All Entries Tagged With: "Tomato"
Mexican Tomato and Bean Casserole
Charlene prepared this stick-to-your-ribs casserole for the South Arm Cooking Club for Seniors. This hearty and warming casserole is pack with so much flavor that even meat lovers will enjoy it even though it’s a bean casserole.
For those who enjoy a bit of spice, try adding 1 tablespoon of adobo sauce from a can of chipotle to the tomato mixture.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 x 28 oz can diced tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon of dried oregano
- 2 x 19 oz cans romano, kidney, fava, or white beans, rinsed and drained
- 3 green onions, chopped
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
- salt and pepper to taste
- 3 oz Monterey jack cheese, cut into 3/4-inch cubes
Crumb Topping:
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1.5 cups fresh bread crumbs
Chris O’Brennam, Christina, Marcel and Helmut worked together on this Mexican Tomato and Bean Casserole as they make an extra casserole for take home.
Source: inspired by Heidi Swanson
Prep time: 20 minutes; Cook time: 50 to 60 minutes; Serve 8
Baked Stuffed Tomatoes
Getting kids into the kitchen to prepare a weekend breakfast is perfect time for sharing quality time. Age-appropriate tasks not only help divide the workload in the kitchen but also give kids a chance to take pride in their accomplishments. Kids often enjoy the food more if they are involved in the making of it. Working side by side lets adults keep a watchful eye without hovering.
Below are samples of age-appropriate tasks that kids can involve in making a healthy breakfast:
Young hands:
- placing cut fruits into juicer for juicing fruit
- setting the table
- flaking fish for Smoked Fish Hash
- pressing blender buttons
- whisking eggs together for scrambled eggs
School-age:
- measuring ingredients
- cracking eggs into a small bowl before adding in case some shells slip in
- whisking, stirring, mixing, folding
- mashing butter for Baked Stuffed Tomatoes and stuffing them
Teenagers:
- cooking with some minor assistance with a nearby adult at hand for support and to answer any questions
This easy side dish makes a nice addition to many breakfasts, such as scrambled eggs and Smoke Fish Hash. If you like, use small tomatoes cut in half.
Ingredients
- 6 ripe tomatoes (about 3 pounds/1.5 kg)
- 1/4 cup (50 ml) butter, softened
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon (15 ml) chopped fresh pasley
- dash of Worcestershire sauce
- pinch of each salt and pepper
- 1 cup (250 ml) fresh bread crumbs
- 2 eggs
Fettuccini with Tuna and Fresh Tomatoes
The second recipe which Minoo demonstrated at the Gilmore Park Church Community Kitchen was a pasta dish. It is a fast, easy and fresh tasting pasta. It is made with canned tuna which is usually a pantry item and freshen up with some fresh sweet tomatoes.
This fast and easy Fettuccini with Tuna and Fresh Toamatoes dish is perfect for a family meal on a busy evening.
Ingredients
- 375g fettuccine or other long pasta
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon each, dried basil and thyme
- pinch of hot pepper flakes (or to taste)
- salt
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 cups milk
- grated zest of 1 lemon
- 2 cans light tuna (look for Italian tuna packed in olive oil for a more intense flavour tuna); you may replace tuna with 125g chopped smoked salmon and add 1 teaspoon crushed pink or green peppercorns with the garlic or 2 tablespoons drained capers
- 4 small plum tomatoes, chopped
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1/4 cup whole or chopped black or green olives (optional)
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
Canning Tomatoes
This is the last of the 6 canning workshops organised by Richmond Food Secure and Richmond Fruit Tree Project. The workshops were a great success with full attendance. Here are the earlier workshops I attended:
There is nothing quite like the taste of sweet, ripe tomatoes. Canning is a way to capture a taste of summer to brighten up a grey winter day. Canning tomatoes seemed to be very popular and 3 tomatoes canning workshops were conducted. It looks like a lot of people love to plant tomatoes.
The above are some of the tomatoes that Karen harvested from her community garden in downtown Vancouver and her balcony. They include Green Zebra, Tigerella (orange with green), Italian Plum (small red) and Purple Ball (the big red one as it did not turn out to be purple). Karen and Colleen started with 50 tomato plants from seed in early spring. In May they planted the seedlings in the community garden in downtown. Not all of the tomatoes have yield a lot of fruit but the Tomatillos, Sungolds (tiny orange tomatoes), Italian Plum, Black Plum and Green Zebra have been the most prolific.
You may infused the tomatoes with herbs and spices but do not add too much as the addition may changed the acidity of the content and caused spoilage.
Ingredients
For each 500ml jar, you will need:
- about 1 pound (400 to 500 gram) tomatoes
- 1/4 teaspoon of powdered citric acid or 1 tablespoon bottled lemon juice. Bottled lemon juice is recommended as it has a defined acidity, whereas fresh lemon juice will vary significantly in acidity, depending upon the individual lemon.
- salt, if desired, up to 1/2 teaspoon
- herbs and spices if desired
Corn and Crab Salad
It is great to make use of fresh corns from the farm market in summer for this Corn and Crab Salad. Fresh corn is much sweeter than the frozen ones. We used artificial crab meat instead of real crab meat for this recipe. You can always substitute with real crab meat when crab is in season and much more affordable.
Ingredients
- 3 cups fresh corn kernels, about 2 corn
- 2 stalks celery, diced
- 2 avocados, pitted and diced
- 2 tomatoes, diced
- half white onion, diced
- 1 1/2 cups jicama, diced
- 2 cups crabmeat
- 1/3 cup minced jalapeno peppers
- 1/4 cup lime juice
- 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander seed
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh coriander
- lettuce and corn chips for presentation
This recipe makes 6 to 8 servings.
Salade Nicoise
The South Arm Cooking Club for Seniors resumed for the fall season. We are glad to see Paul and Frank back in the kitchen after they recovered from some health issues. We also like to welcome Keiko and Chris who are new to the kitchen.
As usual, Charlene and Stella prepared a few delicious and healthy recipes for the seniors to participate in making and enjoying them for lunch. The first recipe is called Salade Nicoise from Charlene. This recipe serves 2 but we trippled it in the seniors’ kitchen.
The Salade Nicoise is a wonderfully balanced meal, offering vegetables, starches, and proteins all on one plate. This salad gets its name from a French seaside city of Nice where tuna is traditionally features in this salad.
Sydney and Frank made this Salade Nicoise.
Ingredients
- 2 red potatoes
- 6 oz. green beans (about two small fistfuls)
- 2 eggs
- 12 cherry tomatoes, slice into half
- 6 black or green olives, slice into half
- 7-oz. can top quality tuna
Dressing:
- 4 anchovies (optional)
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
P/S: missing ingredients in the photo include eggs, and dressing ingredients.
Guacamole
Guacamole originate from the Aztec and became popular in Spain. The name Guacamole comes from an Aztec dialect, ahuacatl means avocado and molli means sauce. Branca made this very popular dipping sauce to go with her home-made Tortillas.
Guacamole is creamy by the ripe avocado, fragrant by the cilantro and a hint of tanginess from the lime juice. It is a very nutritious dip rich with good monounsaturated fat from the avocado.
Here are some tips on buying avocado:
- choose black ones
- it should be lightly tender to touch
- if you buy unripen avocado, wrap them in newspaper and place them at a warm place to speed up the ripening process
- you can also place the avocados next to some apples to speed up the ripening process
- if you would like to keep them for a while, refrigerate them
Ingredients
- Ripe avocados
- red tomatoes, diced
- onion, finely chopped
- cilantro, chopped
- salt to taste
- freshly squeeze lime juice
- finely chopped serranos (optional)
