....so many tomatoes....!!!!

 

So recently we have been very lucky with the amount of tomatoes we have been getting from our greenhouse....lovely when you want a fresh tomato for your salad....but in the amount s we've been getting I can't eat that much salad!!!....so ....what to do with them. I'm a BIG fan of tomato sauce based dishes....spag bol and the like so the first and foremost thing for me to make was a batch of roasted tomato sauce. I preheat my oven to 160 fan (which would probably be about 180 on a regular oven, gas mark 4) and I line my baking tray with foil. The first thing I do is to remove the core ( I can't stand getting the core of a tomato in my mouth !!) I found this little gadget in a store (can't remember which store but you can buy them on Amazon Link here, they are meant for hulling strawberries but are just as effective in removing the core of a tomato. 

I then place them in a bowl and pour boiling water over them, I leave them for 30 seconds and then run cold water over them to cool them so that they can be handled, the skin simply slips off. I then cut them in half, place them on the baking tray and put them in the oven. They can take anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour so I leave them for 30 minutes and then just make sure I keep checking them every 10 minutes until they are nicely roasted down but not burnt. I then remove them from the oven and let them cool down. When they are cool I put them in batches into my mini food copper and whizz them into a paste, this will be a thick and luscious consistency which you can use in any of your tomato based sauce dishes, I think you could also use it as a base on your pizza although I haven't tried that yet. This sauce is in the centre picture on the left.

So then I had another batch of tomatoes come in and had only just made the sauce so felt that I should maybe explore other options. I posted on my WW fb page and someone made the suggestion of making tomato chutney, I thought "What a great idea"....so I began looking at recipes and found this one Link Here. It isn't a very complicated recipe to be honest its just chucking everything into pan really but I tweaked this recipe for two reasons....the first one is that it includes garlic which I usually leave out of foods because hubby and I eat different foods and the second one is obviously there is a lot of sugar in a chutney which doesn't fit with my WW life. 

Tomato Chutney

Ingredients

1 1/2 kg Red onions peeled and thinly sliced

Tomato

1k large, skinned and chopped

1 tsp chilli flakes

150ml Red Wine Vinegar

5 Cardamom Pods

1/2 tsp Paprika

100g Canderel Sugarly

Method

Tip all the ingredients into a large heavy-based pan and bring to a gentle simmer, stirring frequently. Simmer for 1 hr, then bring to a gentle boil (probably about another hour) so that the mixture turns dark, jammy and shiny. Place into sterilised jars and allow to cool before covering. Will keep for 6 weeks.

I have actually frozen two large batches of this chutney as there is only me eating it and I want to keep it for as long as possible.

So then another batch of tomatoes arrived in my kitchen so another WW friend suggested "sun dried" tomatoes. I googled and found this recipe Link here they are in the jar in the middle picture above.

Then the next batch turned up so I made passata Link here....this made 800ml of passata (it is the picture on the left above) which I have frozen in 200ml portions. When I made this passata I followed the recipe but I felt that when it was finished it was too thin to put on a pizza so my plan is that depending on what I am using it for I will decide if it needs to be reduced down (by boiling it).

....and finally my hubby went out yesterday and cleared the last of the tomatoes out of the greenhouse (!!!!) so my last outing with the tomatoes was....good old home made tomato soup (the picture on the right above. Back to google and this recipe from the BBC Good Food website Link here. This recipe was only for two portions and that meant that the ingredients didn't reach the minimum level in my soup maker so I made double the quantity (lets face it....I had the tomatoes !!!!) I didn't tweak this recipe at all although I did add a tablespoon of half fat creme fraiche before serving to give it a creamy consistency......absolutely stunning recipe.

Hope some of these ideas have given you some inspiration.

Lets stay strong guys

Sue x

Turmeric Roasted Cauliflower Soup

This is a lovely thick creamy soup, comfortably warming on a cold winter day. Its from Gina Homolka at Skinnytaste....recipe here

Gina has it at 5sp but I've slimmed it down for my needs and I have it at 1sp. When I made this I think that a lot of the liquid was lost in the cooking (didn't have the heat low enough!!) and I ended up with an extremely thick, sauce like, consistency so I let it down with an extra 200ml of stock at the liquidising stage and as such got 5 servings (the sp stayed the same though). I served it with a srinkle of Sumac and a Warburtons thin spread with quark.


