What's Love Got to Do with It?

If you've stopped by to read this, thank you so much! When I told my twin sister I was going to start a food blog, her response was "Why?" I said, "Because I have a lot to say." "Oh yeah, you do have a lot to say," was her lovingly snarky reply.

My sister and I are absolutely best friends, so this doesn't deter me at all. We are also complete polar opposites of one another in so many ways. Food would not be one of them. I come from a long line of people who love to cook. I can remember my mom telling me she had "no talent" - all she could do was cook. Well Mom, that's a pretty cool talent to have.  My sister, Mikki, first gave me a love of cookbooks. She taught me how much fun they are to read and how the best ones are in black & white with sketches of the food because then you can color the pictures too. My brother scared me a little in the kitchen because I can remember as a kid finding all manner of critters in the freezer. Let's just say it was like somewhere along the way, the Clampets had gotten into his DNA. Often times he wouldn't tell me what he had made, "just taste it." He was the first person to introduce me to stuffed squid - long before anyone started eating those little baskets of rubber bands. His squid was fantastic and I've never had it like that again. Hands down, he's the best cook I know. My sister, Robyn taught me the value of cooking a large amount of something at once, portioning it, & putting it in storage bags in the freezer. "Fast Food" at my house means I've pulled something out of the freezer, soaked the bag in hot water & have dinner ready in 20 minutes or so.  My dad probably did the most important thing, which of course I didn't recognize until much later in life. He was an organic gardener. He & my grandpa had the most wonderful gardens. To this day my favorite thing to do in life is to walk the garden with my dad to see what's new on the vine. As a kid I loved pulling something off the plant or out of the ground, brushing off the dirt, and tasting the bounty of his labor. And now my love of veggies of all kinds brightens my food in countless ways. My twin? She's my favorite person to cook with. When we go "out" to dinner, it's usually her house unless we have a taste for sushi. Otherwise, no restaurant can compare to flavors that Love puts into your food. In my family, feeding people is nothing short of an expression of love.

Heidi & Lori at about 2

Speaking of love, I have a two new ones. I am a lover of olive oil. (Nothing new.) When that cranky little Italian was teaching me to cook, he told me, "Everything starts with olive oil, garlic, onions & mushrooms. It doesn't matter if you don't know yet what it's going to be, it smells wonderful and people are intoxicated by it when they walk in the door." So pretty much everything I make starts with olive oil, garlic & onions. I'm a fan of mushrooms, but they're a little pricey for me. Every now and then I treat myself to porcini or chanterelles, but the white button mushrooms I can totally live without. Anyway, I digress. One of my favorite tv chefs is Anne Burrell. (Don't tell me anything bad about her because I love her rowdy edge & her crazy blonde hair.) I've watched her make infused olive oils before so I decided to try it. OH. MY. GOSH. So easy. So delicious! I can't believe people pay a premium for flavored oils. Even Walmart's Great Value brand tastes like a high grade, hoity toity oil with a little love. 

My second new love is Roasted Tomatoes. I went to the produce market the other day and picked tomatoes for .69/lb!!! That's right!  Per pound! Needless to say, I got a bundle of them. I figured I'd make some salsa or something. So, while perusing the internet looking for salsa inspiration I came across a recipe that included a can of roasted tomatoes. Now, canned roasted tomatoes again, are something I love to cook with. They add smokey deliciousness to everything, but again - too pricey. So I googled Roasted Tomatoes and viola! Tons of recipes! Of course I read a bunch of them & decided this was not just something I could do, I HAD to do it. I'm not quite sure there's enough of them left to make salsa, at this point. I am absolutely smitten with them.

Give these a try. They're both really simple and add ridiculous flavor to everything!

Garlic Infused Olive Oil

1 C extra virgin olive oil

4 cloves of garlic

Pour the olive oil into a small skillet on the lowest heat setting possible on your stove. 

Take the garlic and smash it on your cutting board to remove skins. Then smash it again for good measure. The object is to get the oils flowing from those little powerhouses of flavor. Put them in the skillet and keep them on the lowest low while keeping an eye on them. The object is to get them to a point of little bubbles of love flowing out of them. You'll know it when you see it. Keep it low enough that they don't brown at all. Depending on your stove, hopefully this may take about 30 minutes. It's really not that long. Do some dishes while you wait. I stood there playing my uke. Once bubbles start coming out of them, give it another couple minutes then turn it off. Just let it sit there working it's magic. When it's completely cooled, transfer to a container for storage. Use in everything!

Roasted Tomatoes

tomatoes, garlic infused oil, chili powder, & a sprinkle of kosher salt

Preheat oven to 300.

You can use grape tomatoes, roma tomatoes, medium size tomatoes, or beefstake tomatoes. Rumor has it that the smaller they are, the sweeter they are. I don't know. I've only done it once, but my love of them is such that I will definitely be doing it many more times, using a variety of them. Today I'm going to try the grape tomatoes to see how they are.

Basically, slice your tomatoes in half (or quarters if really big). Line a baking tray with parchment paper and arrange your tomatoes skin side down. Drizzle some of your freshly made Garlic Infused Olive Oil over the top of each one. On a few of mine I put a few drops of my favorite Stonehouse Balsamic Vinegar on top of the oil. Sprinkle them lightly with kosher salt. Put in the oven and turn on a timer. They're going to be in there a while. 3 hours, actually. Low and slow, baby. When they're done, they'll be shriveled, but still juicy. They'll be blackened somewhat around the edges. If you're doing small tomatoes, like grape, check them in 2 hours to see how they look.  I added chili pepper to them and they were fantastic!

When they're the perfect color, pull them out and let them sit to cool, if you can. For me, it was love at first bite!  So yummy! Last night I topped my tilapia filets with them before baking the fish. Mmmm...the flavor was out of this world!