Slow-Roasted Tomato and Eggplant Pasta

Indonesia does a lot of things well... batik, tropical fruits, apples... but one thing I have found to be sub-par are the tomatoes.  Unripe or overly-ripe, but still tasteless. Boo. But occasionally you can find reasonably priced grape tomatoes, which are ok, but do not live up to the amazing heirloom tomatoes I was getting from my CSA back in DC.

One way to ameliorate the bland tomatoes is to slow-roast them like I did last summer... it intensifies the flavor big time.  I used my slow-roasted tomatoes to make an eggplant pasta dish similar to the one I made last summer, but with a pesto made from both basil and mint.  Quite tasty!

Pesto Pizza

Easy weeknight dinner:
pesto (basil, garlic, Parmesan, nuts, olive oil, salt, pepper)
mozzarella
fresh tomato slices
whole wheat pizza doughLoad up pizza dough with toppings, cook on super high heat for 10 minutes, devour, done.

Cauliflower and Feta Baked Pasta

I had a bunch of cauliflower from the CSA, as well as a block of feta, so I decided to make this baked pasta recipe, which incorporated both. However, I amped it up by adding several of my own ingredients for more flavor: crushed red pepper and garlic were roasted with the cauliflower along with a couple small heads of fennel (cut into eighths), plus I threw in a can of artichokes which I'd sliced. Over all, it was really tasty (although not picturesque). Salty, full of veggies, and infinitely reheatable for work lunches.

Okra, Corn and Tomato Saute with Cajun Grilled Shrimp

The end of summer is nigh... but the summer veggies keep coming! The CSA is still rife with corn, tomatoes, okra, peppers, and other summery goodies, though. I threw a whole bunch of these veggies together in a quick stir-fry, supplemented with a dash of hot sauce. Topped with some Cajun-esque grilled shrimp. Simple and delicious!

Okra and Tomatos with Skillet Cornbread

Tonight's meal perfectly captures the transition from summer to fall we're experiencing here in DC... summer ingredients from the CSA (okra, tomatoes, corn on the cob, jalapeno) and a warming, earthy, autumnal hint from the red wine reduction compliment our warm, but not sweaty days and breezy, maybe-I-should-have-brought-a-sweater nights.

Okra and tomatoes are quick-stewed with red wine, onions, garlic, thyme and bay leaves, while the crispy skillet corn bread is kicked up a notch by fresh toasted corn and jalapeno, plus some grated cheddar cheese.

Spinach "Meat" Balls and Simple Tomato Sauce with Onion and Butter

I had a ridiculous amount of CSA spinach to use up and thought making some spinach "meatballs" might be a fun change of pace. Chuck and Tim liked them, but I thought they were a little bread-y for me. But that may also have been because the recipe called for frozen spinach and I used fresh- it was hard to judge exactly how much to use.

The sauce was this super simple tomato, butter and onion sauce from Marcella Hazan that everyone on the internets has been raving about. I figured it was worth a try! Outrageously simple (cut union in half, unwrap butter, open tomato can, throw it all into a pan to simmer), yet has an addictive rich flavor.

Pasta e Fagioli

Soup, there is it! Girls, what's my weakness? SOUP!

It got cold out of nowhere here in DC this weekend and I had purchased a fancy baguette that begged to be dipped into something warm, so we decided to make some soup. Pasta e fagioli (a bean and pasta soup) to be precise.
I used this recipe, with a few tweaks, which turned out quite well. I threw in some collard greens in place of the spinach, used 5 sausage links, and used one 19-ounce can of beans. Also, to give the broth some additional flavor, I dropped an old Parmesan rind I had in the fridge. Finally, I didn't bother with blending the tomatos- I just crushed them in my hand as I put them in the soup.

Delicious and quite easy!