It's been a long week: Fried Green Tomatoes with Warm Indian Spices

Between the kitchen remodel project and my still being sick, there hasn't been much cooking going on. Hopefully things will be looking up soon because I'm getting sick and tired of feeling sick and tired! For some reason, feeling sick might stop me from cooking but it doesn't stop me from thinking about cooking. If I could cook right now, I'd fix my favorite Fried Green Tomatoes with Warm Indian Spices and served with Mango Chutney. Yum! I originally found this recipe over at SpiceLines awhile back and make it over and over and over again whenever I have green tomatoes.The garam masala brings a little warm heat to the tart tomatoes and the sweet-tart flavor of the mango chutney is the perfect complement.

These Fried Green Tomatoes with Warm Indian Spices will be my contribution to the Saturday Blog Showcase co-hosted by All That Splatters and Thibeault's Table. Head on over to Thibeault's Table to see what everyone else made this week!

Fried Green Tomatoes with Warm Indian Spices
Recipe from SpiceLines


4 medium to large green, unripe tomatoes
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 cup flour
1 tablespoon (or more) garam masala, to taste
1 large egg
2 tablespoons milk
1-1/2 cups breadcrumbs
1/3 cup ghee, clarified butter or canola oil (enough to fill the frying pan ¼ inch deep)
Chutney of your choice

Core the tomatoes and cut a very thin slice off the top and bottom. Cut each tomato into 3 horizontal slices, about ½-inch thick. Season the tomatoes lavishly with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Be liberal with the salt—the tomatoes need a good sprinkle to bring out their flavor.

Set up an assembly line of three medium-sized bowls. In the first bowl, mix 1 cup of flour with 1 tablespoon or more garam masala. The mixture should be quite fragrant. In the second bowl, briskly beat the egg and milk until frothy. In the third, put the breadcrumbs.

Prepare the tomatoes: Dredge each slice of tomato in the flour mixture, shaking off any excess. Next, dip the tomato in the egg and milk, and finally in the breadcrumbs. Be sure that the tomatoes are well coated with bread crumbs. Set aside.


In a heavy 12-inch cast iron frying pan, heat the ghee, clarified butter or oil over medium heat. When it is very hot, put four tomato slices in the pan. Fry them for 1 to 2 minutes per side, until the crust turns crisp and golden brown. If the ghee starts to smoke, lower the heat slightly. Do not overcook or the tomatoes will be mushy. Drain on a stack of paper towels. Proceed with the rest of the tomatoes.

Serve at once, with a generous dollop of sweet-tart mango chutney.

Fiesta Wraps

Sometimes you want something delicious for lunch but don't have a lot of time. I'm so not a fan of boring, bland, same-old, same-old sandwiches. When I saw the recipe for Fiesta Wraps over at Fashionably Foodie I knew they would be the perfect solution to my lunchtime dilemma. Black beans, brown rice, fresh, juicy tomatoes and creamy avocado, sprinkled with cheese and topped with your favorite salsa. How can it miss?

I keep brown rice and black beans on hand and in the fridge at all times so this wrap went together in no time flat. Lots of fresh ingredients, plenty of protein and fiber and fairly low cal (if you are careful with the avocados and cheese), in addition to great taste make this the perfect choice for a quick lunch, especially on a hot, sunny summer day. (I keep telling myself we will actually have such a day. At the moment it seems like we all we have is cloudy days or rainy days! Enough already!)

Check out the recipe here.

Greek Sandwich with Feta Vinaigrette

This was a great way to use up some of those last few tomatoes from the garden. ::sigh:: I used the extra vinaigrette over some lettuce and diced tomato with dinner and it was delish!


Greek Sandwich with Feta Vinaigrette
Recipe from Cooking Light Magazine

Vinaigrette:
2 tablespoons crumbled feta cheese
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 garlic clove, minced

Sandwich:
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
8 (1/4-inch-thick) slices tomato
8 (1-ounce) slices sourdough bread
1 peeled cucumber, diagonally cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
3 cups chopped arugula
1/2 cup vertically sliced red onion
2 tablespoons chopped pitted kalamata olives

To prepare the vinaigrette, combine the first 7 ingredients in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk.

To prepare the sandwich, combine 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Place 2 tomato slices on each of 4 bread slices, and sprinkle evenly with half of the salt mixture. Arrange the cucumber slices over the tomato slices; sprinkle evenly with remaining salt mixture. Add arugula, onion, and chopped olives to the vinaigrette; toss to coat. Arrange the arugula mixture evenly over the cucumber slices. Top with the remaining bread slices.

