Pesto Rice Stuffed Tomatoes

Have you had stuffed tomatoes? Aren't they so good?! It's such a great way to keep enjoying tomatoes as summer becomes less about burgers and barbecues and starts looking towards crisp fall air and warm soups and casseroles. Not yet though! I'm not really ever ready to say goodbye to summer, but definitely not this early. Summer runs late here in Seattle, and sometimes our warmest, sunniest days are in September. That means still plenty of barbecues and camping for me! Yay!
Speaking of camping, I actually took these stuffed tomatoes on my last trip. I wanted a starch/grain to go with dinner that wasn't potatoes (I usually eat those with my eggs for breakfast, and twice in one day is a bit much). Brown rice is a wholesome option that goes great with the salmon I was going to grill, but cooking rice while camping just isn't how I like to spend my evening - especially brown rice, with its long simmer time.
That's when I started to think about stuffed tomatoes - what a great way to bring brown rice camping! I mean, it's totally prepared in its own edible packaging; all I would need to do was heat and serve. Genius! I wrapped them in foil and put them to the side of the grill while the salmon was cooking. I had a delicious campfire meal, without having to get up too often from that campfire!

I started by cutting the tops off of 2 large "on the vine" tomatoes.

I scooped out the pulpy insides...

...and then sprinkled a little salt into them before turning upside down on a rack. I let them sit for an hour or so to let any extra moisture drip out.

Stuff the tomatoes with a mixture of rice, pesto and mozzarella cheese and top with some parmesan. Bake for about 20 minutes.

Enjoy immediately (I drizzled a balsamic reduction over mine) or allow to cool and pack them up for a great side dish on the go!

Pesto Rice Stuffed Tomatoes
2 large on the vine tomatoes
1 c cooked rice
1/4 c shredded mozzarella
3 T pesto
2 T parmesan
salt

-Preheat oven to 375.
-Cut the tops off of the tomatoes and scoop out the insides.
-Sprinkle salt into the tomatoes and invert onto a wire rack; let sit for about an hour to allow any remaining liquid to drain out.
-Combine rice, mozzarella and pesto; fill tomatoes with mixture.
-Top with parmesan and bake for 20 minutes.

 

Spring Onion Sesame Soba Noodles

I don't know about you, but as much as I love summer side dishes, I'm ready for a change. There's only so much mayonnaise that one person can take! (And I LOVE mayo, especially when it's homemade!) I'm ready for something light and cool to fill that place on my plate where macaroni salad and potato salad usually reside.

I had a huge grocery bag overflowing with spring onions from a friend's garden. Spring onions are great because they're so mild - kind of like a scallion but less delicate.

I had so many spring onions that I decided to make a sauce using a whole bunch of 'em... kind of like an Asian-style pesto, with spring onions instead of basil and sesame oil as opposed to olive.

I basically sliced up the entire spring onion - white, light green, and dark green parts.

I threw the onions into the food processor and gave it a quick pulse before drizzling in the oil and spices.

Just like a traditional pesto, the sauce was paired with noodles - in this case, I used soba noodles. Soba is the Japanese name for buckwheat, so these noodles are whole grain... something my body  would certainly prefer after all of those mountains servings of potato salad.

 

Spring Onion Sesame Soba Noodles

4 spring onions

2 cloves garlic

2 T freshly grated ginger

4 T sesame oil

2 T rice vinegar

4 T soy sauce

2 t honey

1/2 c toasted sesame seeds

4 c shredded carrots

8 oz soba noodles (whole wheat spaghetti works too)

spring onions (optional garnish)

 

-Cook soba noodles according to package directions. Rinse and set aside.

-Roughly chop onions. Put all parts in a food processor and pulse lightly.

-Add garlic and ginger. Pulse all.

-In a small jar or cup, mix sesame oil, rice vinegar, soy sauce and honey. Turn food processor on and slowly drizzle the liquid into the onions, making a paste (just like pesto).

-Add onion "pesto" to soba noodles along with carrots and sesame seeds; chill before serving. -Garnish with sliced scallions if desired. 

Sauteed Kale

Eat more kale!! It's always a good idea to know the basics, and this dish is as simple as it is delicious. An easy way to enjoy winter greens:
Sauteed Kale

Basic Risotto

In all of my raving about risotto, I have yet to include the basic recipe. I love to make this when I have a main dish with an especially flavorful sauce - like Cod with Tomato Cream Sauce. This risotto makes a perfect vessel for fully enjoying all of the creamy sauce:
Basic Risotto

Green Veggies Risotto

Continuing on the risotto kick, I wanted to find a recipe that had even more veggies than the Butternut Squash Risotto that has become a favorite staple of mine. This Green Veggies Risotto does the trick - it's a great way to combine two sides in one, as this grains-and-greens dish is an easy and delicious one pot wonder!

Green Veggies Risotto
1 T olive oil
1 onion, diced
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 c Arborio rice
1 celery stalk, diced
1/3 c dry white wine
4 c stock, boiling
1 c broccoli florets
3/4 c sugar snap peas, halved
1 c zucchini, thinly sliced
1 c green beans, cut in 1 inch pieces
1/2 c feta, crumbled
2 T fresh parsley, chopped

-Heat olive oil over medium-high heat.
-Add the onion and garlic, stir until beginning to brown - about 2 minutes.
-Add rice and stir well until coated with oil - toast for about 3 - 4 minutes.
-Reduce heat to simmer and stir in celery and white wine.
-Continue stirring until most of the wine has evaporated.
-Begin stirring the boiling stock into the rice, incorporating slowly as the liquid becomes absorbed (about 10     minutes).
-Continue stirring; add green veggies and continue cooking for about 5 more minutes.
-Stir in the feta and parsley.

Butternut Squash Risotto

When I was a kid, having rice with dinner meant plain white rice, maybe with a touch of butter. I was never a fan. My dad actually had a pretty good solution - he would use the flavoring packets from Top Ramen (he only used half of the packet for his noodles to avoid excessive amounts of sodium, so the other half of the seasonings ended up in the rice...there's something about dads in the kitchen - they always have their own take on recipes!) If only my parents had tried this simple Italian take on rice - it's a great way to combine veggies and grains all in one healthy, easy way.

Check out the recipe:
Butternut Squash Risotto