How Many Tomatoes?

There are so many lists of "super foods" that I don't know what to believe anymore. But if I had to name my own top ten list of super foods, I know that tomatoes would definitely be on it.

Tomatoes are full of antioxidants and that means that have a ton of health benefits. They have anti-cancer properties, provide cardiovascular support, support bone health, and are an excellent source of Vitamin C. Plus, tomatoes are a great addition to many recipes because they can add both a sweetness or an acidity to your cooking.

Tomatoes self seed at my cottage and spread like rabbits all over the gardens. But because they're so tasty and good for you, no one is complaining. In fact, I'm celebrating our wealth of tomatoes with a game. Check out the picture of tomatoes below and try and guess how many little gems are in the bowl. I counted the tomatoes twice myself so I know that my count is accurate!

Whoever guesses closest to the real number of tomatoes by the end of the day on September 20, 2012 will get a tomato-lious recipe named after them!

And to further celebrate my love of tomatoes, I've got a great Creamed Spinach with Grape Tomatoes recipe to share. The tomatoes' acidity offset the creaminess of the sauce and kick the whole side dish up a notch. Read on for how to make this tasty dish!

Saucy Details

If you looked at my post title and thought that you were going to get a risque story filled with scandal, I am sorry to disappoint you. While today's post is about the saucy details and how they can be the most exciting and the best part of a dish, I don't have any juicy gossip to share. 

Instead, I'm sharing a sweet, spicy, and healthy version of a BBQ sauce I made a few days ago. And just like how no summer party is complete without juicy gossip, no summer party is complete without this sauce. 

My Spicy Peach BBQ Sauce is inspired by a recipe from Gwyneth Paltrow and could go on anything from slow roasted BBQ ribs or chicken to a quick weeknight stir fry. You really have to try it; it's so easy, yummy, and perfect for summer that you really don't have a choice!

Chili Today... and Chili Tomorrow

Victoria is cold and wet in the fall and all I want for dinner is something that's not a lot of work and will warm me up.

These two recipes do both for me. The first uses my favourite invention, the slow cooker, and the second is an easy recipe that makes a lot for even easier leftovers.

So I guess that means the title of this post should read "Pulled Pork Today, Chili Tomorrow, and More Chili After That". But that doesn't really have the same ring does it?

Let's start with the basic Pulled Pork with my quick BBQ sauce.

Blue skies, Beverages, and Quarter to Seven = BBQ time

You know summer's finally here when you can smell steaks sizzling around the neighbourhood, see smoke rising from grills, and hear laughter from everyone's backyard.

We all finally want to be outside and everyone is grilling.

Last summer I didn't have a BBQ and was forced to sadly cook indoors. Sometimes Luke and I would bring out indoor grill outside and pretend it was a real BBQ as we plugged it in and cooked on it, but it wasn't the same at all.

We relished every opportunity, pun intended, to head to a friend or family's house and taste the sweet taste of grill marks on our food. It brought smiles to our faces as much as seeing our friends did.

But now we can grill with the best of them at home. Our BBQ isn't one of those huge monsters that you could cook for an army in, but it's great for the two of us.

I love bringing a glass of wine out to the BBQ and enjoying the sunshine while I cook because everything is good when I'm barbecuing in the summer.

The food smells and looks good, the wine tastes good, the laughter outside sounds good and the sun feels good. What else is there?

But before I can get my grill on, I need to get my BBQ sauce ready.

I use to buy a bottled sauce, but it never tasted exactly how I wanted it to taste and I'd always seem to run out when I wanted more.

So I decided to ditch the bottled stuff and make up my own recipe. It's easy, quick, and spicy -- just what I wanted.

Me-So Happy

Salty, bitter, sour, and sweet are basic primary sensations of taste.

Everyone knows about those four taste sensations and I'm pretty sure most of us can remember sitting in science class and seeing a diagram of a big fat tongue depicting the areas where each taste receptor lays.

Or was I the only nerd that paid super close attention and highlighted my text books?

Regardless, there is another important taste sensation and it is sensational!

Pardon my bad joke, but the fifth taste sensation of unami or savouriness actually translates from Japanese to "pleasant savoury taste" or in more broad terms, deliciousness. Sensational!

Things like mushrooms, tomatoes, and many Asian pastes all have great unami flavours. The actual flavour is hard to describe, but the best way I can think of it is that they all give a long lasting meaty taste that coats your tongue and tastes great.

One of my favourite unami flavours is from miso. And for those of you who are accustomed to Canadian Chinese cuisine only (me until I began living with Luke), miso does not mean soup in Japanese.

Miso is a paste. It comes in different strengths, flavours, and colours, ranging from white to deep red, and can be made from fermented rice, barley, and soy beans.

Red miso is made with soy beans and has a very salty flavour. White miso is made with barley or rice and is much sweeter than its cousin.

You can eat miso not only in just soup, but also on veggies, meats, as a dip, to marinate, and to make sauces.

How a Basic PB and J Inspires Something New

Yesterday I was making myself a snack. Nothing special, just a basic peanut butter and jam sandwich.

I spread on the peanut butter and scraped the bottom of my jam jar to try and get enough out. There wasn't quite enough jam for my liking so I checked my cupboard for another jar. I was completely shocked to find that there were only two jars left!

One solitary peach jam and one lonely little blackberry jam.