Veggie Valentines and Sauteed Tomatoes

Valentine cards were made in all sorts of themes, including fruits and vegetables. Here are some samples for you, followed by a simple recipe appropriate for a St. Valentines Day themed meal.

Sauteed Cherry or Grape Tomatoes

1 pt grape or cherry tomatoes
2 tablespoons olive oil or garlic herb basting oil
1 tsp. dried basil
Salt and pepper

Heat the oil in a skillet, and add rinsed tomatoes. Saute over medium heat, turning often. Tomatoes will split as they cook, some sides browning and caramelizing into sweet goodness.  Pierce with the tip of a knife any stubborn tomatoes that refuse to pop on their own. When tomatoes are uniformly softened and popped, add basil and season with salt and pepper to taste. Saute for another few minutes to blend flavors. If using fresh basil, add just before serving.

Serve as a side dish for red meats or roast chicken. Crusty bread is wonderful for scooping up the warm, salty, sweet tomato flesh.

You Had Me at "Imitation Flavor"

I do believe I could devote an entire blog to Jell-o in all its vintage goodness.

Take this fine specimen:

As if mixed vegetable isn't enough, this is imitation flavor.

I don't understand. How on earth could it be easier to create a fake version of the flavor of mixed veggies than to cook or dehydrate them down and distill their essence?

Better eating through chemistry I suppose.

Here are some pictures of what used to be made from this stuff. Be inspired.

I like this last one best of all. Nothing says loving like eyeball, celery, and American cheese Jell-o.

Veggies ala 1964 (French Peas and Artichokes)

I'm fascinated with the way ingredients are specified in the recipes of today compared with those of our mothers, grandmothers, and great grandmothers. In Never in the Kitchen when Company Arrives, ingredients illustrate the place of respect that prepared foods held during the 1960's. The author was considered quite the gourmet, and yet many of her recipes contained canned and frozen vegetables.

Here is an interesting example.

French Peas and Artichokes

1/8 lb. butter

2 tablespoons frozen chopped onion

2 cans artichoke hearts (drained)

2 cans petis pois (drained)

Salt and fresh-ground pepper

Melt butter in a saucepan and pare frozen chopped onions into pan. Let cook over low heat for about 3 minutes, then add artichokes and turn gently to coat with butter-onion mixture. Butter a shallow casserole (from which the vegetables will be served) and make a bed of the peas. Spoon over the artichokes and any drippings from the pan. If not enough butter, dot with a little more. Cool, then cover with aluminum foil. In the evening, place in oven, covered, with broilers and potatoes.*

*Note: this dish is part of a menu, and was to be baked along with the Baby Broilers (chickens) and Tiny New Potatoes in their jackets.

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(BTW, I'm wondering what paring would be needed for onions that are chopped...)

Macaroni and Cheese: the other orange vegetable

Here's another great find from Meals for Small Families.

The vegetable voted number 1 by children all over the country: Macaroni and Cheese!


Mis-categorization isn't the only baggage this recipe carries; it offers the option of using CANNED macaroni.

Canned. Macaroni.

I never knew such a thing existed.

Have a look.

Macaroni and Cheese

Boil macaroni in salted water until tender, or purchase a small can ready for heating.

Place a layer of macaroni in a baking dish, add grated cheese and alternate with macaroni, until dish is filled. Cover with white sauce (Recipe, page 134) and bake about 40 minutes in a moderate over. A small can will make 3 servings. This may be used as a meat substitute.

Only American cheese of good flavor should be used for this.