Between the tomatoes in my CSA bag and those in my own garden, I’ve been inundated with tomatoes! Not wanting to allow a single one of my 3 dozen Romas to go to waste, I figured the best way to preserve them would be to make my own sun-dried (or oven-dried) tomatoes, which I use in salads, pasta, pizzas, to name a few dishes. Once dried, you can either store in a plastic zipper-lock bag or in a jar of olive oil. This recipe, while super simple, does take time and requires that you (at least passively) pay attention.
Source: Oven-Dried Tomatoes, Patricia Wells’ Trattoria
Ingredients
5 pounds Roma tomatoes
Fine sea salt
Directions
Preheat oven to 200 degrees F. Trim and discard the stem ends of the tomatoes. Halve each tomato lengthwise. Arrange the tomatoes, cut side up, side by side and crosswise on cake racks set on the oven racks. Do not allow the tomatoes to touch one another. Sprinkle lightly with salt. Place in the oven and bake until the tomatoes are shriveled and feel dry, anywhere from 6 to 12 hours. Check the tomatoes from time to time: They should remain rather flexible, not at all brittle. Once dried, remove the tomatoes from the oven and allow them to thoroughly cool on cake racks. (Smaller tomatoes will dry more quickly than larger ones. Remove each tomato from the oven as it is dried.) Transfer the tomatoes to zipper-lock bags. The tomatoes will last indefinitely.
Herb butter is a great way to use up any extra herbs you may have on hand and is a wonderful accompaniment to your favorite dishes. Use it with corn on the cob, warm dinner rolls, roasted chicken or turkey, or corn fritters.
Here I’ve used garlic chives and thyme, but you can use other herbs such as parsley, tarragon, basil, lemon verbena, sage, rosemary, lavender, cilantro, mint, garlic, scallion, or even Parmesan cheese. I find that using a plastic sandwich baggie is an easy way to form a log and store away in the fridge or freezer.
Source: Stonewall Kitchen Harvest
Ingredients
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
⅓ cup minced fresh herbs
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Directions
Put the butter in a medium-sized bowl and stir with a wooden spoon to soften it. Stir in the herbs, salt, and pepper, making sure the herbs are fully incorporated into the butter. Put the butter in the middle of a sheet of plastic wrap and cover with one side of the plastic wrap. Roll the butter into a long log or fat cigar shape, wrap it completely, and place in the refrigerator (for several days) or freezer (for several months) until ready to use. Serve the rolled-up log or cut off slices as needed.
It really doesn’t get much easier than this! For a fast and tasty pizza sauce, this recipe delivers. The only thing I changed was using a 6-ounce can of tomato paste and adding a pinch of sugar to cut the acidity a bit. This sauce is super easy with a simple, great flavor.
Source: Easy Pizza Sauce, Cat Cora
Ingredients
1 (4-ounce) can tomato paste
1 ½ cups water
⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
Salt and pepper
½ tablespoon chopped fresh oregano leaves
½ tablespoon chopped fresh basil leaves
½ tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary leaves
Directions
Mix together the tomato paste, water, and olive oil. Mix well. Add garlic, salt and pepper, to taste, oregano, basil, and rosemary. Mix well and let stand several hours to let flavors blend. No cooking necessary, just spread on dough.
I made falafel again this weekend for my sister, who was visiting. I wanted a different sauce from the tahini sauce that I made last time. This tzatziki, or cucumber yogurt sauce, was perfect with the falafel!
Ingredients
1 cup plain yogurt
¼ cup chopped fresh mint
¼ cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
Grated zest of 1 lemon
Fresh juice of 1 lemon
½ cucumber
Directions
Cut the cucumber half lengthwise into fourths, then chop into ½-inch pieces. Mix together all the ingredients.
Serve as an accompaniment to falafel or lamb.
I admit that I have a long-standing unabashed love affair with all things vanilla. Naturally, I couldn’t resist making some vanilla sugar. I used Tahitian vanilla beans in mine. With t
he added vanilla beans, my sugar container now has such an intoxicating and irresistible scent. I usually try to substitute some vanilla sugar for regular sugar in sweet baking recipes.
Source: Vanilla Sugar, Good Eats (Alton Brown)
Ingredients
1 vanilla bean, whole or scraped
2 cups granulated sugar
DirectionsIf vanilla bean is whole, slice down side of bean with back of knife and scrape seeds into airtight container with the sugar. Bury bean in sugar and seal tightly with lid. Let sit for 1 to 2 weeks. Use as regular, granulated sugar.
McHubby and I went to French Polynesia (Moorea, Bora Bora, and Tahiti) for our honeymoon. While we were there, I bought some Tahitian vanilla beans and later used them to make this extract. It’s a sweet reminder of our vacation every time I use it! 
Source: Vanilla Extract, The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook
Ingredients
12 vanilla beans
1 bottle vodka
DirectionsCombine the vanilla beans and vodka in a jar tall enough to hold the vanilla beans. Allow the mixture to sit at room temperature for at least a month until the vodka becomes vanilla extract and the beans are soft enough to cut the end and squeeze the seeds out. Add more vanilla or beans, as needed. The extract can sit at room temperature indefinitely.
