Multi-Purpose Tomatoes

Please welcome Jessica as a guest contributer!
-Alex
















Today I was tempted to get take-out for dinner, but instead I figured I ought to use what little was left in my pantry (canned tomatoes, corn, ricotta, whole wheat pasta and hot sauce). I picked up some cherry tomatoes from the farmers market, along with an onion and garlic. First, I made a pasta sauce from red pepper flakes, garlic, and crushed tomatoes. I had a fair amount of left over sauce, so I pureed it and added it to some of the corn I roasted with hot sauce-to become a sort of gazpacho (pictured below).

With the rest of the corn, I mixed red onion and the tomatoes I bought, tossed in balsamic and ricotta. Overall, this made enough for three meals worth of left-overs and only cost an additional $4 (aside from what was in the kitchen)-not bad! Not to mention, all tastes pretty great! I sometimes forget how much I love to cook. Since starting pastry school I've actually become more fond of it. For me, cooking is a break from baking and while I absolutely love baking, after 6 hours of it a day, cooking is quite cathartic. A goal of mine is to cook as gourmet of meals as I can while keeping a budget-a hard feat to achieve in New York! But, clearly, it can be done!