Episode 7: 4 Ideas for Tomatoes

Y’all, its too damn hot to cook!! My mom gave me a bunch of tomatoes and basil on Sunday and I thought “how can I eat all of these without turning on the oven?” Here are some simple recipes I came up with. I hope you like it and I hope you are not forced to use your oven too much in this heat! You can add anything of your preference to these recipes, some cured meats in the pasta salad, cucumbers to the salad, whatever your heart desires! Let us know if you come up with some interesting variations.

 Check out episode 7 here:

Avocado Basil Pesto (makes about 2 cups)

Ingredients
2 cloves of garlic
1/2 red onion
1/2 avocado diced
juice of 1 lemon
30 basil leaves ( about a cup)
1/2 cup of argula
3 tbps olive oil or avocado oil
sprinkle of cheese ( asiago or parmesan)
salt and pepper to taste

Add all of the above ingredients into a small chopper or blender. Chop until the consistency is smooth.

Recipe 1: Avocado Pesto Toast

Ingredients:
4 tbsps Avocado Basil Pesto
1 cup of cherry tomatoes halved
2 slices of toast

In a medium size bowl, toss the cherry tomatoes in 2 tbsps of the pesto. Spread the toast with the remaining 2 tbsps. Add the cherry tomato mixture onto the toast. Enjoy with any style of egg.

Recipe 2: Caprese Skewers

Ingredients:
8 cherry tomatoes
8 Mozzarella balls
8 basil leaves
2 tbsps olive oil or avocado oil
2 tbsps balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

Skewer 1 tomato, 1 mozzarella ball and one basil leaf on to a toothpic. Continue until you have skewered 8. Mix the olive oil and balsamic vinegar and salt and pepper to taste. Use the balsamic mixture as a dip or drizzle over the top. As an alternative to the balsamic dip, use 4 tbsps of the Avocado Pesto as a dip.

Recipe 3: Cherry Tomato and Arugula Salad

Ingredients:
4 tbsps Avocado Basil Pesto
1 cup of cheery tomatoes halved
3 cups of Arugula

In a large bowl, toss all the ingredients together and mix. Add more Avocado Pesto as needed.

Recipe 4: Cherry tomato Pasta Salad

Ingredients
4 tbsps Avocado Basil Pesto
1 cup of cheery tomatoes halved
4 oz cooked elbow pasta ( or any other pasta)

Toss the ingredients together. Add in more pesto if desired and serve!