If I had to live on a desert island with only one food for the rest of my life, I would choose tomatoes. I love them. I have pounds upon pounds of them in cans in the pantry, and currently a few pounds of some very ripe roma tomatoes that the CalMart had on sale. I can do almost anything with a tomato.

Also, before you get all feisty about the fact that I am using a hardly known arabic spice mix, do not fret. There are a ton of places online where you can get Za’atar (zatar, satar, or zahatar) for cheap, or you could just visit your local arabic or jewish market (could za’atar be the road to peace?). I got mine because a friend smuggled it back when she went to Jerusalem. My next batch is coming from Le Sanctuaire (at $32 a pound it may seem expensive, but you have to realize that you’re getting a full 16 ounces of it rather than the 1-3 ounces you can buy in the supermarket).

MAYBE MIDDLE EASTERN SEARED TOMATO CROSTINI
Time: <1 hour.
Amount: 10-12 servings.

INGREDIENTS:

• Olive Oil
• 3 roma tomatoes
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 baguette
• 2-3 ounces feta cheese
• 2-3 tbsp za’atar spice blend

DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat enough olive oil (1-2 tbsp) to lightly cover the bottom of the pan.
2. Cut the baguette into small disks 1/2” or so thick. place them on a baking sheet.
3. Preheat oven to 400.
4. Cut the roma tomatoes into disks and gently place them on the hot oil. Cover for 2-3 minutes, then flip and recover. Remove them directly onto the baguette slices.
5. Cover the tomato with feta and za’atar.
6. Bake at 400 for 5-10 minute or until feta starts to brown and toast is crispy.
7. Allow to cool slightly and serve.

These are great hors d’oeuvres or a perfect addition to a pot-luck picnic! If you don’t have za’atar, you can totally use oregano or basil or marjoram or some other awesome spice. Also if you are cooking for yourself, 5-6 will totally fill you up, not that I’d know or anything.

It was bound to happen sooner or later. Get ready.

BAKED MAC AND CHEESE WITH APPLEWOOD SMOKED BACON
Time: 1 hour cooking, 1 hour cooling
Amount: 4 cups

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 slices applewood bacon
• 2 cups uncooked pasta
• 4 tbsp butter
• 1/2 pound mild cheddar, grated
• 1/2 pound medium cheddar, grated
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp pepper
• 1 cup ricotta cheese
• 1-2 cups half and half
• 1 egg

DIRECTIONS:

1. Cut the bacon into 1” slices and cook your bacon. Crispy. Make sure it gets all dark and delightful. You’re going to put the bacon into a liquid, so it is going to get a little more chewy. If you don’t like bacon, I’d suggest cubes of ham or a thicker cut of pork. Reserve the bacon, save the fat for something else.
2. Cook your pasta to al dente; it should double in size. Season the water with salt. You’re cooking this again, so don’t overdo it. If you cook it too long the first time, the pasta will break down in the oven, and you’ll have a pot of cheesy mush. Now a note on the type of pasta: I don’t tend to use macaroni in my mac and cheese. Because the holes in macaroni are a kind of small, it is harder for the cheese to get inside. I use rigatoni instead. It’s bigger and makes each bite perfection.
3. Preheat the oven to 350.
4. After cooking the pasta, drain and immediately put the pasta in a bowl with the butter. Then add all but one cup of cheddar and all of the bacon; stir. All of the cheddar may not melt, but this will allow the pasta too cool enough that it doesn’t scramble the egg when you add it.
5. In a separate bowl, whisk the salt, pepper, ricotta, 1 cup half and half, and egg until well blended.
6. Put the macaroni/cheddar blend into a corning-ware or pan, then slowly add the milky mixture. Add additional half and half until the pasta is just covered.
7. Bake for 15 minutes. Stir in order to keep the macaroni from drying out.
8. Bake for an additional 10 minutes.
9. Add the rest of the cheese on top, up the heat to 375, and bake for 10-15 more minutes, until the cheese on top starts to brown.
10. Remove from the oven to cool for almost an hour. If you don’t allow the mac and cheese to cool properly, the cheese sauce won’t be set, and it will not bind together.

Now, whenever I’ve talked about my mac and cheese, there have been a lot of criticism (critics who all shut their mouth after the first bite), about two parts of my recipe.

The first is always the fact that it is a baked mac and cheese instead of a macaroni and cheese sauce. I take great umbrage with anyone who suggests that a béchamel sauce is better (anyone ever call the comfort food macaroni and mornay sauce? no.) clearly just hasn’t had proper mac and cheese. There’s no flour in here for good reason: you don’t need it when you make it right. Sauce Mornay (béchamel and cheese sauce) may have its place in fine cuisine, but it needs to stay out of my comfort food.

The second is that it is really unhealthy. I pretty much have nothing to say about this. It is completely true. There’s over a pound of cheese, about 2 cups of half and half, 1/8 cup of butter, and an egg. Every bite is a gloriously unhealthy forkful of perfection, and you won’t even want to share. You’ll demand each morsel of cheddar-y deliciousness for yourself, completely forgetting about fat and cholesterol contents.

So just try it. If you don’t love it, you probably hate fun.

I’m sure you’re tired of me reiterating the fact that I’m on a budget, but I am; if you want me to stop, might I suggest emailing me to get my address for your appreciated financial contribution. Then I’ll blog about scallops or something.

