Plum Tomatoes | I Can Cook That

Homemade Bruschetta

Note: I was sent vinegar from Lindera Farms, including their Ramp Vinegar, in order to write this post. Opinions are mine alone.

Hands down, my favorite summer produce are tomatoes. Peak tomato season in the Philadelphia area begins just after July 4th and continues through mid-October, so it is the perfect time to share a recipe highlighting tomatoes like this Homemade Bruschetta!

Luckily, tomato season has coincided with the opportunity to try out a bunch of yummy vinegar from Lindera Farms, a small artisan vinegar producer in Virginia.

Lindera Farms takes locally and sustainably sources agricultural products and ferments them into wines which are then aged into vinegar. They have a wide selection of vinegars (nearly 30 types!) and pantry goods, including soy sauce, hot sauce, and syrups.

The ingredients from Lindera Farms are raised in a non-interventionist process, meaning they don’t introduce anything to the growing process. The process is subject to the whims of the environment completely; think Darwinian farming. The positives of this practice are that you get these stronger, more resilient, more flavorful fruits, herbs, and flowers with no carbon footprint or residual impact to the environment.

The results speak for themselves. The few vinegars I’ve sampled so far all have incredibly different flavors, acidity, and finish than what you can typically find in your supermarket. For example:

The Gardener Vinegar came about through Lindera Farms’ continued efforts to curb food waste. They collect organic summer vegetables from small local farms to make a complex and vegetal vinegar. The result is a very high acidic, savory vinegar with notes of cucumber, tomatoes, peppers and leeks. Lindera Farms suggests using it with salad greens, summer veggies, fish, or poultry, or even adding it to your favorite Bloody Mary recipe (I love this idea!)
Lindera Farms’ Apple Cider Vinegar is made with organic Virginian Heirloom Apples, and then is aged with applewood, adding a smooth, smoky finish. The Apple Cider Vinegar has a medium acidity, and medium-low sweetness, and can be used anywhere you’d use traditional apple cider vinegar, or just for probiotic consumption. (I used it in a pulled pork recipe, and it was fantastic)
I used the Ramp Vinegar in the recipe below. Ramps are a garlicky wild onion, and the ones in this vinegar are foraged in the woods of the Shenandoah valley. The result is a savory vinegar with notes of garlic, ramps, and onions with medium acidity. Lindera Farms suggests using it as a substitute anywhere you might use lemon and garlic in a dish. (I recently used it in my Italian Pasta Salad)

I have yet to tap into the other Lindera Farms vinegars, but I’m sure they are going to be just as delicious.

Traditional bruschetta uses balsamic vinegar, but I thought the garlic/onion flavors in Lindera Farms’ Ramp Vinegar would enhance the fresh flavors of the tomatoes and basil.

On to the recipe!

Ingredients (serves 4 as an appetizer):

4 plum (roma) tomatoes, evenly diced
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped, plus more for garnish
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon Lindera Farms Ramp Vinegar
1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
Italian bread, sliced and toasted for serving

Continue reading Homemade Bruschetta

Fish with Bacon Tomato Butter

I know you’re probably not going to believe me on this, but this recipe for Fish with Bacon Tomato Butter is a Cooking Light recipe. Bacon? Butter? Yup. Still Cooking Light. Everything in moderation, my friends.

The problem here may just be the “in moderation” part. The Bacon-Tomato Butter is just the best. THE BEST.

This was originally a grill recipe so I used my indoor grill pan. Actually grilling (on a gas or charcoal grill) would add a really great smoky taste to this though so I highly recommend trying the original recipe out. This is also a great kind of “fridge cleaning” recipe. Is it just me who ends up with like two pieces of uncooked bacon that get lost in the fridge for me to find way past their prime?

