The Glass Half Full

This week, I guess it’s a food blog because the positive side of unemployment is that I got out there all summer and watered and fertilized and now I’m in tomato heaven. I know, by next week it could be tomato hell. In the meantime, try these two recipes:

Tomato Sandwich with Basil Mayo*

1/3 cup fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup purchased mayonnaise
1 clove garlic
1 tsp lemon juice
One tomato sliced warm from the vine
Two slices of rustic wheat bread

Chop garlic in a food processor. Add basil and pulse until finely chopped. Add mayonnaise and lemon juice and pulse to combine. Spread some of the mayo on each slice of whole wheat bread, top one piece of bread with the fresh sliced tomatoes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste, top with remaining piece of bread. Inhale.

* The leftover basil mayo may be used to brighten up any sandwich. We’ve used it on turkey and ham sandwiches, but my favorite, so far, is above.

I'm trying to make do with what we have and other than for milk, cut down on the extraneous trips to the grocery store during the week. So I was working from the cupboard, the refrigerator and thank goodness the backyard here. Last night, we were going out, I needed an easy supper, and Sunday’s lemon roast chicken that we had eaten in some variation three days in a row was not going to cut it. In the old days (aka when I had a job), I would have run out to pick up something quick to eat. As we know though, that’s not a wallet friendly option. This was.

Greek Style Pasta

1 Tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic minced
2 Tbsp chopped red onion
1 cup cherry tomatoes sliced into halves or quarters, depending on size
3/4 cup chicken broth
1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
2 Tbsp chopped fresh oregano (divided)
1/4 cup crumbled Feta Cheese
1/2 cup pitted Kalamata Olives sliced in half
8 oz dried linguine
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts (optional)**

Cook linguine in boiling salted water until al dente. While the pasta is cooking, heat the olive oil in a saute pan on medium heat until hot. Add onions and saute for one minute. Add garlic and saute until onions are tender. Add cherry tomatoes and chicken broth and simmer until broth is reduced by about half (about seven minutes). Add red wine vinegar and one tablespoon of the oregano and simmer two more minutes. Add cooked linguine, Feta Cheese, remaining tablespoon of oregano and Kalamata Olives to sauce in the pan and toss until all liquid is absorbed. Sprinkle with pine nuts if using. Season to taste with salt (very little, olives are salty) and pepper and serve immediately.

** Pine nuts are optional because I forgot to add them. If you make this and include them, let me know me know how it tastes. We were fine without.