Recipe: Tomato Basil Garden Tart

Impress your dinner guests with this amazing and easy recipe using fresh tomato and basil from the garden or farmer's market. If you're feeling really ambitious, make your own fresh ricotta - it's actually quite easy, and tastes WAY better than any you can buy! This one gives you gourmet taste, without too much work, and incorporates the best of your summer garden into your meal.

Tomato Basil Garden Tart
(Serves 6-8 as an appetizer.)

Tomato slices (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Ingredients:

1 frozen pie crust, thawed
1/2 cup finely grated Asiago cheese, divided
1/2 cup cottage cheese (or ricotta)
10 to 15 fresh basil leaves, divided
1 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp salt
4 large ripe tomatoes, halved, seeds removed, and sliced thinly

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• Roll pie crust out to be about 2 inches larger in diameter than your tart pan. Place in tart pan, pulling extra crust up the sides of the tart pan; trim off any extra. 
• In a small bowl, put half the grated Asiago and all the cottage cheese, the black pepper and salt, and stir to blend.
• Finely chop the basil leaves and add to the cheese mixture, stir to combine. 
• Spread 1/2 of the cheese-basil mixture over the bottom of the pie crust in tart pan, top with half the tomato slices, arranging evenly.
• Spread remaining cheese-basil mixture on top of tomatoes, and top with remaining tomatoes, again arranged evenly.
• Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes.
• Remove the tart from the oven and sprinkle the remaining Asiago cheese evenly over the top, then return to oven and bake an another 5 to 10 minutes or until cheese is melted and golden brown all over and crust is baked thoroughly.
• Remove and let cool slightly before serving.

Recipe: California Style Gazpacho

The quintessential summer soup, gazpacho has gained popularity in many gourmet restaurants across the country. But you don't have to fork up the big bucks to enjoy this cool summer treat. Check out the recipe below and learn how to make your own fresh, flavorful, and veggie-packed gazpacho right at home from fresh healthy ingredients from your own garden - or a local farm stand.

California Style Gazpacho

Ingredients:

Gazpacho. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

4 cups tomato juice, chilled
1/2 of a whole chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, including 1/2 tsp of the sauce
2 cups fresh, ripe, diced tomatoes
1 medium green bell pepper, diced fine
1 small sweet onion, diced fine
2 small cucumbers, scrubbed and diced fine
2 green onions, chopped fine
2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic flakes, chopped
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp hot sauce (more or less to taste)
4 to 6 ripe avocados
1 Tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
Sour cream or Greek yogurt to garnish

Directions:

1. Put the tomato juice, chipotle pepper, and adobo sauce in your food processor and process on puree until smooth.
2. Add diced tomato and pulse until chopped slightly and combined well; pour into a large bowl.
3. Add to the bowl the remaining ingredients - except avocado and cilantro - cover with a glass plate or plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
4. When ready to serve, peel the avocado and dice small.
5. Stir the avocado pieces and cilantro into the cold soup and serve immediately.
6. Garnish with a dollop of sour cream or Greek yogurt if desired.