tomates a la provencale

Best breakfast ever and super easy to make.
tomates a la provencale
Recipe from Choupette (my nephew’s girlfriend, she’s French thus the fancy name of the dish).
I made it just for me so this is for one serving. I only eat one egg but obviously you could add more:
Heat a little olive oil in fry pan. Add one clove of chopped garlic and sauté until soft. Add one medium size tomato, sliced and sprinkle with herbes de provence*. Sauté until it cooks down then add one egg and a dash of salt & pepper. Let it cook until the egg is cooked the way you like it. I like mine a smidgeon past medium so I put a lid on the pan and let it cook a little longer than the one pictured above. Eat with crusty French bread (I toasted mine). You actually just dip the bread into the mixture. OMG, this was crazy good.
Choupette said you can add fresh basil too if you'd like but I didn’t have any. I imagine that would be good.
Starting with farm fresh garlic, tomato and egg from Tonopah Rob’s Vegetable Farm is an added bonus. Super fresh and delicious ingredients. http://tonopahrob.com/
*Herbes de provence is in the spice aisle. It’s a blend of thyme, rosemary, basil, marjoram, sage, fennel and lavender.
When I asked my good friend Mr. Google about tomates a la provencale, most of the hits were for a baked or broiled tomato with herbs and breadcrumbs, not sautéed and topped with an egg. I wonder if it’s a regional thing in France. Kind of like if you ordered a burger in Wisconsin it would likely have cheddar, in California it would have avocado and in the Southwest it might have chilies. Maybe in their region in France they skip the breadcrumbs and add the egg.
Another funny thing, Frenchy Momma, Choupette’s Mom Marie, wrote on my Facebook page picture that they don’t eat this for breakfast, they eat it for lunch or dinner. For breakfast they have toast with butter or jelly. Call me crazy but I think it was perfect for breakfast!
Please let me know if you try and what you think.

Canning Tomatoes

Rub-a-dub-dub: Onions and garic on standby:

All tomatoes to the Hot Tub:Plunging into the the ice bath:

Ready for the boiling cauldron:

Doing their thing:

Final product:

“Recipe" courtesy of Tonopah Rob (link removed, out of business).  For quart size jars, put a clove of garlic in the bottom of each jar. Then put two small onions quartered (these onions were very small, about the size of shallots). Add Kosher salt and lemon juice for your brine and acid. Then blanch your tomatoes, put them in an ice bath, drain and fill the jars. Boil jars about 30-40 minutes.

To blanch the tomatoes, put a little cross cut at the bottom of each tomato.  Put them in boiling water for 30-60 seconds. Then put in an ice bath.  I filled the sink with ice and water.  The skin will peel right off.  

He said the amount of tomatoes I bought (12 pounds) should yield 6 quarts. He was spot on, 6 quarts exactly. He said he likes to add the garlic and onion because then your tomatoes are good to go for just about any recipe. Sounded good to me so that’s what I did. Of course I did a smidgeon of research and asked my good friend Mr. Google about sanitizing the jars (boil them) and how much salt (1 teaspoon per quart) and lemon juice (2 Tablespoons per quart) to use. Most of them said to use bottled lemon juice. Why would I want to buy a bottle of lemon juice when I have a lemon tree and plenty of the real deal right in my fridge? They say it’s because the acid level is more predictable with the processed variety. Bottled schmottled, call me a renegade but my lemons are plenty pungent so I used real lemon juice. Besides, a few experienced canners said they just blanch the tomatoes without adding any salt or lemon juice to the jars so somehow I think the experiment will turn out just fine. After CAREFULLY removing the jars from the boiling water (not an easy task without a jar lifter) the lids are supposed to “pop” while cooling which indicates they are sealed. I was busy and not paying attention so I missed the popping. Then I was wondering how I would know if they sealed. The experienced canners said if they don’t seal, put them in the refrigerator and use them within a few days. After a good night’s sleep a light bulb went off in my head. Remove the rings and if the lids are attached they sealed. If the lids slide right off then marinara sauce will be on my agenda. The lids were all perfectly tight! Ta-da. My first experiment with canning appears to have been successful.

