So many tomatoes! Thanks to my parents 2 bushels of roma tomatoes ended up in my kitchen. In my search for interesting ways to have tomatoes for dinner – again – I came across Mark Bitman’s tomato cobbler. I modified the recipe for what I had on hand and it was so very good that I made it a few times more. This is a very forgiving, very flexible recipe (I even added roasted eggplant to one – delish). I highly recommend going to the extra effort of roasting at least ½ of the tomatoes - Roasted Tomato recipe here. 

The final dish is great hot, warm, cold as a main or as a side and as leftovers! What more could you ask for?



Ingredients  (serves 4 as a main 8 as a side) 
Total time: About 1 hour

Cobbler base

• 1.5kgs (3lbs) tomatoes (ideally roma) cored and cut into large bite sized pieces – see note
  
• 250 (1cup) chopped sweet onion
  
• 15ml (1 tbsp) cornstarch
  
• 125ml (½ cup) feta cheese - optional
  
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste 

There are loads of recipes out there re: how to roast tomatoes  - I have tried a lot of them.

Things I have learned:
1.     it is easy to roast tomatoes...and worth it

2.     There is no wrong way to roast tomatoes. 

3.     Modify the roasting method based on the time you have.

 The basics
1.     Core & cut the tomatoes in ½ or quarter large tomatoes.

2.     Place the tomatoes on either a parchment lined or oiled tray.

3.     Drizzle the tomatoes with olive oil, season with salt & pepper, sprinkle with herbs – optional

4.     Roast or broil or both!
  a.     Slow roast the tomatoes in an oven that is at least 250˚F for up to 10 hours – keep an eye on them.
  b.     Rapid roast the tomatoes in a oven that is at least 400˚F for up to 1 hour – keep an eye on them.
  c.      Broil the tomatoes for 10-15 minutes until slightly charred.
  d.     Roast the tomatoes and then broil them until they are just slightly charred – my favourite.

Well I am sad to say that cold & flu season is upon us.  While it may see logical to blame the vectors in our lives (aka children, colleagues, fellow commuters, etc.) more times than not our own immune system to blame. 

Most of us are exposed to cold or flu viruses on a fairly regular basis, but we only get sick when our bodies are in a weakened state. A weak immune system means that cold & flu viruses are able to get a foothold in our bodies and proliferate.

So if colds/flus are simply a matter of our individual immune systems being weakened why is there a cold/flu season? There are a lot of interesting theories regarding cold/flu seasons, like the cold nose idea, but I think it just boils down to an end of summer. Summer has a slower more relaxed pace – we take vacations, entertain casually, and we take time to enjoy sitting outside. Generally, we take better care of ourselves in the summer. In the fall everything seems to ramp up to a hectic pace as we get the kids off to school, head back to the gym, and tackle the piles of stuff we procrastinated all summer. In addition we spend less time outside getting our vitamin D and the weather is erratic which means that we get chilled often.

5 Things You Can Do To Survive The Cold & Flu Season

1.  Eat well
 Food is your fuel. Crappy food equals crappy performance.  Strive to eat only real food – nothing processed. Keep your diet high in fresh vegetables and fruits all year round.  Many people recommend increasing your garlic intake during cold/flu season and for good reason.


2.  Drink well

Is it just me or is the second week back to school harder than the first week?...maybe it just took an extra week for the reality of it to sink in. Regardless, I was scrambling this week for super fast dinner ideas that: took advantage of the fall produce and would be great for lunches.  Quinoa to the rescue!

This recipe easily doubles so feel free to make a giant batch.


Ingredients (serves 6-8)

• 500ml (2 cups) quinoa 
  
•  1 liter (4 cups) stock or water 
  
•  4-5 tomatoes
  
•  1 sweet onion or a handful of chives 
  
•  2-3 cucumbers
  
•  a bunch of basil or parsley & mint or dill or cilantro (use what ever you have)
  
•  140g (5oz) goat cheese or feta cheese 
  
•  125ml (½ cup) vinaigrette, use your favorite or see my Basic Vinaigrette post below
  
•  salad greens (optional)

Once you learn the basic proportions and method for preparing a vinaigrette there is no limit on the the variations that you can create, so use your imagination and the ingredients you have on hand. Have some fun.

Like all of my recipes, the measurements below are merely  guidelines.
Ingredients

• 1 small clove of garlic
• 125ml (½ cup) vinegar or lemon juice (I suggest red wine vinegar)
• 125ml (½ cup) oil (I suggest olive)
• 5ml (1 tsp) Dijon mustard
• 1 minced shallot (optional)
• sugar or honey to taste
• salt & pepper to taste
  

Preparation Method

1. Mince the garlic into a jar.
   
2. Add all of the remaining ingredients and shake to combine.
   
3. Adjust salt & pepper and the sweetener to taste.
   

Extras - for extra deliciousness!

• 80ml (1/3 cup) minced fresh herbs (basil, dill, parsley, chives, thyme, oregano, etc.)
  
• 15ml (1tbsp) prepared horseradish
  
• 60ml (¼ cup) crushed berries (raspberry, blueberry, strawberry, etc.)