Ingredients:

2 cups water
1 tablespoon fine sea salt

2 teaspoons sugar

4 (6-ounce) firm white fish fillets (I used Chilean Sea Bass)
1 tablespoon olive oil

salt, to taste

1 slice center-cut bacon, chopped
1 garlic clove, thinly sliced
1/4 teaspoon hot smoked paprika

2 plum tomatoes, seeded and diced
2 tablespoons butter

Continue reading Fish with Bacon Tomato Butter

Slow-Baked Chicken Thighs w/ Tomato, Fennel & Lemon

I am a huge fan of quick and easy meals, or “set it and forget it” meals — when I come home after work, I want to eat within 45 minutes of being home! But, on Sundays I have the time to experience the magic that is slow roasting — something beautiful and delicious happens when food cooks at a low temperature for a long period of time.

I originally thought I might change this into a slow cooker recipe so that I could once again, set and forget it. But the recipe called for basting the chicken over a period of time so I thought I should stick to the original method of cooking. (I have never basted anything before; how I managed to avoid this technique for almost three decades is beyond me.)

Past the basting part, this recipe really isn’t very labor-intensive. You do need to give yourself around 2 and a half hours to make it though, so this is definitely a weekend recipe. This recipe is in the latest issue of Cooking Light. And it’s worth the wait. This is one of the best chicken meals I’ve made in recent memory.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons butter, divided
1 cup(~1 larger bulb) fennel bulb, cut into thin slices
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1 pounds skinless, boneless chicken thighs

1 (28-ounce) can whole plum tomatoes, drained
6 garlic cloves, smashed and torn into large pieces
2 lemons, sectioned
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves

1 (1-ounce) slice whole-wheat bread
1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
3 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Continue reading Slow-Baked Chicken Thighs w/ Tomato, Fennel & Lemon

Fish in Coconut Curry (Mtuzi wa Samaki)

This is probably apparent with the different types of recipes I post but I really like some variety in what I eat. As a kid, I ate the exact same meals every day because I was so picky, so now that I’ve (luckily) grown out of that, I want something new and different each time I cook.

I was just send Cooking Light’s latest cookbook: Global Kitchen: The World’s Most Delicious Food Made Easy that is filled with recipes from around the world. The recipes can be made with ingredients you can find in your supermarket, making it a great way to experiment with new flavors. There are so many recipes I plan to try in this book, and you can expect to see quite a few showing up on my blog! Cooking Light also sent me an extra copy of Global Kitchen so I am giving one away at the end of this post!

This recipe for Fish in Coconut Curry (Mtuzi wa Samaki) takes a bit longer than most I post on here (~45 minutes) but is well worth the time. Because the recipe makes a really delicious sauce, I served it over rice. I also adapted it slightly to fit with what was available at my supermarket.

According to Global Kitchen, the recipe is based on a Tanzanian dish although fish curry originated in Zanzibar: Tanzania sits at a crossroads in the spice trade routes from India. That’s why Indian spices ended up in so many Tanzanian dishes like this fish curry. The dish originated in Zanzibar but is now enjoyed all over the eastern coast of Africa. Coconut milk enriches the curry and gives it a tropical flavor. Ingredients:

1 pound skinless flounder or other white fish
1 1/2 teaspoons Madras curry powder, divided
1 teaspoon salt, divided
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup finely chopped onion
1 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
2 teaspoons minced peeled fresh ginger
3 garlic cloves, minced
4 plum tomatoes, roughly chopped
the juice of one lemon
3/4 cup light coconut milk
4 lemon wedges
Chopped fresh cilantro

Continue reading Fish in Coconut Curry (Mtuzi wa Samaki)

Slow Cooker Chicken Taco Bowls with Guacamole

In celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, IMUSA and McCormick Spices have teamed up to sponsor a great giveaway for I Can Cook That Readers! Hispanic Heritage Month is September 15 to October 15 and celebrates the culture and traditions of those who trace their roots to Spain, Mexico, and the Spanish-speaking Nations of Central America, South America, and the Caribbean.