Tomato Mozzarella Sandwiches

Summer is coming to an end here in the Midwest. Oh the days are still warm enough but the nights are dipping down into the '40's and the first frost isn't all that far away. The kids are back in school. The days are getting shorter. The water colder. The opportunities to go kayaking, fewer and farther between. But most importantly ... soon there will be no more delicious, ripe, juicy homegrown tomatoes!!!!
Dh and I celebrated his birthday by spending the morning kayaking around a one of our beautiful state parks. It was a beautiful day. Warmer than expected and sunny, until a fire somewhere in the area, produced enough smoke to blot out the sun and we started to be pelted with pieces of ash that the breeze carried carried across the entire lake. It seemed to be a large fire (judging by the smoke cloud.) It wasn't very close to the park and we never saw anything about it in the news so I have no idea what it was. It was a really weird experience though. Before that, we had a blast. There was lots of wildlife and very few other boaters. It was like we had the entire lake to ourselves. Quite peaceful and a great way to celebrate one of those forty-something birthdays. Next time though, I will definitely pack a picnic lunch so we don't have to leave so soon!

Here's a great picnic sandwich ... even if it is a little messy! This tasty and easy to throw together sandwich comes from Robin over at Serious Eats! that is the perfect way to enjoy those last few homegrown tomatoes. I can see how this could get a little soggy so you might want to turn it into a salad. The next time I tried it (I'm telling you, it's addicting!) I simply threw all the ingredients into a bowl, dicing the toasted bread and tomatoes and it was great ... and quite a bit less messy! Try it either way. Just try it!

If you prefer your tomato sandwiches with a more mayo-based dressing, here's a link to another tomato sandwich I blogged about recently.


Tomato Mozzarella Sandwich
Recipe by Robin Bellinger at Serious Eats!

2 individual ciabatta rolls
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
Salt and pepper
2 medium tomatoes
5 or 6 medium to large basil leaves chopped into chiffonade
2 or 3 ounces fresh mozzarella
1 clove garlic

Split the ciabatta and toast. In a bowl, whisk together the olive oil and vinegar and season with salt and pepper.

Slice or chop the tomatoes and toss them with the dressing. Add the basil.

When the rolls are toasted, rub them with garlic and pile them with tomatoes and mozzarella. Drizzle the sandwiches with as much extra dressing as you like before closing them up. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and eat within a few hours, preferably without refrigerating.

Christmas is almost here!

It's hard to believe Christmas is next week. I'm not finished shopping, haven't even started wrapping yet and have absolutely what I'm going to cook yet. It's especially hard to believe because it was 55 degrees here today! Usually we have snow and cold weather at this time of year. It's not very festive weather but it does make it much nicer to do all that last minute Christmas shopping. :-)

Since I got home late after a long day of holiday shopping, I decided to pull out an old favorite, Greek Feta and tomato pasta, that I originally discovered at Sweetnick's. It's quick, easy and uses ingredients I always have on hand and even though it doesn't contain meat, my carnivorous husband will eat it. I make extra pasta and the children eat it with a little butter and lots of fresh Parmesan. Quick, easy and everyone is happy.


Greek Feta and Tomato Pasta

1/2 pound thin spaghetti
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
4 fresh plum tomatoes, cored and chopped (I used a can diced fire-roasted tomatoes)
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup dry white wine
4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
1/8 teaspoon cracked black pepper

Bring 4 quarts water to a boil and lightly salt. Prepare spaghetti following package directions. Remove 1/4 cup of the cooking water and reserve; drain pasta.

Meanwhile, heat olive oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute, stirring so garlic does not burn. Stir in tomatoes, oregano and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cook for 2 minutes. Add wine and cook for 1 minute. Add feta cheese, spaghetti and reserved water and toss with pepper. Serve immediately.

Gotta be quick!

Since I'm not a very speedy runner, I usually don't have a lot of time after my runs left to fix a good dinner before we head off to a basketball game or a wrestling meet. I found the answer to my prayers at Sweetnick's, a wonderful food blog you should all check out. Greek Feta and Tomato Pasta is the perfect solution. Quick and tasty with lots of carbs to fuel that next long run! I can have this dish put together and ready to go before the angel hair pasta has finished cooking. You can't beat that. I think the drive-thru at McDonald's even takes longer! Even my carnivores don't complain that it doesn't contain meat. That makes a vegetarian mom really happy!

Greek Feta and Tomato Pasta
Recipe courtesy of Family Circle Magazine

1/2 pound thin spaghetti
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
4 fresh plum tomatoes, cored and chopped (I used one 14.5 oz can of Muir Glen Organic  fire roasted diced tomatoes.)
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup dry white wine
4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
1/8 teaspoon cracked black pepper

Bring 4 quarts water to a boil and lightly salt. Prepare spaghetti following package directions. Remove 1/4 cup of the cooking water and reserve; drain pasta.

Meanwhile, heat olive oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute, stirring so garlic does not burn. Stir in tomatoes, oregano and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cook for 2 minutes. Add wine and cook for 1 minute. Add feta cheese, spaghetti and reserved water and toss with pepper. Serve immediately.