Living! with ZenLizzie

Each year, it seems like the garden produces one thing in abundance. Last year, it was yellow squash, and the year before cucumbers. Don’t get me wrong, those are great vegetables, I just can’t eat them 3 (or 4) times a day for weeks on end, and they aren’t quite as versatile as say.. tomatoes. So for the last two years, I’ve begrudgingly picked and processed all these other vegetables, secretly wishing our tomato plants were a little more fruitful.

Red gold! Some of the tomatoes I’ve picked.

This year I got my wish, because we moved the plants to a spot that gets a little more attention, and they have taken off. It can be a little overwhelming to have the kitchen counters covered in tomatoes, and ripe garden tomatoes can’t just sit around the way grocery store tomatoes can. So usually when I get dozens and dozens, it is easier just to process them right away (I typically use the freezing stewed tomatoes method from the Clemson Extension) and keep just a few out for salads and sandwiches.

Lately I’ve felt like I wasn’t making the best use of the tomato bounty, because really there is no better tasting tomato than the one you just picked and most of mine were going in the freezer. In a few months, the fresh tomato choices will be more limited, and I want to take advantage of what I have now.

Not to knock the tomato sandwich, but I started looking for more creative ways to use what we had. My first attempt at this was pretty successful and really easy, and if I had the chicken coop of my dreams, almost all the ingredients for this could have come from my garden.

Light Tomato Frittata

Light Tomato Frittata with Fresh Herbs

Inspired by this recipe from WebMD

Serves 4

Ingredients

6 egg whites
2 whole eggs
1/2 onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cup part-skim mozzarella
2 tsp olive oil
2-3 ripe tomatoes, sliced
1  bunch fresh basil, chopped
1 bunch fresh oregano, chopped
Salt and Pepper to taste

This is really a no-brainer recipe. Good for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

Directions

1. Add olive oil, and cook onion and pepper in a 9″ oven-safe saute pan over medium heat until soft.
2. In a bowl, whisk together cheese, eggs and egg whites until well-mixed. Pour mixture over onion and pepper in the pan. Make sure the vegetables are covered, but DON’T STIR.
3. When the eggs start to cook, arrange tomatoes on top.
4. Sprinkle chopped herbs on top. It should only take about 5-6 minutes for the bottom of the frittata to set. You can check this by gently pulling the edge away from the side of the pan with a spatula.
5. To brown the top, put the frittata under a broiler for about 2 minutes. Remove, and let cool for 5 minutes before serving.

I had mine with roasted garlic broccoli.

Nutritional info: 144 calories, 7.3g fat, 2.5g saturated fat, 6.7g carbs, 13.5g protein, 4 WW P+. 

If anyone has suggestions on their favorite way to use fresh tomatoes, I’d love to hear them. So far I’ve made the frittata, tomato soup, salsa, and tomato sauce.

The special – eggs over a cheddar biscuit with tomato gravy and herbs. Breakfast heaven.

I had this dish at the Yolk in Rock Hill, S.C., and it was  AMAZING. That stuff on top is tomato gravy, which I learned via google is made with butter or bacon fat. Oh. Well I guess that makes sense. This was weekly points meal after my WW weigh in last week and it was soooo worth it, but I can’t really justify making tomato gravy at home now that I know why it tastes so good.

And with that, I’m off to pull some weeds, pick some tomatoes, and hope that my zucchini and pepper plants catch up to my tomatoes.