Slow Roasted Tomato Pasta Salad Recipe

Even though it's still only early summer, I've been making pasta salads pretty frequently. I love them as a side dish for summer dinners, or as a main meal when meats are added to them. And they are great and easy to transport for picnics or dinners at the beach.

What makes this pasta salad one of my favorites is that it's made with oven roasted tomatoes. I slow roast the tomatoes at a low temperature for a couple of hours, and the flavor is so intensified and delicious. They can be stored in olive oil in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. I also add them to spaghetti, salads and pizza. The time spent to roast them is well worth it, especially when you consider how expensive they are at the grocery store.

I made this pasta salad for the 4th of July, and it was a big hit with friends and family. It's super easy to put together, and can be made ahead of time too.

Here's how I slow roast tomatoes:

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Wash, dry, and slice in-half two pounds of Roma tomatoes.
Lay the tomatoes cut-side down on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and a tiny bit of granulated sugar.
Roast for 2 - 21/2  hours, or until tomatoes are lightly dried and slightly darkened. Store in the fridge in a jar with olive oil.

Recipe for Slow Roasted Tomato Pasta Salad

Ingredients:

3/4 pound colored rotini pasta, cooked and rinsed with cold water
1 cup oven roasted tomatoes, roughly chopped
1/2 cup Italian dressing
2 tablespoons dried Italian herbs
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Directions:

In a large bowl, whisk together the Italian dressing, Italian herbs, and pepper. Add the pasta and tomatoes, and stir to combine. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese, and give it another stir.
Serve or refrigerate.

Makes 6 servings.

Recipe For A Plum Galette and Thoughts About My Mother

When I was growing up, most of the moms I knew stayed home with their kids, and were responsible for taking care of the house and doing all the cooking. That's just the way it was back then, and being a good housewife was something that my own mom sometimes struggled with.

My mother was always kind and loving to me, but there were days when I came home from school to find her laying down in her bed, with the room dark, and I could feel a heaviness in her that I didn't understand.

Of course, now I know that she sometimes suffered from depression. Depression wasn't talked about back then, you hid it because it carried shame. She did what she had to do for her family, and I know how hard it must have been to carry on as though she were fine.

You might be wondering what all this has to do with making a galette. Well, I remember my mom always being unhappy with her pies, and she thought they never looked pretty. She felt the crust wasn't right, and I remember watching her frustration as she rolled out the dough and put the pie together.

My own attempts at making a great pie crust weren't all that successful either. So when I learned how to make a galette, where you put the dough and the fruit together in a rather freeform sort of way, I thought about my mother.

I thought how wonderful it would have been for her to be released from her own judgment about presenting her family with a picture perfect pie, and instead something that was beautiful in it's own rustic way.

So now when I make a galette, it's my mother I think about, and know that she would think this was a great idea.

When I saw these gorgeous and delicious black plums at the store, I wanted to make a plum galette, even though I had never used plums before. One nice thing about the plums is that you don't have to take the skin off of them, which is a huge time saver. After you have sliced them, just toss them with some sugar and a little flour, and they are ready to go into the center of your dough.

Leave about a two inch rim of the dough all around the fruit so it can be folded up to keep the fruit inside. It's so amazing how different fruit galettes can look from each other, because they reflect the bakers own hands and how it was folded.

Most apple pies look like an apple pie, but I think the beauty of a galette is in the individual look of each one. There are no mistakes, and that is the most wonderful feeling.

Somehow, this dessert has been deemed 'fancy' by a lot of people. I have seen it in popular cooking magazines, and yes, it can seem that way. I also saw a whole mixed berry galette for sale at an upscale bakery for $36.00. Crazy, right?

But it's so very simple to make, and so satisfying to put this gorgeous dessert on the table to share with family and friends.

I wish my mom were here to have a slice with me. She would have loved the ease and freedom of this dessert, and told me how delicious it was. I miss her everyday.


