Tomato Tuesday

Hey all, so some of you may have heard of 'Meatless Mondays' I've stated previously that meat is not bad, I love it, but don't need to eat it at every meal!  Well I decided how about a Tomato Tuesday!  My lunch showcased tomatoes in a simple caprese salad I did myself, its super easy, sliced tomatoes, mozzarella (the good stuff), some fresh basil and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar.  It was light, but filling and the tomato was a star on the plate.

For dinner I decided to do the same.....showcase the tomato.  In a recipe I snagged from Allrecipes.com, and a minor swap in the bread, I got a bright, beautiful plate packed with tons of flavor.  The ingredients list is pretty short, and is as follows:

• 6-8 Roma (plum) tomatoes, diced         
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh basil            
• 1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese        
• 2 cloves garlic, minced  (I used one big one)    
• 1 tablespoon reduced balsamic vinegar       
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 loaf French bread, toasted and sliced

I tossed everything in a bowl; tomatoes, basil, Parmesan cheese, and garlic. I placed about 4 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar in a pan and reduced it down, put it to the side to cool.  Drizzle olive oil, kosher salt, and pepper, toss. Serve on toasted bread slices, and top with the now cooled sticky syrupy goodness that is reduces balsamic vinegar.

Not the prettiest plating, but you get the idea.  Is yummy, colorful, a punch of flavor....What's not to love?!  Now I told you I made some minor changes.  I bought some garlicky toasts from my local supermarket, and I reduced the balsamic to be a sauce and less of a dressing.  The original recipe is HERE

You can also find it on the Recipe page of this blog in the Appetizers section.  Hope you enjoy it!

                              

Tilapia...it's what's for dinner!

This is not a food blog, I assure you, but I will be sharing some of the things I'm eating, new flavors I'm trying, and what is working.

Tilapia: A fresh water white fish that is flaky in texture with a mild flavor.
I didn't think I liked fish unless it was beer battered and deep fried. This fish is so mild, it's delicious and takes on the flavor of the spices and/or sauce you put on it. Last night I decided to try it, and found a beautiful mango salsa recipe to go on it. It's simple, fresh and I love it!

Using my Pampered Chef grill pan, I lightly sprayed it with Pam Olive Oil just to keep the fish from sticking.  The fillets literally took 3 minutes a side to cook.  How fast is that?!  So make the salsa first, it will take longer to cut up the mango that it does to cook the fish.
For the salsa I followed this recipe:
Fresh Mango Salsa Recipe
It's a few simple ingredients, nothing fancy with a dozen spices.  It's mango, red bell pepper, red onion, cilantro, jalapeño, the juice of a lime, pepper and sea salt to taste.  That's it! No oil, no vinegar, no special spices, just fresh and simple. Because I only made 2 fillets I cut the recipe in half, and I still had some leftover.  No complaints about that, I can use it on a turkey burger next!


I did make a side to the fish as well, I mixed cooking styles on this plate, and that's fine!  It's my plate, make yours....yours ha!  A 1/2 cup of brown rice was my grain.  I topped that with some fresh green beans and crimini mushrooms.  Both the beans and the mushrooms were sautéed in lite soy sauce that I grated some fresh ginger root into.  Seriously, dynamite flavor!  It went well on the side, almost the saltiness I needed because the mango was the sweet on my plate.  All around winning dish in my book, and I'm happy to share it with all of you!

Make your plate beautiful, try new things, eat with your eyes, it's a fun adventure every time!

If you do make this let me know what you think!  Have other tilapia recipes? Let me know in the comments.  I love trying new flavors in the kitchen!