Three Tomato and Roast Pepper Sauce

OMG - So so so good. I just pulled this together tonight from stuff from my fridge and leftover garden stuff. I had a variety of tomatoes, but not enough to make anything by using  one type or the other. So I used all of them :)

Olive oil - 3 tablespoons or so
2 tablespoons of butter
2 medium green tomatoes
a handful of cherry tomatoes
Salt and pepper
4 cloves garlic
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes
1 1/2 red and/or yellow roasted bell peppers - i just put mine under the broiler at 500 degrees for 8 minutes

Warm pan on medium heat, poor olive oil in pan let warm for a few minutes, then add butter and melt until bubbly, then add tomatoes. Keep covered throughout.
Heat cherry and green tomatoes in olive oil and butter until the green tomatoes begin to soften. Add salt and pepper, just a little for the moment, chopped garlic and onions as well. Reduce for about 5 minutes before you add the sun- dried tomatoes and chopped roast peppers.

From here you can just add a bit more salt and pepper to taste and pour over your favourite pasta, or add on a bit more.

I had some leftover chicken thighs and about 1/2 cup of broth. I threw that into the pan with the sauce  and let simmer until they were warm.

Overall it was easy, quick and really tasty for a nice winter meal.

Roast Vegg, always a win

I eat a lot of veg. I often times just have roast vegg for dinner, with nothing else. Healthy? Perhaps not. Delicious....very :). So here is a quick way to make some really tasty veggies.



Roast Veggies

You can use this recipe with Brussels sprouts, asparagus, potatoes, cauliflower, broccoli etc etc etc.

Preheat oven to broil/375 and place an oven rack on the top rest
Choose your veg or mix of veg properly cleaned, and if needed, cut in halves or quarters
Salt
Pepper
Olive oil
Lemon Juice
Melted butter

Toss your veg in a bowl to coat with some olive oil, cracked salt and pepper. Put on a backing dish in a single layer. Place in oven and bake for about 10 minutes. Some veg like asparagus will cook a lot quicker so watch them closely. Others will take longer, potatoes will take about 30 minutes or so depending upon the thickness.

Once the veg are done, toss back into the bowl with the olive oil and salt and pepper, squeeze a little lemon juice over and add the butter. The butter is not necessary, but is really tasty and why the heck not. Enjoy life and its butter :).

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies (for lack of a better name)

I kinda poached this recipe from a newspaper but changed it so much I am calling it my own. They are almost like eating a really moist scone. You can do a simple sugar glaze on them for some extra flare, but they are lovely without. You can used a cup canned pumpkin or roast your own. If you roast your own sugar bear pumpkin, you have more control over the flavour of the cookie.

1 cup self-rising flour
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2/3 cup room temperature butter
1 1/2 cup tightly packed brown sugar
1 cup  pureed pumpkin - bake a whole one with brown sugar and butter or use from can
3 large eggs at room temperature
l teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup miniature dark chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 375 F.

Line baking sheets with parchment paper or lightly spray with cooking spray. Whisk together flours, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg in a bowl.

Cream the butter in a mixer then add and cream together butter and brown sugar on medium speed for 3 minutes, or until very light and smooth. Scraping sides frequently to ensure full combination.

Mix together on medium speed with the butter/sugar mix: pumpkin, eggs, and vanilla extract and blend until well-combined. Scrape sides frequently to ensure full combination.

On low speed, add the dry ingredients (a scoop or two at a time) until just blended, about 2 minutes. Hand mix in chocolate chips until combine. The mixture should be a biscuit like consistency, not too wet like cake batter, but not like a chocolate chip cookie dough either. Light and fluffy.
If its too wet, add more flour 1/4 cup at a time.

Use 2 serving spoons to drop batter into mounds (about 2 tablespoons each), 2 inches apart onto the prepared baking sheets. Cookies will spread when they bake.



Bake until the bottoms are golden brown, about 8 - 15 minutes (check after 8, 10 is usually the perfect amount of time, but some ovens cook faster or slower. Transfer to wire racks and let cookies cool completely. Store in an air-tight container for up to 3 days.

Makes 36 cookies.