Not Your Mother's V-8. Instead, this tomato cocktail is faintly sweet, almost fruity. It's frothy and refreshing. It's slightly puzzling, an enigma of scent and flavor and texture. If you're working on Five-a-Day in Three-(Meals)-a-Day, this would be lovely at breakfast. TOMATO COCKTAIL Hands-on time: 10 minutes Time to table: 4 hours Makes 3 cups 2 pounds cherry tomatoes (the tomato man reports they hold the most juice) 1 red pepper (optional) 1 leaf of fresh basil (optional) Sugar (I used a tablespoon) Salt (I used 1 teaspoon kosher salt) Puree all the ingredients in a food processor until very smooth. Here the recipe and I diverged. The Recipe: Pour the mixture into a sieve lined with cheesecloth and placed over a bowl, then bring the cheesecloth over top. Refrigerate overnight to drain. This will produce a "clear" and "pure and refreshing" sort of "chilled consomme" though "better as an alcohol-free apertif...

~recipe & photo updated in 2007~ Lavender Heaven, that's how to remember these potatoes, my favorite since last month's first Panzanella . Cooked with nothing more than lavender, rosemary, butter and salt, these potatoes are ever so simple yet ever so elegant. Two less prosaic lessons: Steamed new potatoes turn out mealy, like last night's . (I was even told they might be old.) Boiled new potatoes turn out creamy, like tonight's. When potatoes are packed with succulence, less is more. A pound of tonight's potatoes would easily have served eight (each serving 2 - 3 small potatoes) as long as there were another vegetable on the plate. 2007 Photo Update: In 2005, I made these with new red potatoes, in 2007 with French fingerlings. I like the color of the red better but the fingerlings are creamy good. In 2006, I loved these potatoes so much that I created an easy, romantic all-lavender meal , perfect for Valentine's and other romantic occasions. VE...

The code-looking EoMEoTE#10 is just that, food blogger code for End-of-the-Month Egg-on-Toast Extravaganza from the ever-witty Cook Sister , written by a South African living in the UK who's been bitten by Dr Seuss , it seems. And here's A Veggie Venture's first contribution, this morning's Alex's French Eggs on toasted flat bread with sautéed onions on the side. The onions were much prettier a few days ago but now, after cooking for three hours (yes, HOURS) they're edible.

A simple but somehow special potato salad, just new potatoes smashed (but not quite mashed) toss while hot with sour cream, a little butter and finely chopped fresh mint. Lovely for summer! Real Food, Fast & Casual, Perfect for Summer. Just Four Ingredients. Not Just Easy, Summer Easy . Friendly. Little Effort, Big Taste. Weeknight Easy, Weekend Special. Great for Meal Prep. Naturally Gluten Free.

It's easy to tell it's the height of the growing season here in the northern hemisphere -- food bloggers' tables are piled with vegetables this week. There's no picking just one Veggie Post of the Week so here are ones I'd love to nibble on! Bee-yoo-tee-ful Food From Rachael at Fresh Approach Cooking -- A cold melon and tomato soup, served ever-so-elegantly in martini glasses From Home * Economics -- A tomato tart that may cause foodies to swoon Fast & Fresh From Words to Eat By -- A pair of cucumber and tomato salads plus an inspirational platter of marinated roasted peppers From Veggie Way, a new favorite site -- An eggplant salad From the ever-creative StephenCook -- Linguini with pretty broccaflower All the way from Singapore and Nibble & Scribble -- Grilled Japanese eggplant with tomato Comfort Food From Nic at the BakingSheet -- Fried (actually baked) green tomatoes, something I've been meaning to try From the Milky Way Dine...

Broil tomatoes, sure, but first, insert slivers of garlic into the tomato to amp up the flavor, then sprinkle with fresh herbs and a mist of oil. Easy and delicious! ~recipe & photo updated 2010~ 2005: Just like yesterday's Pepper & Tomato Salad , here's another fast, easy, fresh vegetable that's perfect for a light lunch or weeknight supper. This, in fact, may well be the very fastest recipe in the five months of the Veggie Venture! 2010: Plain broiled tomatoes are pretty common but with a little garlic and fresh herbs, these broiled tomatoes are something just a little bit special! RECIPE for BROILED TOMATOES with OREGANO Hands-on time: 5 minutes Time to table: 10 minutes Serves 4 2 large tomatoes 2 - 3 cloves garlic Good salt & freshly ground pepper 4 teaspoons fresh oregano, chopped (another fresh herb would work fine, too) Olive oil with a mister Preheat the broiler. Wash and halve the tomatoes crosswise and place on a rimmed baking sheet. Cut the garlic i...

