You say tomato; I say tomato

Good morning blog friends. Did you miss me? What can I say, I think I took Wordless Wednesdays to heart and forgot to reappear. Here I am...

Bean has been teething so she has sucked all the the energy out of me. At least the horrible mood has an explanation. The tooth did break through and soon we will be able to see the top middle one. I can't believe that in two weeks she is one. Where did the time go? One minute she was a newborn and the next she is entering toddler years.

Now for some adventures in eating......A recipe that I have been meaning to make is one from Kelsey at The Naptime Chef. By the way, have you guys read her posts on Babble? If not, you really should visit her over there. Okay, back to the subject on hand....Baked Tomatoes with Parmesan and Herbs. Tomato have been a staple at the farmer's markets these days. When Bean and I went for our weekly trip some beautiful beefsteak tomato were calling my name. This was the prime opportunity to make a delicious side dish that can be used for a variety of main entrees. The steps to make this dish were very simple and it uses staple ingredients in my pantry so it was easy for me to prepare without having to run to the grocery store as well. My summary of the process in pictures is below, but if you visit Kelsey's blog she has a webisode that details the process of making this wonderful side dish.

Health, Happiness, Hamstrings makes The Naptime Chef Baked Tomatoes with Parmesan and Herbs.

Ingredients
5 large tomatoes
1 cup EVOO
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese (recipe calls for freshly grated, but I had already grated on hand)
1/2 cup bread crumbs (recipe calls for plain or panko, but I had Italian herb plain bread crumb
1/4 cup freshly chopped parsley



I followed Kelsey directions:

Her directions called for preheating the oven to 350 degrees. I wasn't going to be cooking the tomatoes until later that day so I started by cutting up the tomatoes:







Next I scooped out the seeds. Since I didn't have a grapefruit spoon like Kelsey suggest I used the next best thing on had.....one of Beans spoons. Was the perfect size and made it a breeze to get in the crevices. Then, nestle the tomatoes with the cut side up in a baking dish.



I drizzled the olive oil like she says and patted to make sure the tomatoes are nicely coated.



Then, I mixed the Parmesan, bread crumbs, and parsley. I patted even amounts into each tomatoes. Since I wasn't going to make them until that evening I covered them with plastic wrap and put them in the refrigerator until dinner time. Here is what they looked like:

Since Kelsey's recipe indicates it take about 25 to 30 minutes to bake. I preheated the oven while I gave Bean a bath and put them in the oven while I read Bean her bedtime books. About 30 minutes later I opened the oven and this deliciousness greeted me:

I served the tomatoes with grilled chicken and of course a staple in this house Roasted Eggplant.


Enjoy your day blog friends. Mr. Man, Bean and I are off to lunch. Naptime Chef thank you for a fabulous summer recipe that utilizes staples at the farmers market and pantry (at least my pantry).