I hope you’re in the mood for tomatoes, but we have lots (and lots) of recipes this week that highlight this rockstar ingredient. Looking for something you pull together on an average weeknight? Try the pan-seared chicken thighs with blistered tomatoes, the tomato cobbler with cornmeal-cheddar biscuits, or the easy no-cook tomato sauce over pasta. Looking to drink your tomatoes in the near future? We’ve got homemade V8 juice, a tomato water Bloody Mary, and a 2-ingredient bloody beer.
An artist in Japan, Akihiro Mizuuchi, created candy molds that replicate the popular building blocks. While this is by no means the first attempt at creating chocolate Lego blocks, this is the most successful we’ve seen.
And the best news? You can eat them!
There’s no real science behind knowing when to buy generic or store-brand foods, and when to stick to your favorite (and probably more expensive) name brand. But we all know that you’ll do your grocery bill a serious favor when you shun labels. Think of it this way: name brand foods are subsidizing their own marketing, so you’re often paying for more than what will end up on your plate.
Over the years and with countless taste tests, I’ve compiled my own list of when to buy brand and when to buy the item at the bottom of the shelf with the lowest price tag.
When Lynne Rossetto Kasper, host of public radio show The Splendid Table, gives advice, I listen. This goes double if the owner of that mellifluous voice is standing right next to you, doling out knowledge with so much enthusiasm you’d be daft not to start taking notes.
This past week, I attended a farm-to-table event hosted by Muir Glen Organics with Lynne and a handful of other food writers and tomato lovers from around the country. Amidst the tastings, the harvest tours, and all the other activities, Lynne dropped this little bombshell of tomato advice that I felt needed to be shared immediately: guys, we don’t always have to peel and seed our tomatoes.
4.38 / 5 Stars | 73 Reviews
by JENINE7
“A refreshing, light frozen citrus sorbet. Easy to make and fat free.”
If you only drink tomato juice while at 30,000 feet, you’re not alone. Turns out there’s a scientific reason why tomato juice tastes better on a plane.
Tomatoes grow all over the world, and they play important roles in the cuisines of many cultures (Italia, anyone?). But down in Dixie, we do summer’s favorite fruit right (yep, tomatoes are a fruit). In fact, I’m gonna argue that we do them better than most. Proving this point was a mere few swift keystrokes for my food-writer friend and big time food-appreciator, Jennifer Kornegay. This Alabama gal means it, folks. Here’s her case for the American South’s dominance of delicious tomato dishes. From the humble to the hearty, consider the evidence.
Sweet, blistered tomatoes and fresh basil are, without a doubt, the stars of this budget-friendly dinner! But the chicken doesn’t hurt either. With just five ingredients and about half an hour, you can be feasting on crispy-skinned, tender chicken piled high with beautiful tomatoes and herbs. This is a simple summer dinner, the best kind.