Simple Summer Tomato Salad

Dinner prep can be a tough time of day for many families, ours included! Everyone is tired by the end of the day, and the task of planning, prepping & cooking a meal with kids at your heals can feel overwhelming. Our Ben (3 y-o) has taken to asking "Is dinner ready yet?" "Yes Dinner's Ready!" "It IS Ready!" Imagine this sequence on repeat over and over while you prep & cook a meal. Super fun times ;) We've tried to involve him in food prep and cooking as much as possible, but with his 10 month old sister in tow it becomes a bit chaotic to say the least. 

In order to keep my sanity and avoid episodes like this I focus on quick easy things to prepare so we can have dinner on the table at a reasonable time before anyone gets hangry. We want to make sure we get lots of healthy whole foods in our diet, so keeping it simple ensures this actually happens. 

In the summer months one of our family's favourite healthy side dishes is a Simple Tomato Salad. Our good friends Lesley & Mike introduced us to this recipe a few years ago, and we make it at least twice a week, usually at Ben's request. It's that good!

Now that our beautiful grape tomatoes are all beginning to turn a bright red it's even more exciting.

This recipe takes mere minutes to prepare and only takes a few ingredients, making it ideal for a busy family and a perfect light addition to any BBQ.

You don't need exact measurements for this one, so have fun with it and make it to suit your tastes. 

Enjoy! Hope it becomes one of your family's favourites too.

- Care

Simple Summer Tomato Salad

Ingredients

• Grape Tomatoes
• Fresh Basil
• Feta Cheese
• Balsamic Vinegar
• Olive Oil
• Pepper

Instructions

1. Wash grape tomatoes and cut in half
2. Wash basil and chop roughly
3. Place tomatoes and basil in a bowl
4. Crumble feta on top
5. Add freshly ground black pepper to taste
6. Drizzle with balsamic vinegar & olive oil
7. Toss & Serve

Rhubarb! What to do with it? Make something delicious! Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler

Rhubarb! It's everywhere these days. Filling local farmer's market tables & in full bloom in many neighbourhood gardens. If you're lucky enough to have Rhubarb in your yard, you better use it! Or at least give it away to the Grandma on your block. I hate when food goes to waste and Grandmas always know what to do with random ingredients. Something about wartime era scarcity I think, but I digress. Back to Rhubarb!

When we moved into our 1st home in Bloor West Village last summer we found an abundance of Rhubarb. It hadn't been cared for and was in pretty rough shape. Since Rhubarb is a perennial vegetable I knew I would have a chance to bring it back to it's full glory the following year, and that's exactly what I've done.

When it started appearing in early spring we watched with anticipation. I read all about how to tend to Rhubarb (more info here) and was super excited when it was ready to harvest. In our zone Rhubarb can usually be harvested starting in June and continues producing until mid to late sumer depending on the season. It's ideal to harvest when stalks are 12" - 18" long and 1/2" -1" thick. The colour can range from celery green to deep red and does not determine ripeness, which I thought was interesting.

To harvest, grab the stalk at the base and twist while pulling. This will break off the stalk at the root. Don't forget to cut off and dispose of the leaves outside in your yard waste bag. They are poisonous and should never be ingested. That's why rhubarb stalks are sold without leaves at markets and in grocery stores.

Harvesting your Rhubarb will encourage continued growth. If not harvested, stalks will become weak & rot :(

Once you have your beautiful harvest of Rhubarb you'll need to make something. I chose this Gluten-Free Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler from Home to Heather (full recipe below with minor adaptations). We're not a GF family, but I always enjoy making recipes healthier and since many of my friends and family are GF, it's a nice bonus of this recipe. The recipe can also easily be made vegan by substituting the egg for ground chia seeds & water, the butter for coconut oil & the cream for almond or coconut milk. 

This recipe is quick to prepare and absolutely delicious. Top it with a little ice cream or fresh whipped cream and you have a perfect summer treat. I forgot to get a photo of the finished product the 1st time, but that's ok. It was so good that I had to make it a second time...in 1 week ;) Yum! 

Check out The Old Farmers Almanac if you're interested in planting some rhubarb or need to learn how to care for yours. It's a great resource for all gardeners.  

Enjoy!

- Care

Gluten-Free Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler

Filling

• 3 cups rhubarb

• 2 cups strawberries

• 1/2 cup coconut sugar (or brown sugar)

• 1/2 cup oat flour (or regular flour)

Topping

• I cup oats

• 1/2 cup almond flour (or regular flour)

• 1 Tbsp coconut sugar (or brown sugar)

• 1/2 tsp baking powder

• 1/4 tsp salt

• 1/4 cup melted butter (or coconut oil)

• 1 egg

• 2 Tbsp cream (or almond milk)

• 1 tsp vanilla (or inside of 1 fresh vanilla bean, optional. I added this because I love fresh vanilla)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350F

2. Chop fruit and toss in a large bowl with sugar and flour until combined

3. Transfer filling to ungreased 8x8 baking dish

4. Mix dry topping ingredients together

5. Add in egg, butter & cream

6. Mix until combined and spoon over filling like drop cookies (don't smooth out, just dollop on)

7. Bake for approximately 45 mins until filing is bubbling and topping is nicely browned