Grilled tomatoes with herbs and lemon

Mmmm, I love summer. I plan to enjoy every morsel of summer sun that shines upon our sometimes-frigid state. We Minnesotans are funny like that. In the summertime, if we are not working, we are ALWAYS outside. Every single one of us. Every lake, sidewalk and waterpark is packed full of people. In the spring, when it's, you know, 40 degrees, you can find us all outside donning short-sleeved shirts. I blame it on the intense winters we endure. They make us crazy! We certainly do appreciate our outdoor/warm sun time (or anything above 40-degree sun time).

If we are not throwing frisbees in a park or taking our kids down waterslides, we are grilling! Nothing screams "I love warm weather!" quite like grilling. My husband and I grill a lot. Well, he works a lot this time of year, so we grill as much as we can. The other night while he grilled some delicious burgers for dinner, I grilled tomatoes! Dear goodness, these were fantastic! They were super easy and packed full of flavor.

Heat a grill to medium-high heat.

In a small bowl, combine:

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon lemon zest

2 tablespoons flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped

2 tablespoons fresh oregano, finely chopped

2 tablespoons olive oil

Kosher salt and ground pepper, to taste

Halve 4 large tomatoes crosswise and brush the cut sides with 2 tablespoons of olive oil.

Place them cut-side down onto the grill. Grill for 4 minutes. Flip the tomatoes and grill until the skins begin to char, 3 minutes. 

Transfer to a serving plate, cut sides up.

Drizzle the lemon-herb mixture over top, and serve warm.

That night I ate just what you see in the photo. A burger and two grilled tomatoes.

The next day, I added a leftover grilled tomato to a turkey sandwich. YUM.

And that night, I added a leftover grilled tomato to a leftover burger. YUM YUM.

Click here for a printable recipe!

Garlic-herb pinwheels

Somehow it feels odd to be writing about food while sitting in a hospital. Food has been the last thing on my mind for the past few days, although I suppose I have eaten plenty of it. Our friends and family always provide us with plentiful amounts of food whenever we are here. It's nice being able to focus all of our energy on our little boy and to never have to worry about how we are going to sustain ourselves.

Anyhow, onto the recipe at hand, the pinwheels I made early last week (from Food Everyday: Martha Stewart magazine). I had all of the ingredients at home, so I threw them together quickly. I fully intended to share them with my husband once he got home from work, but, um, well, let's just say that I really enjoyed them. They are much tinier than I expected them to be, so that is how I justified my shameless pigging out.

So while my brave boy naps in his hospital bed next to me, I will share with you how easy it is to make these delightful little treats!

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.

In a small bowl, combine:

1/3 cup chopped mixed fresh herbs such as parsley, chives and mint

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 tablespoons olive oil

Coarse salt & ground pepper, to taste

On a floured surface, unfold 1 thawed puff pastry sheet and spread the herb mixture over top.

Roll pastry along the long edge.

With a sharp knife, cut into 1/4-inch-thick rounds, and arrange the rounds on a parchment-lined baking sheet.

Bake in the preheated oven until puffed and golden on edges, about 15 minutes.

Let cool for 10 minutes before serving. For the record, I did not wait 10 minutes.

I love the simplicity of the ingredients and how totally easy these were to make. And eat.

Back to my beautiful boy now..

Click here for a printable recipe!