Preserve your Summer Tomatoes

A great way to preserve late harvest summer tomatoes is to dehydrate them. Store-bought sun-dried tomatoes are so expensive and not nearly as good as the ones you can make yourself.

Oven-Dried Tomatoes

Ingredients:

Amazing summer tomatoes

S&P

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1) Preheat oven to 250 degrees F. Meanwhile, cut tomatoes into equal pieces (I prefer mine quartered), season, and place on oiled sheet tray. 

2) Dehydrate tomatoes for 6-8 hours, or until moisture is gone but tomatoes are still flexible.

3) Place inside a sterilized glass jar with air-tight lid and fill with extra virgin olive oil.


Enjoy your dried tomatoes (which plump up in the olive oil) in pesto, on pasta, on bread, in salad, or any other way you can imagine! Dehydrating tomatoes concentrates their flavor, so a few go a long way.

Breaking the Fast: Boiling Softly

Soft boiled eggs. Blistered fresh pita. Fresh ground pepper and kosher salt. Mug of black tea not pictured.

To replicate the wondrous oozy consistency of these perfect soft boiled eggs...

1) Bring a saucepan of water to a boil.

2) Carefully drop eggs in (no more than three at a time so the temperature doesn't drop too drastically). Add a healthy pinch of salt to make peeling easier.

3) Boil for exactly 5 minutes, then take off heat, drain and run cold water over eggs until easy to handle and peel.

4) Peel eggs. Add seasonings of choice. Serve with your favorite bread for dipping into creamy yolk.

This is a sunny morning breakfast. Enjoy when the sun is showing his fickle face or when the clouds have taken over the skies. 

Bon appétit! 

Budget Bites: Dressed-up Ramen

I've always loved Ramen noodles (anything but the chicken flavor). As a kid I remember adding a quarter of the water recommended so they would be extra flavorful and noodle-y as opposed to soupy.  As a college student living on a minimal income, Ramen certainly does come in handy in a pinch. We all know it's not the healthiest meal in the world, but it is quite easy to add some nutrients.
(Disclaimer: the noodles in many Ramen noodle packages are fried and are basically empty white carbs, but when you're hungry and you have 5 dollars for the week you do what you can)

For the tastiest Ramen, I go to the Asian store out in the 'burbs and stalk the foreign aisles until I come out with a bottle of something funky, a cellophane bag of something crunchy, and a few packages of quality Ramen noodles. I really can taste a tremendous difference in these noodles and the ones in a regular grocery store.

Step 1: Julienne (slice into long thin strips) a bunch of veggies. Whatever you have on hand will do; I used kale, carrots, cucumber and green peppers.

Step 2: Prepare Ramen noodles according to the package instructions or, you know, according to your own Ramen standards. Go nuts.

Step 3: Add in the veg with the noodles and let them simmer for a little while. I like mine still crunchy and colorful, so I only give them a couple minutes. No one likes soggy noodles and floppy vegetables.


Step 4: Chow down! I topped mine with some shredded roasted seaweed (great find at the Asian supermarket).

There are so many variations possible with Ramen noodles (or any pasta). Get creative, use up those lonely carrots in the back of your fridge, and happy snacking.

Snack Time: Ketchup on Salt and Vinegar Chips

Step 1: Rip open a bag of kettle-cooked salt and vinegar chips. My favorite brand is Kettle's 40% reduced-fat because they seem to have more salt and vinegar flavor.

Step 2: Acquire good ketchup. I eschew Heinz in favor of Hunt's because Heinz uses high-fructose corn syrup.

Step 3: Pour chips into a bowl and drizzle with ketchup.

Step 4: Enjoy the most savory flavor extravaganza your taste buds have ever experienced. If you happen to be like me, a little saltiness is never enough. The tangy-sweet ketchup takes the S&V chips to a whole different level—one that is certain satisfy any salty-crunchy cravings you have in the wee hours of the morning. Or, you know, at three in the afternoon.


Bon saveur!

The Sunny-Side-Up Egg: A Lesson in Patience

A sunny-side-up egg is the highly sought after prize of patience. I believe in you.

You need:

1 egg (I splurge on cage-free)

a pat of butter, a tbsp of oil OR bacon fat

patience, young grasshopper

How To:

1) Heat your choice of fat in a small skillet over medium-low heat.

2) Be patient. 

3) Once the butter melts or the oil/fat starts to shimmer, crack your egg and gently place in the pan.

4) Lower the flame to low. Be patient.

5) Once the white looks set and opaque, spoon some of the hot fat over the yolk of the egg. This is called basting. The gentle heat will cook the top of the egg without turning it white like covering the pan would. 

6) Baste the yolk until the top of it feels hot to the touch. Yes, I touch my eggs. 

7) Turn off the heat and serve your egg in whatever way pleases you. 

The biggest mistake people make when cooking eggs (any way) is having the heat far too high for far too long. Being patient pays off--taste for yourself. 

Sunny egg with bacon, tomatoes and tomatillos. 

The Best Tuna Salad (Mayo-Free)

I love mayonnaise.

In elementary school, I dunked soggy fries in piles of the stuff. I'd snatch a handful of those little pasteurized packets at the end of the lunch line and squeeze it out on whatever I pleased later that day. I'm not ashamed (well, maybe a little ashamed) to admit that I have probably squeezed mayo right into my mouth. It just adds the perfect texture and flavor to things!

Tuna salad, while being pretty good when mayo is involved, is one of those rare items that I believe tastes way better without.

My tuna salad consists of the following: ripe tomatoes, cucumbers, parsley (and whatever other fresh herbs I have), green onions, salt and freshly cracked black pepper, a couple generous glugs of extra virgin olive oil, fresh lemon juice and topped with a fabulous hot sauce. 

Voila! Healthy, delicious, refreshing tuna salad. I prefer this tuna salad because I always feel good after eating it. There are way more veggies than in its mayo-laced counterpart (a smattering of celery doesn't count as a serving of vegetables) and I can taste each ingredient clearly. Lemon juice brightens, olive oil adds delicious fats and hot sauce kicks everything up a notch. 

Next time you've got a can of tuna and some veggies on hand, give this tuna salad a try. 

Hint: It's excellent piled on good crusty bread and topped with a slice of provolone. 

I always just devour it with a fork.

Breaking the Fast: Yogurt & Cherries

Breakfast is not only the most important meal of the day; in my opinion, it is definitely the most tasty and satisfying. While I ADORE eggs, bacon, sausage and all of those jazzy breakfast foods, some mornings I wake up with a hankering for lighter fare. Cue yogurt.

Yogurt is the ultimate feel-good, malleable breakfast base. This morning I topped it with freshly ground flax seed, fresh Bing cherries and a drizzle of honey from Honeyrun Farm, an company that produces delicious honey in Williamsport, OH.

Juicy.

Tangy, refreshing, perfectly sweet and surprisingly satisfying. Look for more Breaking the Fast posts in the future, many of which feature yogurt!