Spicy Tomato Peach Jam

Tomato season- it's the time of summer we wait patiently all year for. Maybe patiently isn't exactly true. Buying those off-season tomatoes and then complaining about the lackluster flavor happens all too often, yet we rinse and repeat.

But now, now is the time to yank that fresh tomato off the vine (or off your farmers market table) and directly insert into mouth. Ah, a mouthful of heaven.

However, sometimes we are a tad overzealous in our planting (and purchasing) and find we have more tomatoes than we can chow on. This is an important time to decide what to do with your deliciously colourful bounty.

Two words: tomato jam. A lovely mixture of tomatoes and peaches with a hint of honey and spice. Earthy with just the right mix of sweet; super fantastic on grilled meats, sandwiches, crackers or on a simple piece of bread.

Save some of your next tomato haul for this delicious tomato jam, it's a happy and healthy addition to any meal!

Avocado Citrus Salad

I created these adorable little devils when catering a baby shower recently- not only are they healthy and delish, but they are super gorgeous and perfect for a brunch appetizer.

Let's get something out of the way - Avocado is GOOD fat! It lubricates the body

keeping your hearth healthy and brain running efficiently. The avocado helps fight inflammation as well and is known to help with arthritis in particular.

No cooking required, just whisk, cut and assemble. Eat healthy, get happy!

Pine Nut Romesco Sauce

This recipe is now at Happy Eats Healthy

Pine Nut and Sherry Romesco Sauce

Olive Oil Poached Orange Tomatoes with Honey Goat Cheese

This recipe is now at Happy Eats Healthy

Olive Oil Poached Orange Tomatoes with Honey Goat Cheese

Seared Tomato over Dandelion Greens with Coconut Milk Drizzle

How do you show off the best of fresh summer vegetables without getting sick of the same old standbys? Simple dishes that have a twist are not hard to do, it just means thinking slightly outside of our typical comfort zone.

In this dish, fresh summer tomatoes are seared until golden brown, then coconut milk is poured into the pan to slightly caramelize. This seared coconut milk, along with a hint of thyme and a really good salt, tops the dish off as a warm coconut milk dressing.

Dandelion greens are used as the base here. If you aren't familiar with these bitter greens, dandelions rank in the top 4 green vegetables in overall nutritional value. Beta-carotene, Vitamin A, fiber, potassium, iron, calcium, magnesium... the list goes on.

Could you forage for these babies in your own lawn? Sure, assuming you have a lawn and it's pesticide free. Word on the street is that the young leaves (4-5") are more mild. Once they've grown to a large size you a may find sauteing or blanching them helps to cut the bitterness. Remember to look for hitchhikers on your leaves before you toss them into your dishes.

Add a Fat and Happy twist to your summer veggies with this rich and delicious Seared Tomato dish.

Moroccan Meatball Stew in Roasted Pumpkins

There is no better time to make hearty stews than during winter. And while pumpkins tend to be labeled as a fall food, they carry over into the beginning of the year with ease.

Meatballs with a slightly spicy edge bathing in a cumin and gingery tomato sauce inside a tender roasted pumpkin; each bite finds an interesting mix of the Moroccan flavors. And it's interactive dinning as it's up to the eater to scoop in the bowl as part of the dish.

Perfect for a casual family outing or for an elegant celebration dinner, this Fat and Happy Moroccan Meatball Stew will keep you warm and fill your tummy.

Portabella and Proscuitto Quesadilla with Red Pepper Tomato Soup

Even in the dog days of summer we are typically greeted with one day of impending chilly fall weather. It's a rare opportunity to let summer produce warm us from the inside.

This proscuitto and portabella mushroom mixture is absolutely fantastic! I don't want another quesadilla without it. But its more than just a filling, I could see this as an omelet filling or a topping for bruschetta or on a big fat juicy steak.

The soup is a simple one chocked full with nutritious veggies; adding the summer squash gives a hearty freshness not found in a typical tomato or pepper soup.

