Mid-June Catch Up & How To Make Tomato PIe

Leftovers from Jen and Ben's Belated Indian Birthday Dinner recycled. New additions include stewed summer squash, house-pickled jalapeno peppers and cold spuds transformed into potato salad via lots of mayo, minced capers and snipped tarragon leaves.

Sliced plum tomatoes, sprinkled with salt and left to drain for an hour or so . . . first step in Summer Staple . . . Tomato Pie!

Sincerely hoping none of you are still paying ransomed gold for overpriced kale chips at the local grocery store. Instead: rinse and dry 7-8 large kale leaves in a salad spinner. Remove leaves from stem and tear in half large pieces. Toss thoroughly with olive oil, salt and freshly ground black pepper. Place on a baking sheet and roast at 375 degrees for about 10-12 minutes. make sure the oven's pre-heated and check often to avoid burning. The only real mistake you can make is crowding the baking sheet - kale leaves crowded together will steam and never crisp so cook in batches as needed.

Salted and drained tomatoes are placed in a pie dish lined with fresh pastry dough. Clearly, Cafe Drake HRV isn't the best when it comes to crimping.

Top the tomatoes with slivered onions and jalapeno peppers. Sprinkle again with salt and black pepper.

Mix together 1/2 cup each mayo and plain yogurt. Stir in 3/4 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese. Spread over contents of pie and sprinkle all with 1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese. Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 45 minutes or until edges of crust are golden brown. Cool for 10 minutes before slicing into wedges.

This is exactly what your finished Tomato Pie should look like.

(above and below) Tomato Pie served with braised kale, crispy kale chips and lentil sprouts.