Roasted Strawberries

MMM... We made these tasty Roasted Strawberries from Super Natural Every Day.  We quadrupled(!) the recipe and baked them on stoneware.  Because we made so much, there was some extra juice, but we filled the jar with the berries and then with enough liquid to cover them.  We ate them warm over a scoop of fresh ricotta.  I think they would be great with ice cream too.

Smoked Tomato Bisque

It makes me very sad to say that many people will never try the Smoked Tomato Bisque from The Soup Peddler's Slow and Difficult Soups.  Either they don't know about it, or they just turn the page when they see the use of a smoker in the directions.  I, however, was determined.  First, I tried to find a way around the smoking part.  I thought I could broil the tomatoes instead - blacken them on the outside and blister the tomato paste as the recipe suggests.  But one day, I mentioned my plan to some friends.  "Oh, we have a smoker."  What?  Who seriously has a smoker?  Well, my friends live in a little cottage on a horse farm, and the guy who lived there before them left a whole bunch of odd stuff behind - including a smoker.  After several scheduling conflicts, Halloween turned out to be the perfect day to use some of the very last tomatoes for Smoked Tomato Bisque and to make some delicious grilled cheese sandwiches.

I should note that this recipe should not take you 4+ hours like it did for us.  Figure out what you're doing ahead of time.  Figure out what a smoker is, that you need charcoal AND wood chips.  Figure out where you can buy those things before driving around to several different stores.  Figure out whether you need newspaper to light it up and why you don't have any in the house.  Once you've done those things, the rest is easy.  Put the tomatoes in the smoker, then chop up the onions and celery.  Start caramelizing the onions when you think the skins of the tomatoes might start to split soon.  (You can just turn off the heat if you're done too early.)  When they're done, make soup.  You could be done in much less time than we were.

The consensus at the table was that the recipe was worth the time we spent on it.  Time goes by quicker when you're with friends anyway.  The smoky flavor of the soup was amazing - it tasted like fall to me.  It was pretty strong, though, so I couldn't eat too much of it.  The recipe says it serves 6, but we ate some and each kept at least a quart - I don't know how six people could eat all of that.

The soup was great, and I hope we can make it again next year when the tomatoes come back.  Seeing how easy to use the smoker was also inspired some more smoking project ideas - including some with meat.

Moroccan Eggplant and Couscous Salad

Something struck me about this Moroccan-inspired eggplant recipe, but I wasn't sure what it was.  I knew I wanted to eat it but I didn't know why.  When I tasted it, though, it all made sense!  It was delicious.  I was skeptical, especially because instead of amounts of seasoning it's "go with what smells good," but it turned out good.

This is made of several components: roasted eggplant cubes, roasted chickpeas (roasted separately from the eggplant), couscous, and a dressing with white balsamic and cilantro.  The spices (cumin and cinnamon) are key.  I left out the golden raisins, because I didn't see them at the store, and I also hate raisins, but when I made it a second time I added some currants - yum!  I also left out the chickpeas the second time around, as we didn't really like them.  They did not get crunchy at all!  So sad.  Luckily it's just as delicious without them, and the leftovers are fantastic too.  This would still be fine at room temperature so it could make a great picnic food or packed in a lunch.

Cherry Tomato Bruschetta

One of my favorite things to make with tomatoes is bruschetta.  I don't really follow a recipe - I take a bowl, and I chop some tomatoes.  Then I press some garlic into it - one or two cloves, depending on how much tomato.  I do a moderate splash of olive oil, and a slightly smaller splash of balsamic, and then some salt and pepper.  I chop up a handful of basil leaves and mix it all together.  I am obsessed with those Panetini chip things for bruschetta - I love the Garlic and Parmesan flavor.  I could eat a whole bowl of this for lunch.

We've gotten some gorgeous little cherry tomatoes recently - heirloom varieties I get to pick myself.  Since we don't get many of these tomatoes, I like to do something that really puts the spotlight on them.  The variety of colors and sizes makes such a pretty bruschetta.  This is a simple appetizer or snack that can be made ahead of time and is pretty enough to share with friends.