Heirloom Tomato Chow Chow

Ingredients
2 cups apple cider vinegar
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon dry mustard
1 tablespoon turmeric
1 tablespoon mustard seeds
1 tablespoon celery seed
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 (1-inch) piece ginger, peeled, grated or chopped
2 pounds firm green heirloom tomatoes, cut into quarters
2 medium onions, diced
Directions
Combine vinegar, sugar, dry mustard, turmeric, mustard seeds, celery seed, cayenne pepper, and ginger in a large pot and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes to extract the flavors of the spices. Once the liquid is boiling and steaming add tomatoes and onion. Gently stir to incorporate. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes. Shut off heat and allow to cool to room temperature. Place in a serving bowl and serve.
~Source: Tyler Florence, Food Network

Patti’s Notes: This comes out like a sweet, spicy relish. Can you believe I couldn’t find celery seed? I tried two stores and ended up subbing celery salt (even though there is no salt in the recipe) and it worked fine. I cut the recipe in half and it made plenty. I severed it with grilled pork chops. I think it would be good with chicken, fish or steak and I think it would be perfect on burgers.

Easy Meter: PDE (pretty darn easy). I will warn you that as the apple cider vinegar begins to boil the steam is really pungent. My house smelled like vinegar for hours, which isn’t offensive, just sayin’…

Tip of the Day: If you are in Arizona I highly recommend you shop for produce at Tonopah Rob’s Vegetable Farm. He only sells what he grows and everything is grown chemical-free (no pesticides or insecticides). Everything is super fresh and amazingly delicious. http://tonopahrob.com/

Pictured above with a grilled pork chop and Green Bean & Tomato Salad (posted 6-13-10 but here’s the link so I’ll save you the trouble http://foodpornpatti.blogspot.com/2010/06/green-bean-and-tomato-salad.html).
This time I made it with Dragon Beans (pictured below). They start off purple and pale yellow but once they are steamed the purple disappears. I also hard poach my eggs instead of hard boiling. They come out super tender like little silky pillows. M-M-De-lish.

Pizzettas

We (my sister and I) bought handmade pizza dough at the Italian Deli. Rolled it out and used a plastic container (as a cookie cutter) to cut 4” circles. Pinched/stretched them out a little and put them on a cookie sheet. Brushed them with EVOO. Topped them with fresh tomato slices, sea salt and cracked pepper, basil ribbons and shredded mozzarella. We put them in a 400° oven for about 25-30 minutes (until the cheese was melted and bubbly and the dough looked cooked).

Patti's Notes: This is a non-recipe. My sister had seen them in a magazine but they had all kinds of stuff on them she doesn’t like so we used the idea and did our own thing. You could really experiment with these and use your favorite toppings. Make your own dough or use the pop can of pizza dough. The only limitations are your imagination.

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Health-o-Meter: It's up to you, depending on what you put on them. Load them up with meats like pepperoni and sausage would be higher in fat and calories. Use turkey sausage to bring that down some. Top them with veggies for a healthier, guilt free version.

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Easy Meter: PDN (pretty darn easy).

Cranberry Almond Scones

Orignal recipe for Dried Cherry Almond Scones:

Ingredients
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 lemon, zested
Pinch salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 1/2 sticks cold butter, cut into pea size pieces
1 cup dried cherries
1/2 cup toasted sliced almonds
1/2 cup heavy cream
Turbinado sugar, for garnishing

Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
In a small bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, lemon zest, salt and cinnamon. Add in the butter and rub with your fingers into the dry ingredients until a coarse meal forms. Add in the cherries and almonds. Add the heavy cream and combine it into the butter flour mixture.
Form the dough into a 1-inch thick disk and cut it into 6 wedges. Sprinkle each wedge generously with the turbinado sugar. Transfer the wedges to a parchment-lined sheet pan and bake in the preheated oven for 17 to 18 minutes, turning the pan halfway through. Serve warm with Honey Butter.
~Source: Anne Burrell, Food Network

Patti’s Notes: I made Dried Cranberry Almond Scones because I had dried cranberries on hand. A few comments on the Food Network site said the dough was too dry. Mine was a little dry so I added a splash (maybe a teaspoon and a smidgeon) of almond milk and remixed. It was perfect.
I formed the disk on the parchment paper. That way I didn’t have to pick them up and move them to the pan. I cut the disk into 8 pieces (instead of 6). Then I used the knife as a spatula and lifted the wedges to separate them on the pan. Mine took 20 minutes to bake. When they came out of the oven they were a little crumbly. Once they cooled they set up perfectly. Half of a scone was plenty for me so I’ll say this recipe made 16 not 6. I did not make the honey butter. I ate mine plain. I would also say cut the dough into 8 wedges. After they are baked, then cut them in half.

Health-o-Meter: Not so bad if you can exercise portion control. Here’s the breakdown for 1/16: Calories 304, 16g Fat, 39g Carbs, 4g Protein. If you only made 6 from the recipe it would be a whopping 810 calories per scone. Seriously, that would be one mighty ginormous scone.

