So all of my “more unique” (or “heirloom”) tomatoes happen to ripen at the same time, so I found myself with an overload of tomatoes today. Combine that with a zucchini from the last time I was at my parents and a whole lot of basil, I had half a meal right there. Add some onions (shallots), garlic and cod fillets, and there is a meal and then some. While you could just eat it without anything else, or with some crusty bread, I decided to make some pasta. And there we go.
August 2019
Here’s another idea for a picnic, potluck, biergarten meetup or a quick dinner that will feed — well, I’m guessing this will easily feed 10 people as a snack, maybe 4-5 for dinner. I made a cheater version of this stomboli because I bought the pizza dough at Trader Joes, though it’s not actually difficult to make pizza dough. If you do cheat, this stromboli will be ready in under an hour. Can be eaten hot or at room temperature and can be made a day or two in advance, if needed. Easy-peasy!
Pluots, apriums, apriplums, and plumcots … all these “new fangled” fruits that are hybrids of plums and apricots. Or something like that. I have to say that many of them are yummy just as eating fruit, but even better when baked as they are juicy and tart — which I really like in a pie. The variety that I used here are “Honeybunch Pluots”, which were very much like firm, dark red all the way through plums, but with a bit of a fuzzy exterior like an apricot. I added sugar and cinnamon, and then more sugar on the crust to make it a little crunchy — textural variety! This same pie can be make with any plum or hybrid variety, and if you make one with apricots, lower your sugar level somewhat. Overall, a nice little pie, if I do say so myself!
I’m doing a little more experimenting with those Bailey’s Irish Cream Chips that have recently come on the market, and here is another cookie type: Baileys & Butterscotch Oatmeal Cookies … Bailey’s and Butterscotch sounded like a great combination to me, and oatmeal? Sure, let’s make it remotely healthy. I froze the caramel bits before putting them in the cookie dough so they didn’t goo everywhere. Very yummy, though a bit on the overly sweet side (not surprising).
Headed out on a road trip tomorrow, so I am prepping a few things to take with us that are easy to store, easy to eat. That includes these Black Currant Almond Streusel Bars. As with all of my crumble and struesel bars, these are super-easy to make, really versatile to swap out flavors and pack up really nicely. Also perfect to take along as a picnic or biergarten snack or dessert.