Ingredients

600g cauliflower florets cut into 1-inch florets

3 garlic cloves
frylight
1 teaspoon turmeric

1 teaspoon cumin

1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, optional

1/2 tsp kosher salt, to taste

1 medium chopped onion

800ml vegetable stock
100ml reduced fat canned coconut milk, shaken well
2 tablespoons chopped coriander
 

Method

 

Preheat the oven to 200deg/180fan/ gas 6. Smash the garlic cloves with the side of the knife.

Place the cauliflower florets and smashed garlic on a baking tray and spray with the frylight. Shake a few times while you are spraying to coat the cauliflower evenly with the oil.
In a small bowl combine the turmeric, cumin, salt and crushed red pepper flakes. Sprinkle evenly over cauliflower, tossing well to coat evenly.

Place the baking sheet and bake in the center of the oven until browned and tender, about 25-30 minutes, turning the florets occasionally so they are evenly cooked. 

 

Reserve 1 cup.
Meanwhile, heat a medium pot over medium heat, spray with the frylight oil, add the onion and cook until translucent, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add the broth and transfer the remaining roasted cauliflower to the pot, bring to a boil and cook covered on low 15 minutes.
Use a hand blender (or regular blender carefully in batches) and blend until smooth. Salt to taste as needed, stir in coconut milk and serve topped with roasted cauliflower and coriander with additional coconut milk for drizzling if desired (adding any additional sp) . Makes 4 servings.

Lynn's Broccoli and Cheese Soup

My lunch today. Hubby is at home and we went shopping....he then decides he wants a Greggs Corned Beef Pasty....now....back in the day I would have had one with him but now....no way. Now Greggs....I mean....its not really the type of place for a weight watcher is it....I mean lovely food but the calorie count is enough to make me need a lie down in a dark room.....I looked and the only thing that was anywhere feasible for me personally was the soup....but then I thought ....I have soup at home so why don't I have that...so I went home and rummaged in the freezer and this immediately caught my eye....Lynn's Broccoli and Cheese soup....just the thing
This recipe was given to me by a lady while I was having my nails done......hence the name. Its truly scrumptious and although I usually make soup that has 0sp this is a firm favourite of mine and I always have it in my freezer.....its only 2sp for a portion (if you have bigger portions please remember to recalculate)

This recipe Serves 6 at 2sp per portion

Ingredients

Frylight spray oil

1 head of broccoli, cut into florets

1 leek, sliced

1.5 litre of fresh veg stock

salt and pepper

180g Philadelphia lightest soft cheese

Method

Spray a saucepan with the frylight and fry the leek for a few minutes until it is softened. Add the stock and the broccoli, season well with salt and pepper.

Bring to the boil and simmer for 20-25 minutes until the broccoli is cooked through. Remove from the heat and allow to cool a little to avoid burning during the next step.

Transfer to a blender and blend until smooth. Add the cheese and blend a little more.

Note:- You could use any of the other Philadelphia Light flavours and it would be 2sp per portion.

For example any of these....I always have all the flavours in my fridge so I can match with whatever I am making.

 I like to serve my soup in this lovely soup dish that I found in a local gift shop.....

 I believe that a big part of maintaining my focus on my weight is to give my food the respect it deserves.....so for example if you chuck an instant soup into a mug and drink it while you empty the washing machine you end up feeling cheated because you don't feel like you had your lunch.....so I always put my soup in this dish and make it presentable.....today I decided I would have some croutons made from a slice of WW Malted Danish bread cut into cubes, sprayed with spray oil, sprinkled with salt and baked in my Breville Airfry for 5 mins...(great machine but only comes in this one colour!!)

 I also like to use different herbs and spices to make the food stand out and today I used a sprinkle of Sumac, a morrocan spice which I picked up in Tesco

 .......and what better way to finish off than with some fresh fruit....

And all for 3sp....saving some points for a drink with hubby later!!!