Today, however, we are back on track with a cheap and easy mediterranean inspired dish from my freezer and my pantry. The big problem I have with eating in my current financial state is keeping my staples interesting. My pantry is filled with boxed rice dishes, bags of dried pasta, and cans of tomatoes, black beans, garbanzo beans, and a box or two of cake mix (homemade is wonderful, but there is a special place in my heart for funfetti). And with my frozen chicken (1.89 a pound at the Lucky is still the best price I’ve found), pretty quickly things can feel like you’re living with dinner on repeat.

I am here to shake things up.

I love love love italian, greek and arabic cuisine; which means I’m always striving to incorporate their unique flavors into my weekly routine. This is a blend of the three with a greek chicken and falafel-ish pasta that, with a little planning, went from pantry to plate in a little more than thirty minutes. 

LEMON OREGANO CHICKEN PASTA WITH CHICKPEAS & OLIVES
Time: about 30 minutes cook time

Amount: 4 servings

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 large chicken breasts, cut into 1-2” pieces
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tbsp oregano
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp parsley
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 can of chickpeas
• 1/4 cup of chicken broth
• 1 handful of olives
• 1/2 pound pasta

DIRECTIONS

1. Here’s the planning portion (and in truth, it is optional, you’ll just get better flavor if you plan ahead): marinate the chicken in a the lemon juice, 1/2 tbsp oregano, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp parsley, and 1tbsp olive oil. If you don’t have time to plan ahead, just put everything in when you cook the chicken. Let it sit for at least an hour.
2. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil on medium high heat until it just starts to smoke. Throw your chicken on and cook the chicken until it starts to brown. Reserve it to a bowl. It’s not done yet.
3. In a new pot, boil water and cook the pasta as directed. Use your second tsp of salt to flavor the pasta as it is cooking.
4. Drain your can of chickpeas and throw it in the now vacant pan with the rest of your oregano and parsley (there should still be enough oil in the pan, if there isn’t add a touch more). Cook for about 5 minutes. They’ll start to get a rich golden color and be soft and firm at the same time: little bites of heaven. Throw them in your bowl with the chicken.
5. Use your chicken broth to deglaze the pan (it’ll make cleanup tons easier and you wont loose the great flavor that is stuck to the bottom of your pan). Add the olives. I still had some kalamata olives in a jar in the fridge, but you can use whatever type you fancy most.
6. After 1-2 minutes, reduce heat and add your chicken and chickpeas back into the pan. 
7. By this time, your pasta should be al-dente. Strain it and throw it in with your chicken, chickpea, olive mixture, and stir it to mix it in. After a minute or two on medium-low heat, you are ready to serve.

If you have it, I’d suggest throwing a little bit of feta on top and maybe garnish with a lemon wedge. I only had grated parmesan, but a boy can dream, right?

I’m really excited for you to try this dish; it’s like a perfect one night stand, an interesting, new combination of the flavors you love in a low-maintenance and delightful form.

I am going to Georgia tomorrow. I went to a farmer’s market on Sunday. These two events bring big things! Also, after so many savory dishes, I guess I owe you something sweet, don’t I?

Well, I’m not going to let my southern roots down by giving you some frou frou french ganache. I’m going to give you something proper Georgian. You’d better get ready because this is guaranteed to bring out your southern drawl.

WHITE PEACH AND BLUEBERRY PIE
Time: <2 hours
Amount: A pie’s worth. Weren’t you listening? 

INGREDIENTS

Shell:

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 tsp vanilla extract/flavor
• 3 tbsp, 1 tsp cold water

Filling

• 1 pound peaches. I used white peaches because they were on sale at the farmer’s market that USF just started.
• 6 ounces of blueberries. They should be sweet and juicy.
• 1 tbsp butter.
• 1 tbsp sugar.

DIRECTIONS

Shell:

1. Mix flour, sugar, salt, and butter until dough is crumbly.
2. In a separate bowl, beat egg yolk, water and vanilla.
3. Add wet mixture to dry, and knead until it is a solid piece of dough. Refrigerate for about an hour. Start working on your filling; no reason to waste time, is there? Unless there’s something great on TV. Or you have to tend to your laundry. Or you’d like a nap. Who am I to judge your life?
4. Preheat Oven to 350. 
5. Cut dough in half (make it like the halves in that peanut butter commercial where the one greedy asshole gets his comeuppance when his younger brother gets to choose the halves, and he is stuck with the tiny sliver he was going to foist off on said bro), and roll out one piece into a large flat disk. Place one the bottom of your pie pan. I used a 1.6 liter corningware ceramic, because I don’t have a pie pan.
6. Poke the crust repeatedly with a fork. Then bake the crust for 15 minutes.
7. Turn down the oven to 350.

Filling:

1. Melt butter in a pot over medium heat.
2. Add peaches, blueberries, and sugar.
3. Cook over medium to medium low heat for 20 or so minutes until the peaches are soft to the touch, and the blueberries have given the sauce a great purple color. If the filling has reduced too much, add a few teaspoons of water.

Pie:

1. Put the filling into the crust.
2. Roll out the second, smaller half of the dough and place it on top. If you cover the entirety of the top, be sure to poke a few holes in top. Using only a few strips (and cooking in a smaller vessel than a standard pie pan), I had plenty left over. You can save it or you can roll it flat and turn it into shortbread cookies.
3. Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes until top crust is golden brown.

Serve it still warm with ice cream, whipped cream, custard, or sweet yogurt (I live in California now, so I apparently I feel the need to supply healthy additions to a dish that has over a 1/4 cup of butter in it). If I had anything to choose, I’d pick a lightly sweetened gelato; in actuality, I ate mine plain for dessert, breakfast and dessert again because ice cream isn’t in my budget.