Tomato

Whipped Feta Tomato Toasts

categories: Appetizers, Breads, Posts, Recipes

Whipped Feta Tomato Toasts

It’s unbelievably hot in Amman this week. They’re calling it a heat wave, and we’re hitting temperatures hotter than Aqaba (which by the way gets really hot in the summer). Central Air Conditioning isn’t a thing in most homes. It’s kind of like the heater thing. You only cool the room you’re in. In an ideal world, I would have central A/C and a swimming pool at home that I’d spend all day everyday floating on a pool raft and sipping ice cold Diet Coke while watching my dog play and swim.  (more…)

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Roasted Tomato and Goat Cheese Soup

categories: Posts, Recipes, Soups

Roasted Tomato and Goat Cheese Soup

You know what goes perfectly with tomato soup? Cheese. Usually grilled cheese sandwiches. But really, any cheese will do. You know what goes great with roasted tomato soup? Goat cheese.

Believe it or not, there are people out there who don’t like cheese at all! Lactose intolerance I can understand. Dislike of cheese, on the other hand, I just can’t wrap my head around. If I could, I would live on bread and cheese for the rest of my life. My mom used to be one of those people. She’s told me a few times that if it weren’t for my dad (and his love for cheese) she probably wouldn’t be a cheese eater at all. Shocking. (more…)

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Caprese Salad

categories: 500 Calories or Less, Posts, Recipes, Salads

Caprese Salad  

The Italians know what they’re doing when it comes to food. For them, it isn’t about throwing together tons of ingredients. It’s about simplicity and flavor. That’s why I love Caprese Salad. It has the simplest ingredients and yet is packed with so much flavor. Be sure to choose only the freshest ingredients – I go for organic or veggies from Whole Foods. For Italians it’s also all about presentation. I’m all about presentation of food. It makes it so much more appetizing. (more…)

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Cheesy White Bean Nachos

categories: 500 Calories or Less, Appetizers, Posts, Recipes, Vegetables & Sides

Cheesy white bean nachos_2  

 

Cheesy nachos at any Mexican restaurant can put a serious dent in your daily calorie count… if you’re counting. Step away from the cheesy nachos and look for something better. Before you start freaking out and guilt-tripping yourself out of cheesy nachos for life, try making your own. Oh the horror! Not having someone prepare it and serve it to you on a silver platter. Before you go complaining about how everything that tastes good isn’t good for you, try these cheesy white bean nachos. I promise, you won’t be slaving away in your kitchen for these. They’re easy for snacks or for an addition to Mexican night. (more…)

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Tomato Basil Soup

categories: 500 Calories or Less, Posts, Recipes, Soups

Tomato Basil Soup_2

 

Let me just say that I’m a Northern Virginian, born and raised and I went to grad school at Syracuse. Did I mention the Northern VA part? For those of you who don’t know, it’s distinct enough from the rest of Virginia to require a prefix (but that’s a discussion for another day). What you do need to know is that NoVa and cold precipitation are not a good mix. Blame it on the location – an in-between zone where we don’t quite get fluffy snow and when it rains in 30 degree weather it usually comes down on us in a nice “wintery mix.” Snow, not for me. My favorite winters are the ones where we don’t get any snow. In Syracuse, I wasn’t so lucky. I didn’t understand the concept of Lake Effect Snow until I saw it in action… that is constant snow from October through April. (more…)

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