Monday, August 29, 2011

Amazing Fat-Free Banana Ice-Cream





















A number of different chefs have done something like this, but here's my take.

Take 2 overripe bananas per serving and peel them and cut them into slices that are 1/2 inch wide. Freeze them in a flat layer until they are solid, a good 6 hours at least. Right before serving, puree the bananas in the food processor (not more than 6 or so at a time). If the bananas are having a tough time pureeing, you can add some milk to help it get going. Top it however you like, I especially like a quick mix of honey and peanut butter and some chocolate. Hard freeze any leftovers and they will stay good.






Saturday, August 27, 2011

Tomato Candy aka Slow Roasted Tomatoes

Wow, we haven't posted for a while! There have been lots of transitions in the family over the past few months, but no lack of delicious, local cooking. Here's a simple recipe that takes advantage of the abundance of tomatoes still in season. I used Juliet tomatoes, which are like small Roma tomatoes. The recipe is inspired by Orangette's recipe for Slow-Roasted Tomatoes with Sea Salt and Ground Coriander and Food & Wine's recipe for Honey-Tomato Bruschetta.

2 pints ripe tomatoes (roma, juliet, cherry, or grape tomatoes would all work well)
~2 T Olive oil
Sea salt
Ground coriander

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Fahrenheit.

Wash the tomatoes, and halve them lengthwise. Toss the tomatoes in a bowl with the olive oil. Place them, skin side down, on a large baking sheet. Sprinkle them with sea salt and ground coriander—about a pinch of each for every four to six tomato halves.

Bake the tomatoes until they shrink to about 1/3 of their original size but are still soft and juicy, 4 to 6 hours. Remove the baking sheet from the oven, and allow the tomatoes to cool to room temperature. Place them in an airtight container, and store them in the refrigerator. Delicious on their own, with pasta, on bruschetta (see Food & Wine recipe), on a simple pizza, or anything else you can imagine!