I will be giving away a Cuban/Caribbean-themed package which includes the following:

IMUSA’s Wood Mortar and Pestal, Caldero, and Tostonera
McCormick’s Black Pepper, Garlic Salt, Curry Powder, Paprika, Cinnamon, Oregano, Black Peppercorn Grinder, Chicken Bag n’ Season, and Black Beans and Rice Mix

Details on how to enter will be at the end of this post!

To celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, I also received a nifty little package myself which included an IMUSA Cloth Tortilla Warmer, IMUSA Multicolor Salsa Dishes, IMUSA Granite Molcajete, and McCormick’s Black Pepper, Cumin, Mexican Oregano, Chili Powder, Cilantro Leaves, Taco Recipe Mix, Enchilada Recipe Mix, and Tinga de Pollo Recipe Mix.

So what better time to whip out the slow cooker and make Chicken Taco Bowls topped with Fresh Guacamole?

I adapted this recipe from a Budget Bytes recipe; the recipe is perfect for large crowds so I tested it out on a group of friends who came to visit this weekend. It also makes for one delicious reheated lunch option during the week!

Ingredients:

Taco Bowls

2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs
1 (16 oz) jar mild salsa
2 (15 oz) cans black beans, drained
2 (8 oz) bags frozen corn
1 packet Taco Seasoning Mix
1 tablespoon Chili Powder
½ tablespoon Ground Cumin
1 teaspoon Mexican Oregano
Salt and pepper, to taste
8 cups chicken broth (or water), divided
3 cups long grain rice
8 oz shredded cheddar cheese
Fresh cilantro, for garnish

Guacamole

3 Haas avocados
The juice of 1 lime
½ teaspoon ground cumin
¼ cup (~1/2 small onion) diced red onion
½ jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
2 plum tomatoes, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro

Continue reading Slow Cooker Chicken Taco Bowls with Guacamole

Slow Cooker Marinara

Making a large batch of marinara sauce and freezing it for later use makes dinner on really hectic weeknights significantly easier. My mom used to make pots upon pots of tomato sauce during the first snow of the season which always made the house smell oh so good, especially after coming in from the cold. We haven’t had our first snow yet, but that’s not going to stop me from trying out this slow cooker marinara from Cooking Light. The sauce can be frozen and used for months.

The original recipe used fresh tomatoes but I hate peeling tomatoes and the plum tomatoes this time of year just aren’t very attractive. So I used the next best thing, canned whole peeled plum tomatoes. If it’s summer when you make this, go for the fresh ones!

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 cups chopped onion (about 2 onions)
3/4 cup sliced carrot (about 2 carrots
1/2 cup diced celery
1/4 cup minced garlic (a good dozen garlic cloves)
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
2 tablespoons unsalted tomato paste
1/2 cup dry red wine (such as cabernet sauvignon)
3 28 oz cans of Whole Peeled Plum Tomatoes
2 dried bay leaves
2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano
3/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Continue reading Slow Cooker Marinara

Cream of Tomato Soup

“The secret of good cooking is, first, having a love of it. … If you’re convinced that cooking is drudgery, you’re never going to be good at it, and you might as well warm up something frozen.”

– James Beard

James Beard is basically the father of American cooking as we know it today. He, along with the beloved Julia Child, is basically the “foodie” community’s version of The Beatles. As Julia Child put it, “in the beginning, there was James Beard.” So when I was offered to review a new compilation of some of his best recipes, I couldn’t wait to dig in. The cookbook, The Essential James Beard Cookbook: 450 Recipes That Shaped the Tradition of American Cooking is in stores beginning today.

The cookbook is filled with what we think of today as quintessential recipes: coleslaw, potato salad, pot roast, chicken pot pie. But James Beard’s travels through France as well as inspiration from the Chinese cooks who worked at the hotel his mother owned. Each page is filled with both new and different recipes as well as classic approaches to everyday food (ex. roasting a chicken). The editors did a great job of going through and adding notes to help enhance the recipes as well, including insight into what an ingredient is and what can be substituted.

