Kumato Tomato Quiche

I first saw Kumato tomatoes in Aldi a couple of years ago, and decided to give them a try since I had never heard of them.  They’re now my favorite tomato.  They’re not the easiest tomato to find.  I can’t usually find them anywhere other than Aldi, and Aldi doesn’t always have them.  I make sure I buy them whenever they’re available.

You can read a little more about them here if you’re not familiar, and prefer to learn about them before you try them. 

















Kumato tomatoes are delicious!  I love them in salads, on tuna sandwiches, on bagels with garlic and herb cream cheese, and in this quiche.  Really, I haven’t found a way I don’t like them.  Don’t worry, if you don’t have Kumato tomatoes you can substitute Roma tomatoes in this recipe. 

Kumato Tomato Quiche

1 prepared pie crust

2 garlic cloves, pressed

1 onion, thinly sliced

1 tsp olive oil

9 eggs

½ cup shredded Parmesan cheese

3/4 cup cottage cheese

1/4 cup half and half

1 tsp basil, plus a little more for sprinkling

½ tsp oregano, plus a little more for sprinkling

Salt & pepper to taste

2 - 3 Kumato tomatoes, thinly sliced, OR Roma tomatoes, thinly sliced

Heat the olive oil in a small frying pan, over medium heat, and saute the onion, with the garlic, and a little salt, just until the onions begin to brown.  Remove from heat, and allow to cool.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs, and stir in the cheeses, half & half, basil, oregano, and salt and pepper to taste.

Spread the pie crust into a pie dish, and lightly sprinkle with some basil and oregano.

Once the onions have cooled completely, stir them into the egg mixture.  If you add hot onions to the egg mixture you will end up with a really gross partially scrambled egg concoction, so make sure they’re cool before you add them.

Pour the egg/onion mixture into the pie crust.

Top with the tomato slices.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 50 - 60 minutes, until set through.  Test the middle with a small knife or toothpick to make sure it comes out clean.

Enjoy!

Have you tried Kumato tomatoes?  What is your favorite kind of tomato?

How Is June Almost Over?

I didn’t mean to go nearly a month without writing a blog post, but that’s just how it goes sometimes. 

The rain finally stopped.  We’re still having thunderstorms a few afternoons a week, but nothing like what we had going on for the last half of May.  The flooding and landslides in the surrounding counties seem to have stopped, which is a relief for everyone.

Our garden is doing alright.  Because of the rain, we weren’t able to plant everything that we had planned on, and Duke dug up and trampled a few things.  But the tomatoes seem to be doing well.  They’re still small and green, but I think there are some fried green tomatoes in our future. 

We planted a blackberry bush against the fence last year.  We had the idea that having more bushes in front of the fence might make it harder for Duke to escape, and we both love blackberries, so a blackberry bush seemed ideal.  It didn’t really do anything last year.  In fact, we were pretty sure that it hadn’t made it.  Our leading theory was that Duke had trampled it to death.  Are you seeing a theme here?  Anyway, it started coming back this spring, and now has lots of green berries on it.  I’m not sure if they’re just dormant the first year, or what happened, really, but I’m very excited that we’ll have our own blackberries soon.

Caroline is officially a year old now.  Time flies, doesn’t it?  Per our vet’s instructions, we’re in the process of switching her from kitten food to cat food.  Caroline doesn’t seem to mind the change in food, and definitely hasn’t slowed down any.  She still acts like a kitten.  The big cats are still convinced that Caroline’s food is special, so still eat it at every opportunity, even though more and more of it is exactly the same food they’re eating.  There’s no convincing them of that, though.   They know it’s special. 

I think that’s about it for us.  So how has June been for you? 

Fried Green Tomatoes

Since the weather is warm and produce stands are opening and expanding their offerings I thought this would be a good time to share one of my favorite recipes:

Fried Green Tomatoes 

The key to delicious fried green tomatoes is using VERY green tomatoes, not any that are beginning to ripen.  You will want to buy (or pick) them the day you plan to fry them, or at least no more than one day earlier.  Frying them in olive oil, rather than vegetable oil, also gives them a better over-all flavor.

Green tomatoes, sliced into thin round pieces

1 cup cornmeal

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

Bowl of water

Olive oil

Combine cornmeal, salt, and pepper, in a small bowl.  (This mixture works to coat about 3 green tomatoes.)  Heat olive oil in large skillet over Medium-High heat. Dip tomato slices in water before dipping in cornmeal mixture.  This will help the cornmeal mixture stick to them better.  Make sure tomatoes are well coated on both sides.  Fry tomatoes until golden brown on each side.  Drain on paper towels.  Serve warm.