucepan. Remove from the heat and cover to keep warm.

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and sauté for 3 minutes or until tender and translucent. Add the rice and cook for 1 minute or until a white dot is visible in the center of each grain, stirring constantly. Add 1 cup warm chicken broth and cook until the broth is absorbed before adding more and stirring constantly. When 6 cups of broth have been added, add the broth ½ cup at a time and test the rice. Rice should be tender but still firm when done. You may not need all 8 cups of broth. The total cooking time should be about 30 minutes.

When the rice tests done, stir in the tomato mixture and cook for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the mozzarella cheese and pepper. Top each serving with Parmesan cheese. Yield 6 serving.

Nancy’s Notes: Very good. This made a huge serving of risotto. When the rice was cooked I saved enough for another meal before adding the tomato mixture. I would definitely do this one again.

Cool Tomato and Cucumber Salad

From: Worth Tasting, Junior League of the Palm Beaches

2 cucumbers

4 large carrots

8 ounces mozzarella cheese, cubed

8 Roma tomatoes, chopped

1 (6-ounce) can pitted black olives, drained

1 envelope Italian dressing mix prepared

Cut the cucumber lengthwise into halves and scrape out the seeds using a spoon. Cut each half into thin slices. Peel and thinly slice the carrots.

Place the cheese in a large salad bowl. Add the cucumbers, carrots, tomatoes and olives to the bowl. Add the dressing and toss to coat. Chill covered for 3 hours or longer; stir. Serve chilled.

Nancy’s Notes: I used fresh heirloom tomatoes from the garden – red and yellow. I think this would be even better using fresh mozzarella.

Fresh Tomato Tart

From: Colorado Classique, Junior League of Denver

1 9-inch pie crust

1 small head garlic

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon Dijon, mustard

½ cup grated Swiss cheese

2 medium-size red tomatoes, sliced ¼-inch thick

2 medium-size yellow tomatoes, sliced ¼-inch thick

1 tablespoon olive oil

Fit crust into a 10-inch tart pan and chill until ready to fill.

To prepare tart, preheat oven to 350°. Wrap garlic, drizzled with 1 tablespoon oil, in foil and place in a baking dish. Bake for 45 minutes or until garlic is soft.

Squeeze garlic cloves out of skins and mash into a paste. Spread garlic paste and mustard evenly on the bottom of chilled crust. Cover with half of grated cheese. Arrange the sliced tomatoes on top of cheese, alternating colors in a circular design. Season with salt and pepper. Top with remaining cheese. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Bake at 350° for 45-50 minutes or until crust is golden. Cool for 15 minutes before serving.

Nancy’s Notes: I made for Monday night dinner with Michael. We ate every bite. A classy way to use the tomato crop.