I really had a tough time choosing a recipe to do this post. It’s really tough to pinpoint what James Beard is known for, because, well, he’s known for everything! I finally settled on his Cream of Tomato Soup recipe.

This recipe, passed down from his mother, is a classic comfort food choice. I loved the idea of making a family recipe and was intrigued by the process. (The onset of Hurricane Sandy may also have had some input into my decision.)

Ingredients:

2 28-oz cans of Italian plum tomatoes, undrained
1 cup Beef Stock
1 small yellow onion, roughly chopped
2 whole cloves, smashed
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon plus 1 1/2 teaspoon all purpose flour
1 tablespoon plus 1 1/2 teaspoons unsalted butter, melted
2 cups heavy cream
Chopped fresh basil or fresh flat-leaf parsley, for garnish

This recipe is adapted from James Beard’s The Essential James Beard Cookbook

Creamy Fresh Tomato Soup

Naturally, the day after I made my Grilled Tomato Orzo Salad in a Tomato Bowl pretending it was summer, the weather decided to do a 180 and veer into rainy cold sadness. Sigh. So what better way to use some of my Lipman Tomatoes than to make Creamy Tomato Soup? I found this recipe on Food Network and I had most of the ingredients already, win! I changed the recipe slightly for my tastes.

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 red onion, chopped

1 carrot, unpeeled and chopped
3 cloves minced garlic
12 plum tomatoes, roughly chopped
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/4 cup packed chopped fresh basil leaves, plus julienned basil leaves, for garnish
3 cups chicken stock

1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup heavy cream
Croutons, for garnish

Heat a large pot or a Dutch oven over medium-low heat. Add the olive oil. Chop the onion and carrot.

Saute for 10 minutes.

While waiting for the onion and carrot to soften, mince the garlic and set it aside. Roughly chop the tomatoes. Chop the basil.

Add the garlic to the pot and cook for 1 minute.

Add the tomatoes, sugar, tomato paste, basil, chicken stock, salt and pepper to the pot.

Stir well and bring to a boil.

Lower the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes.

If you have an immersion blender, at this stage, use to puree the soup. If you don’t, remove half the mixture and add it to a blender. Blend until smooth; be sure to keep the center of the top off of the blender and cover with a paper towel. Repeat with remaining mixture. Return to the pot over medium-low heat.

The soup is honestly good to go at this point. Feel free to just stop here.

To make a creamy soup, add the cream to the soup and mix.

Serve with basil and croutons.

Oh my goodness. Not only is this super easy, but it is absolutely delicious.

Because the soup is made with so many fresh tomatoes, it’s important to use tomatoes at their peak.

This is a wonderfully thick soup so it’s a meal in itself, but rainy, cold days always make me want a favorite childhood staple:

Note: The original recipe used a food mill but I don’t have one. And I was not willing to peel the tomatoes so I blended them, and it worked out great. The soup ended up completely creamy.

Couscous-Stuffed Chicken

I haven’t posted a chicken recipe on here since September! I figured it was definitely time to change that. I really don’t eat much chicken so I guess I’ve gone a long time without even making it without realizing. I have been on a couscous kick so when I came across Cooking Light‘s recipe for Couscous Stuffed Chicken I was pretty pumped. However, I apparently do not possess the skill to create pinwheels with chicken. What they lack in beauty though they most certainly make up for in flavor!

Ingredients:

1/3 cup fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup uncooked couscous
1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon black pepper, divided
3 tablespoons chopped plum tomato
2 tablespoons kalamata olives, chopped
2 tablespoons crumbled feta cheese
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
1 minced garlic clove
2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
Cooking spray

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. First make the couscous. Add the broth to a small pot and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in the couscous. Cover and let stand for 4 minutes.

Add the couscous to a small bowl and fluff with a fork. Allow to cool. Add the chopped tomato, olives, feta, olive oil, parsley, lemon zest, and garlic. Season with salt and pepper.

Place chicken between two sheets of plastic wrap and pound to 1/4 inch thickness. (I failed at this step. My pounding brought it by no means close to 1/4 inch thickness. Next time I make this, I think I’ll try it with chicken tenderloins instead).