Today's easy-easy rainbow salad, a mix of colorful chopped bell peppers, tomato and cilantro all tossed/enhanced with bright lemon and cilantro. Very Weight Watchers Friendly, just PointsPlus1. Low Cal. Low Carb. Gluten Free. Paleo. Not just vegan, " Vegan Done Real ". Fast, fresh, easy. Perfect for a light lunch or a weeknight supper. This isn't a salad to groan over, exclaiming its deliciousness. But it's one to make again and again, especially when peppers are cheap and summer tomatoes are ripe. RECIPE for PEPPER & TOMATO SALAD with LEMON & CILANTRO Hands-on time: 15 minutes Time to table: 15 minutes Makes 5 cups 1 bunch cilantro (for green color) 1 large tomato, cored and chopped (for red color) 1 yellow pepper, chopped (for yellow color) 1 orange pepper, chopped (for orange color) 3 green onions, chopped or 2 tablespoons finely chopped onion Zest of a lemon Juice of a lemon, about 2 tablespoons (a key ingredient, don't skip it!) 2 ...

A substantial almost-meaty green salsa made with a mix of roasted cactus pads (called nopales), tomatillos and jalapeño. Low Carb. Weight Watchers Friendly. Not just vegan, Vegan Done Real . Naturally Gluten Free. Whole30 Friendly. ~recipe updated, first published way back in 2005~ ~ more recently updated recipes ~ WAY BACK IN 2005 Whole Foods is a hike so I don't go often. But on a recent stop, I was surprised that the produce section offered nothing unusual. Sure, the vegetables are displayed like couture. Sure, the range of organic vegetables is spectacular. But as for something new, something unusual ... ... ... nada. In contrast, both my favorite grocery stops (for St Louisans, that would be Schnucks in Kirkwood and Dierbergs in Rock Hill) nearly always have something that I've never before even noticed let alone cooked . Today it was a package of nopales (also known as prickly pear cactus) from Melissa's – for all of $2, the spines removed. I grabbed 'em, ev...

Unusual. The cooking technique is unusual: broiling the onions, skins on. The ingredients are unusual: onion, raisins and capers. So MUCH onion is unusual: to my mind, it's more relish than salad. And I do think that it will be good, once the onions are more fully cooked. As is, it is just too much onion. (And imagine one's breath!) But there is also something quite wonderful about the sweet currants and the salty capers against the rich onion. In the next few days, I'll cook-cook-cook down the onions, then try again. I suspect it'll be delectable. Watch for an update ... [8/30 Update, after cooking and cooking and cooking, the onions no longer look so pretty but are edible. If you really like onion, you just might love this salad.] ROASTED RED ONION SALAD Hands-on time: 5 minutes to start, 5 minutes to finish Time to table: 2 hours Serves 8 2 pounds red onions 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 tablespoon currants 1 tablespoon capers Salt & pepper Pr...

Today's simple-simple tomato recipe: Yeah, see that bowl? It's as simple as that. Just whisk together a few pantry ingredients, stir in wonderful summer tomatoes and some basil. That.Is.It. But it's so good! ~recipe & photo updated 2007 & 2014~ ~ more recently updated recipes ~ 2005: When tomatoes are at their summer peak, there's simply no going wrong! Tonight's vegetable is a gimme, just chopped tomato stirred with basil from the garden and leftover dressing from Day 126 plus a splash of rice vinegar. Would I make it again? You bet. It was delicious. 2007 & 2014: And so I do, again and again. Turns out, this is a favorite way to enjoy fresh summer tomatoes from the garden or the farmers market.

Today's recipe for a vegetarian supper for Meatless Monday: So what if you just cooked up a few vegetables, whatever you've got on hand, made sure to use lots of warm spices, rolled it all up in soft, warm tortillas and then draped them with a gorgeous green sauce? Heaven on a plate, truly. Very adaptable, a "concept" recipe. WAY BACK IN 2005 Carnivores should eat so well! This delicious dish reminded me of the cooking I did during several meatless years. I didn't call myself a vegetarian – that suggested a lifestyle versus a food choice – but I didn't eat meat. There are still lots of meatless meals around here but this veggie-lentil combination somehow hearkened back to those years. It's a delicious dish but it's also extremely adaptable. Feeding a few more? Add more vegetables or some cooked chickpeas. Want to serve as a side to grilled meat? Perfect. How about as a main dish? Or wrapped in half a soft thin pita or a whole wheat tortilla? Want to ...

The sandwich was good enough but the tomatillo sauce -- ah the sauce! the sauce was delicious! It's a keeper for meat and vegetable fillings, whatever they might be sandwiched between, pita, good country bread, a fresh sour dough or baguette. Another time, however, I'd make open-face sandwiches so those are the directions I'm including here. TURKEY ON PITA with TOMATILLO SAUCE Hands-on time: 15 minutes Time to table: 30 minutes Serves: 4 SAUCE 1/2 pound (with husks) tomatillos (see ALANNA's TIPS) 1 garlic clove, chopped 1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped (I didn't use and didn't miss the heat but including it may make an entirely different sauce) Salt & pepper to taste PITAS 1 large pita or 2 smaller ones (see TIPS) 8 ounces sliced cooked turkey breast 2 roasted red peppers from a jar, patted dry and slit open into single layer 4 ounces sliced cheese (I used a smoked gouda) Fresh cilantro Preheat the oven to 350F. SAUCE: Remove the husks from the tomatillos, wa...