Recipe for Plum Galette


Ingredients for pastry dough:

2 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 large egg yolk
3 tablespoons ice-cold milk

1 egg
1 tablespoon water (to make egg wash)

Directions:

 Combine first 3 ingredients in a large bowl. Mix in butter with a pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse meal. Whisk together egg yolk and milk, pour into flour mixture, stirring just until dough starts to form a ball.
Press together with lightly floured hands, and form into a flat round. Cover with plastic wrap, and place in refrigerator for at least 1 hour.

Ingredients for filling:

2 pounds black or red plums, quartered, pitted, and sliced 1/4 inch thick
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a large bowl, toss together plums, sugar, and flour.

Remove dough from refrigerator. Roll dough out on a lightly floured surface into an approximate
10-inch round. Place on a large, lightly greased baking sheet. Scoop plum mixture into center of round.
Fold about 1 inch of dough all the way around to form a rim. Combine egg and water, brush outside of tart with the egg wash.
Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until golden brown. Let cool on pan 20 minutes, then move to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Can be served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top.
Serves 6.

 

 

I originally published this last summer, but wanted to share it again.

Laura's Top 5 Foods to Try this Summer

I am one of those people who LOVE to try new things! New foods are always on my radar. Nothing fancy or exotic but regular every day food that you can find at the grocery store. This summer I have found 5 foods that I had not tried but now love.

Newman's Own Limeade is delicious! We love the lemonade version of this brand and selected the Lime version for a nice summer treat. We have made them into popsicle too. Plus all of their profits go to charity.

I enjoy Nature Valley granola bars for snacks and lunches so I thought it would be fun to try their Breakfast Biscuits. I love anything with Lemon in it so I selected the Lemon Poppy Seed version. I will have to say these are delicious! I enjoyed them with my morning coffee.

I am a huge fan of Honey Bunches of Oats. My favorite one is the one with almonds. I enjoy cereal for dessert too. I wanted to try something new so I selected the Fruit Blends banana and blueberries. I really enjoyed the sweet flavor combo, the blueberry granola clusters are great.

I have read great things about the benefits of Aloe and have been wanting to try some. I found Vivaloe at my local store and have tried 4 varieties so far. My favorite is the Coconut Aloe. It contains aloe and coconut water. The chunks of aloe are amazingly delicious! A nice treat in the summer heat.

My favorite of all the foods I have tried has to be the Outshine Fruit and Veggie Bar Tangerine Carrot. They have carrot, pumpkin, pear, tangerine and apple. They have been a summer saver for us in the 100 degree plus weather. We even take them to the park to enjoy.

What new food items have you discovered this Summer?

Chocolate Zucchini Bread Recipe



I really love chocolate, and somehow chocolate and zucchini just don't go together in my world. Except they do in this marvelously rich, chocolate zucchini bread that is filled with flavor.

The zucchini has been coming out of our garden quite regularly, and this is the first summer I've really embraced cooking with it. It's so versatile, whether you are using it for dinner, dessert, or snack recipes.

It's healthy for you too, of course, and I feel good when my family is eating their veggies. This recipe calls for a cup and a half of grated zucchini, which is about one medium sized zucchini.

This recipe calls for chocolate chips and cocoa powder, and it really packs a chocolate punch. It's moist and so, so good.

If you don't have homegrown zucchini from your garden to use, the farmers markets are still filled with them, and it's a nice way to end the summer, by making this yummy, chocolaty bread.


Recipe for Chocolate Zucchini Bread

Ingredients:

3/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1 cup applesauce
2 cups all purpose flour
2 tablespoons unsweetened  cocoa powder
1-1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 cups finely shredded zucchini
1/2 cup semi chocolate chips
baking spray

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

 

Place first 3 ingredients in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at low speed until well blended. Stir in applesauce.
Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and the next 4 ingredients (through salt), stirring well with a whisk. Add flour mixture to sugar mixture, beating just until moist. Stir in the zucchini and chocolate chips. Spoon batter into a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 1 hour or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out almost clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes on a wire rack, and remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack.

