Cooking...

Tomato Jam

Inspired by the wealth of fresh tomatoes that we had (some of which were cracking and needed to be used immediately), I looked up recipes for tomato jam and decided to make this one from the New York Times.

5-8 coarsely chopped tomatoes

1 cup sugar

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
1 tablespoon fresh grated or minced ginger
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon salt
1 jalapeño or other peppers, stemmed, seeded and minced, or red pepper flakes or cayenne to taste (which I left out because I didn't see it in the recipe... but I'm glad I did because what we got was really sweet and tasty. Maybe next time I'll try with a little spice). 

1. Combine all ingredients in a heavy medium saucepan, Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring often.
2. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until mixture has consistency of thick jam. Since we did not core and get out the juice it took about 4-5 hours of simmering and occasionally stirring for ours to cook down to be thick enough.  It was so worth it though!
3. Taste and adjust seasoning, then cool and refrigerate until ready to use; this will keep at least a week.

The final product is one that will make all the saliva glands in your mouth work overtime. It hits sweet and savory notes that make this little gem one that will become a staple if I ever have too many tomatoes (and really no one can EVER have too many tomatoes!)

Not knowing what to do with our jam other than salivate over it and sneak bites directly off of a spoon out of the jar, I did a little internet searching and found these ideas for ways to use the jam:
Slather it on warm cornbread or biscuits  (Check!)
Use it as a condiment on sandwiches--roast beef on ciabatta, turkey breast with roasted sweet onions on toasted sourdough, smoked pulled pork with on a roll. (Check!)
Spread it on a toasted garlic bagel with cream cheese.
Mix it with softened cream cheese for a flavorful spread or unique party dip.
Thin it with a little sherry vinegar and use it as a glaze on chicken or fish.
Mix it with mayo for your secret "special sauce" on a hamburger.  (umm not so much for me - what a waste!)
Fill crepes with tomato jam and goat cheese.
Use it in meatloaf in lieu of ketchup or BBQ sauce.

Elizabeth at Eight Months

Elizabeth at Eight Months from Nathan Marvelle on Vimeo.

Cooking...

Baba ghanoush

3 medium eggplant
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup tahini
3 cloves garlic minced
salt and pepper to taste
olive oil to thin

Pierce each eggplant with a knife multiple times and place in a cast iron skillet in a 400 degree oven.  Cook for ~40 minutes rotating so each side gets evenly roasted.
Remove from oven and cool (either in fridge overnight or in cold water).
Remove peel.
Place eggplant, lemon juice, tahini, and garlic in food processor and pulse till smooth.  Add salt and pepper.  Taste... add more if it seems like one ingredient is lacking.  Add some olive oil and pulse again until the correct consistency.

Cooking...

Stuffed Bell Peppers

One of our trips took us to Asheville where we raided my parent's garden and came home with TONS of produce!  I have been making lots of things and probably should have been writing them down because they were good, and I can never remember what I did later since I always put together several recipes.

Here is what I remember of the recipe I made (note - I just added lots of things because we had them... it would probably be good without most of these ingredients.  Measurements are estimates.)
2 cups uncooked rice
1 cup diced carrots
1 cup shredded summer squash
2 diced banana peppers
1 diced onion
4 jalapenos (seeded if they are too hot)
1lb ground beef
2 tomatoes
1/2 cup cilantro
4 cloves minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin (more to taste)
1 cup spaghetti sauce (marinara)
3 egg whites
Salt
Pepper
1/2 cup crumbled feta
5-6 large bell peppers

* Cook rice in rice maker
* Saute carrots, squash, banana peppers, onion, 2 cloves garlic till soft
* In the meantime chop off tops of bell peppers and cut off the good part of the tops and throw in the saute.  Remove ribs and seeds.  Place in a oven safe casserole dish with some water and put in a preheated oven of 400 for 5-10 minutes.
* Add the ground beef to the sauteed veggies and cook until done.
* Make the fresh salsa - Dice the tomatoes, 2 jalapenos, cilantro, garlic, oregano, and cumin
* Add most of the rice (leave about 1/2-1 cup cooked rice to add if you feel like you need it) to the veggie - meat mixture.
* Add spaghetti sauce, egg whites, salt, pepper, feta, some extra cumin and oregano for taste, and 3/4 of the salsa mixture.  If it is too watery or it looks like you need more rice... and the rice you set aside.  If not keep it for something else.
* Spoon mix into peppers.  Put the extra mix (there will be left over!) in a loaf pan.  Put in oven for 25-30 minutes.

Enjoy!  Elizabeth (she is now eating real food!), Nathan, and I sure did

Where have we been?

July and August have been busy months for the Marvelles!  We have been non-stop traveling since July 4th...  meaning lots to blog. Check back regularly while I try to update and record our fun filled summer.