Savory Sourdough Galette with Caramelized Onion, Tomato, and Sharp Cheddar Cheese

One of my favorite things to make, but only when local tomatoes are ripe, is a caramelized onion and tomato pie. I usually make a standard pie crust and then fill it with caramelized onions, gorgeous local tomatoes, and some form of goat cheese or blue cheese. I had this in mind as I had local Colorado onions and tomatoes in my kitchen, and was in the process of making sourdough bread.

Sourdough has become my hobby since the pandemic had me looking closely at costs and I could not justify a $10 loaf from the local bakery. After some unsuccessful attempts I found The Perfect Loaf and have been using his sourdough recipe and making successful boules. The Perfect Loaf has a recipe for a peach galette with sourdough starter used in the pie crust. As soon as I saw this recipe I knew it was time to make my pie- in the form of a galette.

I followed The Perfect Loaf’s recipe exactly for the crust and the link is here: Sourdough Galette

I caramelized a local white onion in olive oil and a touch of salt, pepper, and thyme from my garden.

It’s super easy to make a galette. Roll out the crust and return it to the fridge to be sure it remains cold- especially in the summer.

We had no goat cheese in the fridge but we did have a sharp crumbly cheddar, and that flavor goes well with tomato and caramelized onion, so I used that instead. The bottom layer was onion, then cheese, then freshly sliced tomatoes.

You need to leave room around the edges to fold them up for the classic galette shape. Fold them up and press them together to seal the seams. Brush with egg for a beautiful browning effect. Bake, and enjoy.

I followed The Perfect Crust’s directions exactly except for the filling. And, rather than sprinkle sugar on the egg washed crust I added a little more salt. So again, I direct you there for the recipe: The Perfect Loaf Sourdough Galette

This is one of my all time favorite dishes now. I have an extra crust ready to go in the freezer.

Colorado Olathe Corn Broth

I was listening to a radio show about food while driving and the guest was talking about using the leftover corn husks from her recipe to make broth. I’m a big fan of making homemade veggie stocks but hadn’t ever considered a corn stock. Her recipe was simple: simmer corn husks with onions, two things I just picked up from the market, so I made a point of trying it out on a small batch.

I only had three ears of Olathe corn on hand, so I cut off the kernels for dinner that night and tossed the cobs in some water with local onions and some peppercorns.

After an hour or so I turned it off, let it cool, strained it, and then froze it for future use.

I’m planning repeating this with at least a dozen cobs before corn is out of season so I have something more than just veggie stock to play with this winter.

Rockyford Watermelon Juice Ice Cubes

Summer has been HOT this year. Let’s be honest- it’s not always fun. But locally grown Rockyford watermelon offers me the idea of respite from the heat as I happily remember NJ pool parties with watermelons floating in cold pools to cool off before being cut into. Sean and I have no pool, but we did put a local watermelon in the fridge. Keeping it classy:)

As much as I love the idea of watermelon while at the market, I have a hard time eating the entire thing. So, 1/3 of it got juiced and turned into ice cubes for some fun cocktails and mocktails. Warning: this post is a cocktail.

We recently parted ways with our juicer as it was used >2 times per year, so I just Vitamixed the watermelon with a little water to make juice.

Afeter chugging a glass, the rest was frozen in silicon ice cube trays.

These smaller trays are perfect for freezing individual square of pesto, vegetable broth, and juice.

Now, I’m no bartender, but this patio sipper is delicious! Three watermelon ice cubes, 2 ounces vodka, juice of 1/2 lemon, 1/2 lime. and a splash of seltzer.

Cheers!

Grilled Peaches and Grilled Watermelon: Yes, it’s dinner.

Peach season is upon us and despite eating them at almost every stop on my food tours with Local Table Tours, I still can’t get enough of them! Palisade peaches and Rocky Ford watermelon are in my house and so they wound up on the grill for a simple dinner of grilled peach and grilled watermelon with massaged (local) kale, quinoa with ancient grains, and toast… but not just any toast- orange zest and honey butter toast. Top it off with a little chevre and you have dinner.

Here’s what I did for this super simple meal-

I cut kale into long, thin strips known as a chiffonade cut, drizzled it with olive oil and sea salt, and massaged it for a couple minutes. Then I set this aside to soften and didn’t come back to it until it was time to eat. On the stove I cooked a quinoa/ancient grain blend according to directions and let that sit to cool to room temperature as well.

Next, I mixed a couple tablespoons of olive oil with a few teaspoons of honey, juice of 1/3 of an orange, and a nice heap of orange zest. I brushed this over the watermelon and peaches before grilling them.

Peaches and watermelon only need to be grilled for a few minutes on each side since they’re delicate and full of water.

The grilling process brings out their sugars and makes them taste a little sweeter, but not too sweet that they can’t be the star of the show on the dinner plate.

While the watermelon and peaches were grilling I mixed a little honey and orange zest with softened butter that I spread over both sides of my bread.

My tiny charcoal grill can only handle so much at a time, so when the watermelon and peaches were done, the bread went on for a few minutes on each side.

The texture of grilled watermelon will fool you into thinking you’re enjoying a steak. Well, not really. But it’s a hell of a lot healthier for you 🙂

Give it a try. Summer isn’t over yet!