Roasted Tomato Sauce

We have an abundance of tomatoes this year. So much so that our freezer is full of frozen tomatoes (just carve an X in the bottom and freeze them - the peel comes off as they thaw or when you run them under cold water and then you can throw them into any recipe!) so I was looking for something to do with our 2kg of tomatoes sitting on the counter.

I don't can anything anymore but I never canned tomatoes. Too much work and too messy. So when I came across this recipe from 1 Million Women on Facebook, I knew I had the answer. Easy to make and can be frozen flat in ziploc bags for up to 5 months. I think I will use all mine in a lasagna tomorrow then make more to freeze with the rest of the tomatoes in my garden.

Roasted Tomato Sauce (modified from 1 Million Women)

2 onions, thickly sliced
1 head garlic, unpeeled with just the top chopped off to expose the cloves
Celery with the leaves (or not), I used half a head/heart? The recipe originally called for fennel but I don't like that flavour.
1 lb zucchini or pattipan squash (or you could use eggplant too), sliced
5 lb tomatoes, cut in half
Handful of fresh herbs, I used basil, rosemary, thyme, oregano
Olive oil
Salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a rectangular roasting pan with parchment paper or silipat mat. Lay the onions, celery, and squash on the bottom. Nestle the head of garlic in the middle. Lay the herbs on top.

Lay the tomatoes on top of it all, cut side up. Sprinkle generously with olive oil, salt and pepper.


Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Turn the heat down to 300 degrees. If you are using smaller tomatoes like romas, the recipe says to bake another 1-2 hours until the tomatoes look cooked. I used larger tomatoes so I baked 2.5 hours.


Let the pan cool. Remove the cloves of garlic from the skin, remove any herb stems. Blend all together.

Refrigerate for up to 5 days or freeze for up to 5 months.

My batch made 6 cups of thick sauce.


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Curried coconut black-eyed peas soup

I am cooking my way through the Vegan Beans Around the World book but as is typical, I am modifying the recipes as I go based on what I have on hand and my taste. The book is great though and I highly recommend it. Delicious ideas!

Curried coconut black-eyed peas soup

2 cups dried black-eyed peas
2 tbsp coconut oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 yellow pepper, chopped
1/2 tsp dried chili flakes
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp curry powder
6 small tomatoes, chopped or 1 cup diced tomatoes with juice
3 cups vegetable stock
1 tsp salt
1 pkg/can coconut milk
1 tbsp lemon juice

Sort and soak the peas overnight in cold water. Make sure there is at least 1" of water over the top of the beans. The following morning, rinse the beans, cover with water in a large saucepan, bring to a boil, cover the pot, reduce heat and simmer for 1-1.5 hours. Time will depend on how soft you like your peas.

In a large saucepan, heat the oil on medium heat then fry the onion, garlic and yellow pepper until soft. Add the chili flakes, thyme and curry powder and mix through the ingredients in the pot. Add the tomatoes and stir. Add the stock and cooked peas. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat to simmer for 20 minutes.

Stir in the coconut milk. Bring back to a boil. Just before serving, add the lemon juice and taste to see if more salt is required. Makes enough for supper for 2 and two extra lunches.

Sorry the pic is upside down...


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Dried Mixed Bean Soup

So I am going to try to post a new legume and pulse recipe each week. I have three bean books to work through so hopefully there will be a good variety of recipes. This week I used the slow cooker again and made a bean and veggie soup. It cooked 10 hours on low and the beans were very soft. We probably could have eaten it 2 hours earlier but work schedules dictate the time for supper!

Mixed Bean Veggie Soup

1 lb mixed dried beans (mine were white, black and black-eyed peas but be aware that the black beans will make the soup black instead of clear)
6 cups veggie stock
1 tsp dried chillies
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
Veggies (I used chopped carrot, onion, broccoli, cherry tomatoes and kale)
More water
Soy sauce

Check the beans for any small rocks or other nastie.

Put the dried beans and stock in the slow cooker. Add the salt, chillies, and baking soda. If you are going to be around at the half way mark, stop there, put the lid on and cook on low. If not, go to the next step.

Add the veggies and make sure there is enough liquid to cover the veggies. I had to add another 4 cups of water. Cook another 4 hours for a total 8 hours cooking time. You can also wait for the last two hours or so for less cooked veggies. Depends on your preference.

Taste and add soy sauce to add a bit more depth of flavour or more salt as desired. Serve with crusty bread.






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Dried Black Bean Slow Cooker Chili

I read in a cookbook about cooking beans from dried in a slow cooker, directly without any soaking, and I wanted to try it. It worked! I am very impressed by the ease of this as it takes one more step away when using beans. The result was super yummy too.

Black Bean Chili

1 lb dried black beans
1 onion, chopped
1/4 cup chili powder
28 oz can diced tomatoes with liquid or 12 frozen roma tomatoes, peeled
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda (this apparently prevents the beans from bursting but some say it's not necessary)
2 3/4 cups water

Sort the black beans. Spread them out on a cookie sheet and check for small stones. Trust me, you want to do this. Corey and I have seen how beans are dried on the side of the road. It's not surprising that a few stones will get into the mix.

Put everything into the slow cooker and mix well. Cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 3-4 hours. At the half-way point, check that there is still liquid in the slow cooker. Add more if needed. You could also add frozen corn or other veggies at this point if you wanted to.

I served this on chopped lettuce with an avocado and tomato salsa. I chopped two avocados and 1 tomato into chunks, added 1 tbsp lemon juice, 2 tsp cumin, 1 tsp chili flakes, and salt then mixed that together.











Did you know that 2016 is the international year of pulses as named by the UN? Check it out at fao.org.


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