Tag Archives: tomatoes

Recipe! Tomato Salad.

I had a really great ear of corn last weekend. The kind where it was just so sweet and creamy with just the right amount of butter and Old Bay seasoning (it’s a thing here). Of course, my BGs didn’t necessarily like the effect of a big fat ear of corn.

So the next day, even though I was grilling something again, I decided to think differently about a side dish. This one isn’t completely carb free… but it’s a lot less than an ear of corn, and don’t forget, tomatoes are just coming into their own in North America now too.

I started with a handful of small tomatoes, yellow and red, that I got from my local farm truck. And a few of my purple cherry tomatoes that are just starting to ripen.

I just sliced them in half and added about 2/3 olive oil and 1/3 red wine vinegar. Add salt and pepper to taste (I also added Old Bay seasoning– I admit– I’m addicted). Then I thinly sliced some fresh basil and fresh mint. Again, about 2/3 basil, about 1/3 mint. No need to measure out all of this. Trust me… You’ll figure out the right proportions.

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If you want to add a few extra carbs, you could cube up a slice of bread, throw it in a pan with butter or olive oil (just a tiny bit), and add something like celery salt or garlic powder, or both. Blue cheese or parmesan cheese too. Or experiment– how about a little cumin or siracha sauce? No matter what, this is a super-easy, tasty side dish.

Carbohydrate count: In what you see in the photos, about 6 grams to 8 grams. If you add a few croutons, add about 14g – 18g depending on the type of bread you use.

Carb counts are estimates only. Check with a registered dietician to find out what a healthy carb count is for you.
 
 
 

It’s No-D-Day again! Time for a recipe.

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The idea for No D Day comes from George Simmons of Ninjabetic fame. It’s his way to get us to focus on the parts of our lives that aren’t wrapped up in glucose checks, boluses and basals, and carb counting, if only for one day. Today, many of us will try to post something that doesn’t really relate to diabetes. And that’s the last time I’m going to mention that word today. Interested in writing your own Non-D piece? Once it’s complete, be sure to add your link HERE so everyone will see it.

Okay, on to the recipe…
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I love to cook. But I can’t take credit for this recipe. It’s an invention of my wife’s, and it doesn’t really have any measurements. So I can’t make it too easy for you. But it really is pretty simple.

First, start with some fresh cherry tomatoes. The fresher the better. The ones you see here came from my garden. If you’re getting the ones you see under plastic in the grocery store, you’ll probably have to work with them a bit to get the same consistency at the end.

You’ll want to roast the tomatoes. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Place the tomatoes on a cookie sheet and cover them with olive oil, a little salt and pepper, and oregano. If you’re working with the grocery store tomatoes, take a sharp knife and put a little hole in each tomato so they’ll roast and release their juices little easier. After looking at the photo again, I think Maureen also sprinkled a little mozzarella cheese in there when I wasn’t looking.

Put them in the oven and let them roast for 15-20 minutes. Then take them out, toss them around with a spatula to make sure everything is mixed together well, and if you think they’re done, they’re done. If not, put them in for five more minutes and check again. Once the tomatoes are done, put them in a bowl (or something you can get them out of with a spoon) and chop some fresh basil on top. But be sure to get all of the goodness from the olive oil, the tomato juice, and everything else from the bottom of the cookie sheet into your container. At this point, it’s hard to keep your mitts off of everything. Your house will smell sooooo good.

For the presentation, we also toasted a rustic bread (bread, I know, right?– must remember: No D Day). With the oven still at 350 degrees, we coated the bread with olive oil and a light coating of celery salt and garlic powder. Then we put them in to toast. If you don’t want the bread, just find something that will work for you. Even rice cakes would be okay here. If you have to live with celiac (still no D-word… crafty, eh?), I’m thinking the Udi’s bread would be great with this.

Once complete, we served it up with some goat cheese. So imagine a layer of goat cheese underneath the tart, almost sweet taste of roasted cherry tomatoes. In our house, this was a recipe that will go down in history.
 
 
 

Wordless Wednesday– More Summer Goodness.

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These fellas are known as Mr. Stripey tomatoes. Mr. Stripeys are an heirloom tomato, which is why they’re not perfectly round and they have a couple of blemishes on them. In addition to those factors, Mr. Stripeys are meaty, earthy representations of what real tomatoes taste like.

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And if I’m lucky, I’ll get enough this year to freeze a few and use them in a pasta sauce. These babies are worth waiting until August for.
 
 
 

Can you identify this?

Even without a calendar, I can tell it’s August in America. It’s hard to tell by looking at this photo, but I’m getting tomatoes out of the garden faster than I can eat them. So I took about two dozen and froze them.

It’s a simple process, really. Just drop each tomato in boiling water for a few seconds. Then transfer them to a bowl of cold water. Once they’ve cooled, peel the skin off and place them in freezer bags. That’s it. If you can, throw a few herbs (basil, especially) in there too. Then when you take them out to cook, you can throw all of that in the same pot.

These are great in the fall and winter for making soup, spaghetti sauce, and pizza sauce.

I am loving nature’s bounty right now.

Average carbohydrate count in an medium-sized tomato: 6 grams

Carb counts are estimates only. Check with a registered dietician to find out what a healthy carb count is for you.


 
 
 

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