Tomato Chutney

This chutney goes perfect with some freshly grilled chicken, fish or kabobs.  A shiny spoonful is all you need on your plate and it's such a marvelously seasonal accompaniment.  You can also slather it on some crostini or a cracker with cheese.  It lasts well in the fridge for weeks and a small jar makes a great hostess gift.  

Tomato Chutney

8 cups chopped tomatoes

1 c apple cider vinegar (with the mother, Whole Foods carries this kind - it's cloudy)

2 c brown sugar

1 c granulated sugar

2 cinnamon sticks

5 cloves

1 inch chunk of fresh ginger

1 lemon sliced thin

Combine everything in a pot and cook on high heat for 15 minutes. Simmer for 1 hour until thick.  Some tomatoes are more watery than others so you may need to cook it down for 1.5 hours.  Yields 3 cups of chutney.

Peach and Nectarine Crisp

Sweet. Silky. Gooey. Crisp. Crunchy. Buttery.  Not healthy, but oh so good.  The theme of our most recent cooking club was all things "Southern" - mac and cheese, creamed corn, corn bread, bbq chicken, okra, sausage balls, and a food coma.  I agreed to make a peach dessert and since fruit pies scare me I thought a crisp would be perfect.  I loved this blogger's idea of using this recipe for the filling, and this recipe for the topping and I also love that she's a fellow librarian.  I may have to ask her to be my friend.    I haven't been happy with peaches I've been picking up lately, and this past weekend was no exception - they were mealy.  But I had a handful of ripe and juicy nectarines and I figured they would be perfect in place.  I adapted the recipes a bit, holding back on the sugar, adding agave to sweeten the filling and adding in some crystallized ginger.  Ina Garten's recipes always lean toward the overly sweet side so if that's your thing, great, but next time I may add even less sugar.  I served this with some creamy and decadent custard which was mean and unnecessary.  This crisp is great on it's own, or how about some whipped cream or vanilla ice cream?        

Serves 8. Allow 1.5 hr

Filling

7 large peaches or nectarines (I used 5 nectarines and 2 peaches)

1 T flour

1 T corn starch

1/4 c sugar

2 T agave nectar

1 T crystallized ginger, chopped finely

1 T lemon or orange zest

In a large pot of boiling water, immerse peaches for 30 seconds to 1 minute.  Strain and run under cold water.  Peel skin off peaches and slice up into cubes.  Throw into medium baking dish.  Toss with remainder of ingredients.  Preheat oven to 350.

Topping

1 1/2 c flour

1 c oats

1/2 c sugar

1/2 c brown sugar

1 t cinnamon

pinch of salt

2 sticks soft butter (I know)

In a medium bowl combine all ingredients until butter is incorporated (if the butter is soft you do not need to use a stand mixer, like the recipe asks).  Press topping onto fruit and bake on a sheet (to catch any juices that may spill over) for 50 minutes.

Tomato Curry with Ravioli

Do you have tomatoes bursting out of your vegetable garden?  CSA box?  Kitchen?  Of course I'm partial, but I think this recipe for tomato curry is a winner.  I didn't submit a recipe this year for the Post's tomato contest, but maybe next year.  I still savor that feeling of having that recipe and photo being published.  Anyway.  Wedding season has now come to an end in our house and after the most recent trip out of town we returned home late on a Sunday evening with nothing much in the fridge except for some tomato curry.  I didn't feel like simply having it over rice, so I grabbed some mushroom and cheese ravioli and presto - a lovely dinner.  Who knew the Indian flavors of a tomato curry paired so well with mushroom and cheese ravioli?  So whip up some tomato curry if you can and I promise you'll find dozens of ways to enjoy it.

Tandoori Shrimp Salad

Tandoori seasoning loves more than just chicken - it goes perfectly well with some freshly peeled shrimp, grilled to perfection.  I love tandoori shrimp on skewers, as an appetizer, or slid off onto a salad. Tossed with a simple vinaigrette, maybe some crumbled cheese, a grilled peach.  You can't go wrong.  


