I heart tomatoes.

I love tomatoes. I think they go well with pretty much everything. Here are some fun tomato recipes for you to try from allrecipes.com:

Double Tomato Bruschetta
"A delicious and easy appetizer. The balsamic vinegar gives it a little bite. Dried basil can be substituted but it is best with fresh."

Avocado Feta Salsa
"A chunky, savory summer salsa that tastes great with pita or tortilla chips."

Insalata Caprese
"It's perfect with fresh loaf of crusty bread. For the best flavor be sure to use fresh whole-milk mozzarella - it puts the packaged varieties to shame. You can find fresh mozzarella in Italian delis, gourmet markets, cheese shops and some grocery stores."

Poor Man's Caviar
"A colorful, light, and delicious concoction to serve with tortilla chips or pita bread. Avocados, tomatoes, green onions, black beans, and Mexicorn are combined with red wine vinegar, canola oil, and hot pepper sauce. Always a crowd pleaser! Serve with tortilla chips or pita bread."

Easy Tomato Soup Spice Cake

Recently I was looking online for quick and easy dessert recipes. I found one for a spice cake that uses tomato soup instead of oil. Not a bad idea... I am going to give it a try. Here is how to make it, via allrecipes.com:


Ingredients

* 1 (18.25 ounce) package spice cake mix
* 1 (10.75 ounce) can Condensed Tomato Soup
* 1/2 cup water
* 2 eggs

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and lightly flour two 8-inch or 9-inch round cake pans.
2. Mix cake mix, soup, water and eggs according to package directions. Pour into prepared pans.
3. Bake 25 minutes or until done.
4. Cool on wire racks 10 minutes. Remove from pans and cool completely.
5. Fill and frost with your favorite cream cheese frosting.

Roasted Tomato and Rice Soup

If there was ever a soup to be described as Mmm Mmm Good, it is the New England Soup Factory's Roasted Tomato and Rice Soup. It is absolutely delicious and totally worth the 2 hours it takes to make!

If you enjoy it, get the cookbook! There is lots of goodness in there.

Roasted Tomato and Rice Soup (by Marjorie Druker and Clara Silverstein from the New England Soup Factory)
Makes 10 servings

Roasted Tomatoes

• 12 medium plum tomatoes
  
• 3 Tbsps olive oil
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Rice

• 3 cups of water
• 1 1/2 cups of white rice, uncooked
• 1 Tbsp of butter

Soup

• 3 Tbsps butter
• 3 whole cloves garlic, peeled
• 1 large Spanish onion, peeled and diced
• 5 carrots, peeled and chopped
• 2 ribs celery, sliced
• Roasted plum tomatoes
• 6 sun-dried tomatoes, packed in oil
• 6 cups vegetable or chicken stock
• 3 cups tomato juice
• 2 Tbsps chopped fresh basil
• 2 ½ cups cooked white rice
• 4 dashes Worcestershire sauce
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 1 ½ cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Directions for Roasted Tomatoes

1. Heat the oven to 425 degrees
2. Hull tomatoes and slice in half
3. Place the tomatoes in a large mixing bowl
4. Toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper
5. Place the tomatoes in a small roasting pan and roast in the oven for 50 minutes

Directions for rice

1. Bring water to a boil
2. Reduce heat and add rice
3. Simmer, covered, for 20 minutes
4. Remove from heat and let stand 5 minutes

Directions for soup

1. In a stockpot melt butter over medium-high heat
2. Add the garlic, onion, carrots, and celery
3. Sauté for 10 minutes stirring frequently
4. Add the roasted tomatoes and continue to sauté for 5 minutes
5. Add the sun-dried tomatoes, stock, and tomato juice
6. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium.
   
7. Simmer, covered, for 30 minutes
8. Add basil
9. Puree the soup in the pot using an immersion blender or working in batches with a regular blender until smooth
10. Place the soup back into the pot if using a regular blender
11. Add the rice and season with Worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper
12. Stir so that the rice is evenly distributed throughout the soup
13. Sprinkle each serving with cheese

Baked feta and tomato

This is so quick and easy, and SO tasty - its perfect for throwing together when you don't have the energy for much else.

Ingredients:

• Feta cheese or goats cheese
• Vine tomoatoes
• Rosemary
• Oregano
• Black Pepper
• Olive Oil
  

Also can use:

• Fresh Basil
• Balsamic Vinegar
  

Serve with salad, as done here, or on a toasted ciabatta or brown soda bread.

Can be baked at 180C or grilled.

1. Preheat the oven or grill. Slice the tomatoes and feta.

2. Put the feta and tomato into a dish with olive oil, season with the rosemary, oregano, and black pepper. Optionally add some balsamic vinegar.

3. Bake in the oven, or grill, for 20 minutes.

4. If using bread, add in for last 5 or 10 minutes.

5. Serve the feta and tomato on the bread and/or with salad. Make sure to scoop out all the olive oil from the dish and drizzle it over the top. Finish with the fresh basil, chopped and sprinkled on top.

MEATBALL CHALLENGE!!!!!!! Entry one.

Ingredients

• 1 pound mince (serves 2)
• 1 onion
• half a red pepper
• 4-6 mushrooms
• natural yoghurt
• tin condensed tomato soup
• couscous.
• olive oil
• water
• salt/pepper/herbs (basil, coriander etc).

Can use any kind of pan, but best is a wide low saucepan, with a lid. This gets very splashy!

1. Peel and chop the onion. Mix it in with the mince meat in a bowl. Then, with your hands, role the mincemeat into 6 balls.

2. Heat some olive oil in the pan. Gently place the meatballs into the pan. Let them brown on one side, and then gently turn them every 3 or 4 minutes until all sides of the meatballs are browned.

3. Boil some water, and add to the condensed soup (the amount of water doesn't matter here as you will be adding more as you need while cooking). Pour the mixture into the saucepan with the meatballs. Stir everything, making sure the meatballs are fully coated in the soup. If the soup is quite thick you can add some more water and stir.

4. Put the lid on the saucepan and allow the mixture to boil then bring down to simmer. The meatballs should cook like this for 45 minutes, to make sure they are cooked right through, while you keep stirring and adding more ingredients into the sauce.

5. Chop the pepper and mushrooms (or indeed any other veggie you want...courgette would be good!), and add them into the saucepan. Add in the pepper, salt and all herbs. Stir everything.

6. While cooking, if the mixture becomes too thick, mix in some water slowly.

7. When 10 minutes are left, mix in 2 tablespoons of natural yoghurt. Cover the saucepan and allow to cook for the remaining time.

8. For the remaining time, prepare the couscous.

9. To serve, place the couscous in a bowl, then spoon the meatballs on top, 3 each. Spoon the sauce and vegetables on top of the meatballs. Finish with one spoonful of natural yoghurt, a sprinkling of pepper and a little coriander.