Grilled Roma Tomato Sauce

This is a summer of firsts for me. It’s the first summer I’ve owned a Vita-Mix, the first summer I’ve participated in a CSA, the first summer I’ve tried to can and store foods, and the first summer I’ve ever purchased 20 pounds of tomatoes.

We had big plans for these tomatoes, but that’s for another posting. Our first night with a 20 pound behemoth on our kitchen counter we selected 10 tomatoes to make some grilled tomato sauce.
The sauce is very easy. Just slice the tomatoes in half, drizzle with olive oil and sea salt, and grill for a few minutes on each side. Next, grill 3 cloves of garlic, 1/2 onion, and 1/2 green pepper until they are as beautifully grilled as the tomatoes.
This all goes into the Vita-Mix, goes up to speed 10, then high, then transfer to a sauce pan for a few minutes. Add as much sea salt and pepper as you like. Done.
I served this with Stuffed Ronde de Nice Squash, grilled Japanese eggplant, grilled bread, and some parmesan cheese.
Enjoy.

Stuffed Ronde de Nice Squash

Here’s another veggie I had never purchased, cooked, nor eaten before. This summer I am consistently working with something new to me, thanks to my “CSA challenge” with Ollin Farms.

Ollin Farms sends out a weekly newsletter to let us know which crops to expect as well as provide some extra info on some crops we might not all know so well. Their newsletter said that Ronde de Nice Squash is a French heirloom variety, perfect for stuffing.

Perfect. Stuffed it would be.

This dish was rather easy. First, preheat the oven to 375.

Cut off the tops to 4 Ronde de Nice Squash and scoop out the inside with a grapefruit spoon, my secret little weapon in the kitchen. Leave most of the squash in the skin, but scoop out the inside flesh and set aside for later. Place the squash, hollow side up, in a Pyrex baking dish that has been drizzled with olive oil.

For the stuffing-

Toss 2 cloves of peeled garlic , 1/2 of an onion, 1/2 green pepper, and 1 sliced tomato (I used Roma), in a little olive oil and sea salt. Grill these for a few minutes to give them a nice flavor. Next, grill the squash flesh that has been scooped out for about 5 minutes or so to cook off the excess water. Then, throw about a salad plate’s worth of sliced focaccia bread on the grill and let both sides turn a beautiful dark brown.

When the grilled veggies are cool to touch, coarsely chop everything and mix it in a bowl with 1/2 cup ricotta cheese. Then, crumble the focaccia into the mixture and mix well. Add some sea salt and pepper and you’re ready to stuff.

Spoon the mixture into the Ronde de Nice Squash, re-place the top, and drizzle with olive oil. Bake for 30 minutes or until they’re talking to you (my way of saying “sizzling hot”).

I served these with some Grilled Roma Tomato Sauce, grilled Japanese eggplant, and grilled bread. Can you tell that I like grilled foods?

Enjoy.

Zucchini and Feta Muffins

Zucchini is in season, which means we’re getting zucchini as part of our CSA vegetables. What’s one to do with so much zucchini? I made some savory muffins.

Ingredients:
  • 2 cups finely grated zucchini
  • 3/4 cup feta cheese
  • 1/4 small red onion, finely chopped and sauteed in a little butter for a few minutes to soften
  • 1/8 cup heavy whipping cream
  • 1/4 cup walnut oil
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup yellow cornmeal
  • 1 cup spelt flour
  • 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
  • 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
  • 1 TB dried minced white onion (from Savory Spice Shop)
  • 1 TB dehydrated garlic (also found at my favorite spice shop)
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp baking powder
  • sea salt (I used Red Algae Hawaiian Kai Sea Salt from Savory Spice Shop)
  • Urfa Pepper (again, from Savory Spice Shop)
Preheat the oven to 350.
First, shred or grate the zucchini and wring out most of the extra liquid with either a clean dish cloth, cheesecloth, or fine metal sieve. Next, chop the onion and saute it a little until it softens.
Assemble all of the dry ingredient, except for the sea salt and pepper, and set aside.
In your stand mixer, pour the 1/8 cup of heavy cream, and with the wire whisk attachment on the highest speed, turn it into butter. Then switch to the paddle blade, add the walnut oil and honey, and mix well. Add the eggs next and beat well. Then add the feta cheese and sauteed onion. mix this well before adding the dry ingredients.
Pour the batter into a muffin pan and sprinkle the tops with sea salt and pepper. If you are not using the same sea salt and pepper that I used, substitute with a coarse sea salt and red pepper flakes. Bake for 20-30 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.

Enjoy.

Crabapple Sangria

Well, I had to use the rest of my crabapples somewhere. Why not in sangria?

I must admit, I don’t usually measure when making sangria. I prefer to pour a little of this, a little more of that, etc.
For this pitcher, I used approximately 3 cups of red wine, 1/2 cup brandy, 1/2 cup Gran Gala, 1 can of seltzer, and 3 small crabapples.
I enjoyed this drink over ice.

Smoky Hickory Raspberry BBQ Sauce

I went raspberry-crazy when I brought home my raspberries from Ollin Farms. Why not add some to the BBQ sauce I was making?

For this simple BBQ sauce, I combined:

  • 1/2 can tomato paste
  • 1/2 cup fresh raspberries, mashed
  • 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
  • 2 TB Worcestershire
  • 1/4 cup maple syrup
  • 2 TB Red Rocks hickory Smoke Seasoning (a MUST try blend from Savory Spice Shop)
Delicious!

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A Bolder Table is a place where I bookmark my favorite recipes for later along with some occasional musings. It's my personal digital recipe compilation... Let's say it's my cookbook. Thanks for stopping by! -Megan
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