Cranberries and almonds are both antioxidants. Almonds have cholesterol lowering effects. We won't talk about the sugar! Since I've given up chemicals I try not to bake with Splenda anymore.

Easy Meter: The recipe is rated “easy” by the FN kitchen. I thought it was easy. The only thing is knowing the texture was too crumbly. FYI, Turbinado sugar is just a fancy schmancy name for sugar in the raw. You know, the brown crystals.

My Mis en plac:

A little too dry above; just right below.

Gigot a la Moutarde aka Herbal Mustard Coating for Roast Lamb

6 lb leg of lamb
½ cup Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 clove mashed garlic
1 teaspoon ground rosemary or thyme
¼ teaspoon powdered ginger
2 tablespoons olive oil

Blend mustard, soy sauce, garlic, herbs and ginger together in a bowl. Beat in the olive oil by droplets to make a mayonnaise like cream.
Paint the lamb with the mixture and set it on the rack of the roasting pan. The meat will pick up more flavor if it is coated several hours before roasting.
Roast in 350º oven, 1 to 1 ¼ hours for medium rare; 1 ¼ to 1 ½ hours for well done.

~Source: Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Julia Child

Patti’s Notes: We don’t care for leg of lamb so I used this sauce on a rack of lamb. I used about 1/3 cup of Dijon but didn’t decrease the other ingredients except the olive oil. I added about a teaspoon. I added the oil all at once instead of droplets. I made the sauce and smeared it all over a rack of lamb. Did not do this several hours prior to roasting. I used fresh thyme because that’s what I had on hand. Rack of lamb has a built in "rack" so no need to put it on a rack in your pan. I roasted it at 350º for almost an hour. We like it medium-plus. A little past medium but not well. I had a little extra sauce so I dabbed it on the plate and set the meat on top of it. M-M-De-lish!

Health-o-Meter: Along with the obvious protein, lamb is rich in niacin, zinc, selenium and vitamin B-12 as well as iron, calcium and potassium. With only one teaspoon of oil added, spread amongst 7 chops, it’s pretty much guilt free. Lamb chops are pretty small so the rice and the biscuit look ginormous in the picture above. That was only ¼ cup of rice.

Easy Meter: Mashing the clove of garlic was a difficult as this one gets. Added plus, I had all the ingredients to make the sauce without adding to my grocery list.

Smashed Potato Gratin

Ingredients
3 pounds Yukon gold potatoes
3 garlic cloves, peeled
Kosher salt
1 cup milk
1 cup sour cream
2 cups grated Cheddar
3/4 cup panko bread crumbs
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
Pinch cayenne pepper
1 bunch chives

Directions
Cut the potatoes into quarters and place in a large saucepan with the garlic cloves. Fill the pot with water and season generously with salt. Taste the water, it should taste salty. Bring the pot to a boil over medium heat and cook the potatoes until they are fork tender. (A fork, not a knife should slide in and out easily.)
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
When the potatoes are tender, drain the water from them and return the potatoes and garlic to the pan. Add the milk and sour cream. Using a potato masher or big spoon, gently mash the potatoes. Stir in the Cheddar, then taste and season with salt, if needed. Transfer the mixture to a baking dish. Combine the panko, grated Parmesan and the cayenne in a small bowl. Sprinkle it over the top of the potato mixture and bake until hot all the way through and is crispy and brown on top, about 20 minutes.
Remove from the oven, garnish with chopped chives and serve.

Patti’s Notes: The only alteration I made was Fage 0 Greek Yogurt instead of sour cream and I didn’t add the chopped chives. Since I had people at Christmas Eve Dinner at the upper edge of 80 I used a very little pinch of cayenne pepper. I would have liked it with a bigger pinch.
I also doubled the recipe and took the extra pan to my Brother-in-Laws for our Christmas Day meal.
One of the comments on the Food Network web-site said she used the leftovers for potato pancakes. Now THAT’S a great idea!

Health-o-Meter: Well there isn’t any butter added, how’s that? You don’t need butter with Yukon Gold potatoes, they are already buttery tasting. The Greek Yogurt adds more protein and less fat than sour cream. Low fat cheddar would probably work well.

Easy Meter: PDN (pretty darn easy). Easier than regular mashed potatoes since you don’t need to wash the mixer!

~Source, Anne Burrell, Food Network Sorry, I didn’t get a picture of the finished product. Too much going on when dinner was ready.