 

I first published this recipe last summer. Since the zucchini has started getting ripe in the garden again this year, I thought I would share it again.

Dune Jewelry Handmade Beach Sand Inlet Cuff Bracelet Review

My childhood was full of trips to the beach. We have always lived on the west coast and enjoyed the Pacific Ocean all summer long. Anytime I am feeling over stressed I think of or even go to the beach for renewal. The reminiscence of sunshine filled days, the smell of the salty air and the sand beneath feet remind me of one of my favorite quotes, "life is like the ocean it can be calm or still and rough or ridged but in the end always beautiful". When I came across Dune Jewelry a company that makes handmade jewelry containing sand from your favorite beach you select from their sandbank or send in your own sand I knew it would be something special to have. I love the concept of jewelry that is connected to a memory from the beach.

 There are so many beaches that hold a special place in my heart I had a hard time choosing just one, but Redondo Beach CA was the one I selected. As a kid my family and I went to Redondo many times. My Dad grew up there and the stories he told us on the drive there about his childhood always fascinated me. He told us about how he once rescued a wounded seal and it recovered in the bathtub, how they would skip class to go surfing, and the one I now realize as an adult was not true, the climbing a big hill to school in 10 feet of snow. He did show us the big hill leading to school, but I now know it does not snow there! I had my own adventures at Redondo Beach with my siblings while my Dad and Mom watched from the shore. I remember my older brother and I being taught how to body surf by a random local surfer lady. She opened my eyes to a whole new way to see the little waves I was jumping in. I can still picture my older sister standing on the shore freaking out about how cold the water was while my brother and I dove right in.

As a teenager my Dad took my sisters and I back to Redondo where my sister and I realized there was an arcade under the pier with rides and all the whole time. I giggle a bit about that one since my parents were smart to not let us go there. I am grateful they never took us in since I think it would have ruined our true beach experiences. Hearing my Dad tell my son the "seal in the bathtub" story when he came to visit made me overwhelmed with joy. Its the stories and life experience we pass down to our children that they remember the most. As I was having this bracelet made my Dad has gotten much sicker and having kidney failure making the memories even more precious and reminding me I want my own son to stick his toes in the sand at Redondo Beach. The Silver Cuff Bracelet with the sand from Redondo Beach makes all that joy I felt with those memories right there.

I have been wearing the bracelet to work a few times a week since its simple design and silver color seem to match so much of my wardrobe. I have received many comments on the uniqueness of the jewelry and hearing people tell me their beach stories has been great. Not only do I now have a lovely piece of jewelry to wear I have captured memories in sand that I will treasure forever. Now my only problem is I want like 10 more pieces of jewelry! My birthday is coming and I already know 2 sands that I would love to have a piece made for and those both have beautiful memories attached to them.

Some information about Dune Jewelry:

• Dune Jewelry the Original Beach Sand Jewelry Company® is very unique because their patented designs are custom made with beach sand!

• With Dune Jewelry you have a choice of thousands of sands worldwide, spanning all 7 continents. 

• New this year a custom wine bottle stopper!  Who doesn't love wine?  The Dune Jewelry custom wine bottle stopper is is the perfect gift for the holiday's or a special occasion you may be celebrating.   

• All of Dune Jewelry's items have a lifetime warranty, come with care instructions and literature that indicates the source of the sand.

• There is something for both men and women in the Dune Collection.

• Dune Jewelry is available to purchase online and at various retail stores nationwide.

• Visit www.dunejewelry.com for more information and to view Dune's collections.

Dune Jewelry creates tangible reminders of life’s greatest moments.  Everyone has a beach memory. It could be a childhood memory, a place you and your friends met each year, it is where he proposed, it is where you had your beautiful destination wedding, or maybe it was where you spent your honeymoon. Dune's unique custom and personalized collection is something that will provide cherished memories all year long.

You can see more of the jewelry designs by following Dune Jewelry on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram.

I would love to hear your favorite beach memories, please feel free to share in comments :)