Tandoori shrimp
24 shrimp (peeled)
2 T Rajah Tandoori Masala
2-3 cloves crushed garlic, or 1 T garlic paste
juice from half a lemon
salt, pepper
olive oil 


Salt and pepper shrimp.  Mix together tandoori masala with lemon juice and some olive oil and garlic.  Coat shrimp with seasoning and let marinate about 20-30 minutes.  Skewer and grill for just a few minutes on each side.    

Pesto Pasta with Tandoori Chicken

Have I mentioned my love for the combination of pesto and tandoori chicken?  I feel like I have, but here is a post dedicated to my original discovery, and one of my favorite comfort foods.  As I know I have mentioned countless times, before I was married my mother would cook for me and send me home with leftovers - the most popular of these items being her fresh basil pesto, and leftover tandoori chicken, hence, I often boiled pasta, tossed it with my mother's basil pesto, and topped this with some tandoori chicken.  It's the greatest thing ever. I don't know what it is about the combo, but it's magical. Sweet basil pasta with the soft spice of the chicken.  What was once a single gal's weeknight hunger fix turned into one of my most coveted recipes.  All you need to do is make some fresh pesto and some tandoori chicken.  Or, leftover chicken from this dish. 

Seeing as how it's summer, I would marinate some chicken and grill some up fresh.  It's great in salads or as a sandwich or wrap.  

Grilled Tandoori Chicken

~ 4 chicken breasts or 6 thighs, cubed

4 t (or more) Rajah Tandoori Masala

1 T garlic paste

1 T ginger paste

2 T yogurt

juice from 1/2 lemon

olive oil, salt, pepper

Marinate chicken overnight (or for a few hours) in all ingredients. Skewer and grill.  Boil some pasta, toss generously with pesto, slide some sliced tandoori chicken on top, sprinkle a little parmesan and curl up on the couch and enjoy. 

Beet Salad

Beets.   I love beets.  In all colors, shapes and sizes.   Before I was married my mother would roast beets for me often.  Tossed with some mint and a drizzle of olive oil.  Mmmmm.....a summer salad of beets.  I'll never quite forget finding out my husband hates beets.  I think I made the same expression as when I found out he was a registered Republican.  No judgement, just a bit of a scrunchy face.  Similar to the one last night when I begged him to take a bite of a beet and he spit it out.  I accepted this part of him and once we were married I just never brought home beets.  I knew they'd be rejected so I refused to allow my beloved roots to be subjected to the humiliation.  As a result, it's always the first thing I order at any restaurant.  Seeing the word printed on a menu makes me positively giddy.  Whoever thought of pairing goat cheese with beets is my hero.  Restaurants in D.C. are bursting with beet salads in the summer and they make me so very happy.  But lately my cravings have not be satiated so I found myself eying a bunch of beets at the farmer's market last week.  I strode by my husband, head held high, gripping a handful of them still tickled with soil and leaves arched out. I knew he could read my mind thinking "hey, deal with it, buddy".  I roasted them until their bright purple  color was bursting with sweetness and their rough skin peeled off their silky meat.  Sliced thin and served with some crumbled goat cheese, toasted pecans and a drizzle of olive oil.  It was a sight for sore eyes.  For me, at least.  This can be served cold or at room temperature.  And if you have some fresh (or dried) mint, toss some on top as well.  Oh, and don't worry about my husband, he's taken a few steps away from the right, and he had some homemade kebabs while I enjoyed my beet salad with a grin.          


Beet salad 
serves 4 small portions
1.5 hour


3 medium beets (or 4 small)
goat cheese to crumble on top
toasted pecans to sprinkle on top
handful of salad greens (optional)
olive oil


Wash beets and slice off ribs and leaves.  Wrap each one in foil and place in baking dish.  Bake at 425 for 45 minutes or until tender to a knife.  Let cool for about 15 minutes.  Slide off skin.  Slice beets thinly.  Place on bed of greens, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with cheese and nuts.  Salt and pepper if desired.