Scalloped Tomatoes

I know what you're thinking. Scalloped doesn't go with tomatoes, it goes with potatoes.

(I also know all of you are all "what? two posts in a row?" Indeed, friends, it is true.)

In honor of a tomato festival that's happening at Wilson Farm this weekend, I thought it appropriate to post about a recipe I actually made a few weeks ago, but only decided to post tonight. I really shouldn't have waited, though I guess if I didn't wait, some of you might have asked me to share.



This dish, I couldn't share. This one was all mine.



I have never had a dish like this. It was simultaneously fantastic, light, and flavorful. I liked that there weren't too many steps to it, and that it was something that was interchangeable: I ate it with some chicken for dinner, then had it with a poached egg the next morning for breakfast.



Sometimes, I'll get sick of eating the same leftovers day after day until I get rid of them. This was one dish that I actually felt sad about scraping the bottom of the pan and polishing off. I loved, loved, loved this dish. I'm contemplating making an extra one and freezing it for later. I loved how the basil stood out and made an appearance, complimenting the tomatoes perfectly (basil and tomatoes just work together, anyway). Best of all, I loved how I could eat it for days and it would just get better with each meal.



Do not wait. Do not pass go until you have cooked this dish. You will absolutely not be sorry.

Scalloped Tomatoes with Croutons (recipe found on the Smitten Kitchen website)
3 tbsp. olive oil
2 c. bread from a French-like boule bread, in a 1/2-inch dice, crusts removed-if you have extra, that's okay!
2 1/2 lbs plum tomatoes, cut into 1/2-inch dice
3 cloves garlic, minced (about 1 tbsp.)
2 tbsp. sugar
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. black pepper
1/2 c. thinly slivered basil leaves, lightly packed
1 c. freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Add the bread cubes and stir so that they are evenly coated with oil. Cook cubes until toasty on all sides, roughly about 5 minutes.

Combine tomatoes, garlic, sugar, salt and pepper in a large bowl. When the bread cubes are toasted, add the tomato mixture and cook them together, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the basil. Pour into a shallow pan and top with Parmesan cheese. Bake 35 to 40 minutes until the top is browned and the tomatoes are bubbly. Serve hot or warm.

Zucchini Bread

Let's talk bread for a minute.

Sweet breads are one of my favorite things to make and eat. For one, they're pretty hard to mess up, and for two, they're incredibly easy. I had seen this recipe quite a few weeks ago, and bookmarked it to make on a rainy day (or at least a cooler one!). I waited. And waited. And waited. Of course it didn't cool down quite enough for me to feel comfortable turning on the oven. I figured I'd have to hold off on this recipe, that is, until a friend of mine sent me an email one day. The email had the subject "This looks good!" and in it was a recipe.

The same recipe I had bookmarked several weeks prior.

(said friend sends me recipes every now and then, since she knows I'll typically try them pretty quickly after reading it. In this particular case, I suppose great minds were thinking alike.)

This weekend, I decided I'd go ahead and make the bread. It cooled off outside just enough for me to justify turning on the oven to do something other than dinner, and I also had several zucchinis sitting in the refrigerator begging to be used. How could I not?









I've never tried to make zucchini bread before, but I remember my sister a few years ago made chocolate zucchini bread, and it was pretty tasty, so I was game to give this one a shot. It was incredibly moist and quite good, if I do say so myself. I've never put yogurt in a bread before, and never yogurt and applesauce in at the same time, but I do think it made a world of difference. I brought this bread to work the next day, and by the end of the day found only crumbs and my coworkers saying "was that bread from you? Will you make it again?" Success.



Next time, I might branch out and make it with cranberries. Or chocolate (because everything's better with chocolate). Or maybe even both. The possibilities are endless!

Zucchini Bread (recipe from the Whole Foods Market website)

1 1/2 c. whole wheat pastry flour (I didn't have pastry flour, so I used regular whole wheat flour. I didn't notice any difference)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 egg
1/3 c. canola oil
1/3 c. unsweetened applesauce
2 tbsp. nonfat plain yogurt (I used greek yogurt)
3/4 c. sugar
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 c. grated zucchini
1/3 c. finely chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 325°F. Grease an 8 inch loaf pan and set aside.

In one bowl, mix together flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg. In another bowl, whisk together egg, oil, applesauce, yogurt, sugar and vanilla. Add flour mixture and stir until well combined. Fold in zucchini and walnuts. Transfer batter to prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean and the bread is golden brown, about 50 to 60 minutes.

See what I mean? Easy peasy, and good too! :)