Garden Treats

Pinterest was a life saver this week.

My little garden exploded with tomatoes and i knew i'd better

be ready with a plan. I can pop cherry tomatoes like candy but from the size of the heavy stems, i didn't need that much candy.

Thankfully I found a picture that piqued my interest.

(hey, is that how they got the name? piqued interest?)

Make your own sun dried tomatoes? Never crossed my mind before but I'm so glad I did. I love doing it homemade, fresh not store bought. Whoo Hoo!!!

So here are the steps...

Start with cherry tomatoes or romas.

Wash and cut in half. I used some small regular tomatoes

as well so I cut them in quarters or eighths. They worked fine.

Loaded up each tray of the dehydrator and let them cook for

24-36 hours. I am always a little nervous about them being good and done so i might go longer than some people.

See how small they get?  LOL They were tiny but I'mso glad I did this. I'm working on my next batch right now. I'm storing them in a Ball jar. I want to try storing them in olive oil but I'm a little scared of that too.

Here's one recipe that I like to throw my sun dried tomatoes into.

Bowtie pasta

bacon

onion sliced

black olives feta cheese 

sun dried tomatoes

Cook one box of bowtie pasta, set aside.

Cook at least 8 slices of bacon. You can cut little strips crosswise or cook it on strips and crumble later...either way, cook your bacon. Reserve the grease and stir in your sliced onions. Cook them until nearly clear. Next pour the grease and onions over the bowtie pasta and toss well. Crumble bacon, sun dried tomatoes, black olives and feta cheese.

UMM UMM GOOD.

I wish I had a picture for you but my computer has crashed and taken everything with it....next time.

Israeli...It's What's For Dinner Tonight

I don't know what it is about the temperatures but I crave Israeli food when it's in the 90's. 

I couldn't resist the urge to turn up the heat a little more and keep my oven at 450 degrees for a while.

Tonight we had tabouli, Israeli salad, hummus, tzatsiki, olives and pita. 

Everything is homemade since I have no shuk around the corner. I've had to learn

to make these things myself. (well, not olives)

I tried a new pita recipe and like it just fine. Still trying to refine and tweak the recipes to my liking.

Here's the step by step process.

Proof the yeast and let stand for 10 minutes. 

Add dry ingredients and mix with wooden spoon.

Knead on a floured surface for 8-10 minutes.

Love that you can feel the dough change with this step.

It will need to rise until doubled. Mine rose quickly because...

you guessed it...it's hot in Texas!

I let it continue rising 1 1/2 hours before punching down.

  

Next you begin dividing. I cover my dough balls with a damp towel and let them rise 20 more minutes

while my oven heats to 450. I placed my baking stone and cookie sheets in to heat up as well.

Roll into circles (or if you're like me you free form).

I kinda like the homemade look of free circles.

In the HOT HOT HOT oven they go for 5-8 minutes.

Sometimes mine puff and sometimes the don't. 

I'm liking them softer and thicker these days and can't resist butter on the first one.

I think I made 16 today and to my dismay there are only 5 left.

Sad thing is...it's just my husband and I eating. 

I was seriously craving Israeli fare.

Enjoy!