Add the couscous mixture on top of each piece of chicken.

Roll up and secure with wooden picks. Pretty sure this should have looked prettier than mine ended up.

Season chicken with salt and pepper. Heat a large oven proof saute pan over medium-high heat. Coat with cooking spray and add the chicken rolls. Cook for six minutes until the chicken is browned. Turn over and bake at 400 degrees.

The original recipe said 5 minutes. Because my pieces were so thick it took closer to 20 minutes.

So yeah. My presentation isn’t going to win me any awards. BUT this dish tastes so good! The chicken remained really moist and flavorful.

The couscous mixture was fantastic. I am not the biggest fan of olives so I included fewer in my rolled up chicken (which meant my olive-loving boyfriend got more in his mixture. No complaints from him).

I think thin chicken tenderloins would work much better with these if you are big on presentation.

Balsamic Bruschetta Chicken

I honestly don’t know why I don’t make more dinners that involve chicken. I guess I just never have any on hand. This week, we were celebrating one of my friend’s birthdays by making her dinner and we settled on a chicken dish. I was really at a loss for what to make, so luckily Budget Bytes came to the rescue with her recipe for Balsamic Bruschetta Chicken. (Please excuse the photos in this post. I wasn’t exactly planning on making a post about it so they aren’t that fantastic. But this recipe is too good not to share!)

Ingredients:

For Chicken:

4 thin chicken breasts
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
1 large garlic clove, minced
Salt and pepper to taste
Basil, thinly sliced
Parsley, chopped

For Bruschetta:

4 medium roma tomatoes
1 small sweet onion
1 medium garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup shredded mozzarella

Continue reading Balsamic Bruschetta Chicken

Broiled Salmon with Roasted Tomato Sauce

How I love August. Not for the heat or the never ending rain (not-so-fun fact: August is already the wettest August ever recorded in Philadelphia, what joy) but because it is tomato season! Fresh tomatoes are one of my favorite ingredients and I wait all year to enjoy about 6 weeks of perfectly ripe tomatoes. I realized I hadn’t posted a recipe using salmon recently so I went in search of a recipe that would combine both salmon and tomatoes (I honestly wasn’t even sure if that was a possibility). Naturally, Cooking Light once again saved the day with their recipe for Broiled Salmon with Roasted Tomato Sauce.

Ingredients (serves 2):
4 plum tomatoes, quartered
1 small onion, peeled and quartered
2 garlic cloves, peeled
Cooking spray
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 cup chicken broth
2 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon cornstarch
2 (6-ounce) salmon fillets, skinned
Salt and pepper, to taste
1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh basil

Preheat your broiler. Prepare your tomatoes, onion and garlic and spread on a cookie sheet coated with cooking spray.

Sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper. Broil for 8 minutes.

Stir gently and broil for another 5 minutes, or until vegetables begin to blacken.

Remove from the broiler, but keep the broiler on. Add tomatoes, onions, garlic, and tomato paste in a blender and process until smooth.

Place the mixture in a saute pan over medium heat. Stir in the broth. The original recipe had vegetable broth, but I only had chicken broth on hand. Bring to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes, stirring frequently. While the mixture is simmering, combine 2 tablespoons water and 1 teaspoon corn starch in a small bowl. Stir cornstarch mixture into the tomato mixture after it has simmered for 10 minutes. Bring to a boil. Cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly.

Remove from heat and strain to remove any solids.

Place salmon on a cookie sheet lightly coated with cooking spray. Season with salt and pepper and broil for 5 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork.

To serve, add 1/2 of the tomato mixture to each plate and top with a salmon fillet. Top with 1 tablespoon basil each.

I am happy to say that salmon and tomato do work well together. However, I think the recipe was missing something… maybe a bit of red pepper flakes to add some heat? Even without the unknown missing ingredient, I really liked this recipe. Definitely worth a try!