Foodie Friday -- Tomato Salad

A few weeks ago when we had my husband's employees over for a pool party, I prepared quite a dishes. One of them was this Tomato Salad recipe that I got from my mother-in-law.

Easy to make ahead of time.

Marilyn’s Tomato Salad

 

6 ripe tomatoes, chopped

1 cup olives, halved and drained

1 cup purple onion, chopped fine

¼ cup fresh parsley, minced

1 tsp. salt

2 tsp. sugar

1/8 tsp. turmeric

¾ tsp. cumin

¼ tsp. black pepper

6 Tbls. Olive oil

4 Tbls. Lemon juice 

Toss all ingredients together. Cover and refrigerate until chilled (4-6 hours or overnight).

Tips & Tricks

• only one suggestion here--take the ingredients from salt down and place them in a container that has a lid, shake well, and then poor over the tomato mixture.

Foodie Friday -- Tian de légumes a la Provençale

First things first, don’t let the title scare you. This recipe is from my French sister-in-law. She made it for this Thanksgiving AND the day after when the fam got together for leftovers. The veggies disappeared both days--yes, it’s that good. It’s a pretty dish without all the cream soups, canned fried onions or cheese sauce that cover up the fact that you’re eating vegetables.

Françoise did give me permission to change up the recipe since I have a tendency to do that, but I won’t. Why mess with a good thing?

During this past year, I became a firm believer in keeping it simple when it comes to vegetables. Enhance without covering it up. Overcooking or covering up veggies simply negates the health benefits, which is also why you won’t find a whole lot of vegetable recipes on this blog.   

Tian de légumes a la Provençale

2-3 tomatoes

2-3 zucchini
2-3 yellow squash
1 onion
Herbes de Provence
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper

Preheat the oven to 355 F.
Slice and sauté the onion in about 2 tbsp of olive oil until they are soft. Set aside.
Cut the zucchini/ squash/tomatoes evenly into ¼ -inch slices.  
Spread the onion on the bottom of a 9 by 13 oven dish. On top of the onion, make rows of vegetables (alternate one row of zucchini, one row of squash, one row of tomato) along the short side of the baking dish.
Drizzle with a couple tbsp of olive oil. Generously sprinkle with herbes de Provence. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Cook for 25 minutes in the oven at 355, reduce heat to 300 F and cook for another 25 minutes.

Disclaimer: I’ve never actually made this dish so my suggestions are purely observations.

Hints & Suggestions:

·         Instead of drizzling olive oil, use olive oil spray to cut the calories, but not the flavor.

·         I’m sure the 355 degree oven could be changed to 350F . . . the 355 temp is probably a conversion from Celsius.

·         Use a large onion or two smaller ones since they will sweat down and you need to cover the bottom of a large pan.

·         My SIL used regular tomatoes and sliced them in half, but you can use Roma tomatoes, which are about the same diameter as the squash.

·         If you have a mandolin use it, but don’t slice your fingers along with the veggies.

·         Slice one of each veggie first, then start layering to figure out how tightly you want to pack them, then slice as needed. Or slice all of it and nosh on the leftovers that don't fit in the dish!

 

Enjoy!  Later, Peeps!

FOODIE FRIDAY--Veal Cutlets w/Mushrooms and Tomatoes

When I went to the store after we came home from vacation, I bought all sorts of meat. I didn’t have a clue what I wanted to fix, but I was feeling the urge to be the next Master Chef. One the items that I picked up was a package of veal cutlets, thinking I might make some sort of recipe with them. I also had mushrooms and tomatoes. So I flipped through my huge recipe collection and found a few cutlet recipes that would work nicely. I picked this one because there was no heavy cream in the sauce.  I ran it through the Weight Watcher recipe builder and it was quite reasonable in the point’s values. To lighten it even more, use olive oil cooking spray instead of olive oil.

Remember, I’m still watching what I eat as I lose weight.  I’ll still watch my weight after I lose it all, but especially when I’m in the losing phase.

Veal Cutlets with Mushrooms and Tomatoes

4 Tbls olive oil

2 large garlic cloves, chopped
¾ tsp. chopped fresh rosemary
8 oz. mushrooms, sliced
12 oz. plum tomatoes, seeded, chopped

1 lb. veal cutlets
All purpose flour

1 cup low-salt chicken broth

½ cup dry white wine

Heat 2 Tbls. oil in heavy large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add garlic and rosemary; stir 30 seconds. Add mushrooms. Cover pan and cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Uncover and sauté until mushrooms are golden brown, about 5 minutes longer. Add tomatoes and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Set aside.

Sprinkle veal with salt and pepper. Dust with flour. Heat 1 Tbls. oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add half of veal. Sauté until brown and cooked through, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer veal to platter; tent with foil to keep warm. Repeat with remain oil and veal, remove veal to platter when done.

Add broth and wine to same skillet. Boil until reduced by half, scraping up browned bits, about 4 minutes. Add mushroom mixture and stir to blend. Season sauce to taste with salt and pepper; spoon over veal and serve.

4 servings

Enjoy!