This year we made our first real attempt at a garden. It was extremely rewarding and fun, but the last couple of months the crop didn’t looked so g
reat. We were spoiled by the initial months of no bugs!
I wasn’t quite sure what I was going to do with the last crop of my tomatoes since they weren’t the prettiest things in the world. I had some bigger ones left and a few dozen little juliets left. I happen to catch Rachael Ray today and she inspired me to roast them. I put all the little ones on a baking sheet along with a few of my bigger brandywine tomatoes (left) and 3 cloves of garlic with their “jackets” left on. I sprinkled them with olive oil and roasted it all for about 25 minutes at 400 degrees.
The smell began permeating the house almost immediately-YUM! I am a sucker for anything with olive oil, garlic, salt, and pepper on it!
In a pot I boiled a pound of whole wheat penne and saved about a cup of the pasta water, which I put in a pasta bowl. After the tomatoes and garlic were finished, I took the paper off the garlic and mashed them in the starchy water. Then I added all the beautiful carmelized tomatoes and all the leftover juice. I mashed that all up with the garlic and water. Then I added some basil from my garden and poured that in with the noodles. I added a little more olive oil and then some parmesan cheese. So simple and so tasty. It felt good to use some not-so-perfect things from my garden to make a healthy meal for the kiddos.
I’d love to be inspired by your meal suggestions. Anything healthy you are making lately?
