Roasted Veggies and Grains

Summer Veggies are the very best and I love to roast them gently with perfect seasonings. Here is my way - with mostly pictures and little text.
Green Tomatoes - they fell from the vine in a storm and I couldn't let them go to waste! Zucchini, Yellow Squash, Onion, Carrots, Eggplant, and Patti Pan Squash
In order to maintain the flavor of the veggies, I only added Olive Oil, Sun Dried Tomatoes, Chopped Garlic, and Tastefully Simple Pesto Seasoning. You can just use jarred Pesto or Italian Seasoning if you prefer.

Place on a greased cookie sheet or jelly roll pan and roast in a preheated oven for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.




Top with shredded cheese and - voila!

Gazpacho

I made this a couple of months ago - honestly, life has gotten in the way of this blog. I wanted to post it before the last tomatoes fall off the vine. This no-cook-no-heat-up-the-kitchen dish is a must have on hand for summer. Note that you do need to make it the day before so the flavors marry. I took this recipe from Simply Recipes and recommend that blog to anyone anywhere. I LOVE IT!

Ingredients
•6 ripe tomatoes, peeled and chopped
•1 purple onion, finely chopped
•1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, chopped
•1 sweet red bell pepper (or green) seeded and chopped
•2 stalks celery, chopped
•1-2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
•2 Tbsp chopped fresh chives
•1 clove garlic, minced
•1/4 cup red wine vinegar
•1/4 cup olive oil
•2 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
•2 teaspoons sugar
•Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
•6 or more drops of Tabasco sauce to taste
•1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce (omit for vegetarian option)
•4 cups tomato juice
Method

To easily remove skin from tomatoes, slice the tomatoes under the skin from the top to the bottom and around again on two sides so you make an X on the bottom. Place them on a baking sheet and broil on low for about 5 minutes. You will see the skin start to pull away. Let them cool a bit and then peel them.
Combine all ingredients. Blend slightly, to desired consistency.
Place in non-metal, non-reactive storage container, cover tightly and refrigerate overnight, allowing flavors to blend.

Serves 8.

Crab Boil

In South Carolina - my home State - it was born as Frogmore Stew and referred to as Low country Boil. In Maryland, it is the same thing but with CRAB! Of course, with crab - what else?!

When my younger sister and her family came to visit, we made some delicious Crab Boil and added shrimp because; as my friend Shani would say: "And is better than or."

The ingredients: Kielbasa Sausage, Small Potatoes or Potatoes cut into large chunks, corn on the cob, shrimp, and crab.

The basic rule is to cook the items that take longest first and finish up with the shrimp. We had the crabs steamed in advance and heated them separately in the oven (sort of cheating) because I don't have a pot big enough for all of that goodness! You can find crab boil or low country boil seasoning in the store but if you want to "wing it" you can always use old bay, garlic, and onions. You can also mix paprika, chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and black pepper together - yum!

Make sure you have some sour cream, melted butter, cocktail sauce, cider vinegar, mallets, brown paper, and beer!