Make any time of the year fat and happy with this delicious soup and quesadilla combo.

Frozen Caprese Cocktail with a Basil-infused Vodka

A few months ago we hosted a Fat and Happy Top Chef drinking party. I had won first place, but was disqualified for knoodling with one of the judges!

My final entry into the drink contest was a caprese cocktail with a basil-infused vodka followed by a tomato granita. An absolute flavor party in your mouth.

Starting out with a taste of dressed mozzarella, you follow with the basil shot which brings around a familiar flavor. The tomato granita soothes the vodka bite with its icy crystals and lands the final salad essence with an undeniable tomato punch.

Taking a simple salad and turning it upside down and inside out and then freezing it is an outstanding way to wow your guests. And it is actually quite simple aside from needing to tend to the granita.

Use this as an opening to your party or as a mid-dinner salad break to tantalize the palate. Either way it will be a Fat and Happy conversation piece.

Grilled Jalapeno Shrimp over Gazpacho Salad with Bonus Roasted Pepper Soup

Gazpacho is all the rage in the summer. It's a fresh and filling fusion of summers finest. And easy as pie to make. Let the blender do all the work, just drop the ingredients in.

I began to wonder what would happen if I didn't push the blend button. Certainly it would be a bit cruncher, resembling a salad or salsa rather than a soup, but would the overall taste change? And if it does, is that a bad thing?

The blender sat quietly on the counter while the sounds of my knife filled the kitchen. This gazpacho salad requires just a bit more chopping than a pulverized soup, but I tend to find that process rather calming and methodical.

While tasty, the Gazpacho Salad doesn't really stand on it's own, it needs more. Shrimp grilled with jalapenos adds a great dimension without adding complication.

Recipe Swap: Orange Ginger Scallops with Wasabi Coleslaw

The beginning of July brings a new Recipe Swap; this month's recipe redo is for a classic coleslaw - Oregon Style- from an old recipe book called The Second Ford Treasury of Favorite Recipes From Famous Eating Places. Our goal is to recreate the recipe in our own spin by changing at least 3 ingredients.

There are hundreds of coleslaw variations out there already so my creation needed to stand out from the usual crowd. On it's own, coleslaw is a great side salad. But when you pair it with a main course such as with pulled pork or with tacos, that's when it really shines.

Summer vegetables scream to be left fresh so my thought was to create a light summer coleslaw and top it up off with seared scallops. The wasabi just adds a little kick to the whole dish while topping with wasabi peas finishes it off with a whimsical crunch.  (if only I had remembered to get them while at the grocery store!) This is a revved up Fat and Happy coleslaw that rises above the classic salad.

Pizza Breadsticks

The Monthly Recipe Swaps are meant to challenge a group of food bloggers to recreate a recipe from its original intention. Our chosen recipe for this month is a pizza in the simplest form. Now I love pizza as much as the next person  -though I'm impartial to my grilled flat bread pizzas I've been concocting for decades.

But the goal of the swap is to create something new, a variation of a pizza. I wanted it to be simple but have the essence of pizza. Life has become so busy that my latest  kitchen mantra is fast, easy and simple. That means a yeast crust was out; not that working with yeast is difficult but I wanted a quicker recipe with no assembling and proofing time.

What if the toppings were inside the dough itself like a pizza bread? Or a pizza stick. A bread stick filled with pizza toppings. It could work!

Tomato and Tomatillo Tarts

Are you inundated with tomatoes? Have you made salads, sauces and salsas until they're coming out of your ears?

Aside from bringing all your remaining tomatoes to the next bad comedy show you attend, a super simple tomato tart is a tasty option to use them up.

Frozen phyllo dough makes for a quick and easy crust while the filling is nothing more than cheese and tomatoes. Almost a mock pizza....if you will.

These tarts work great as tapas with a little wine or pair with a salad for a light dinner or lunch. When you have super tasty tomatoes there is no reason to cover that flavor with other ingredients. Keep the cheese to a minimum and let the farm fresh tomato flavor shine through.