Saturday passed by in such a flash! I enjoyed it pretty thoroughly, but was still surprised to look at the clock and have it say 9:00 pm all of the sudden!
I spent the afternoon training clients, pedicuring (heh,) and shopping with a friend. The final stop was at Fresh Market where I left with a basil plant, an heirloom tomato, and some gelato. You know, staples.
Why not?
Once back at the home front, it was still fairly early, but Shane and I were all ready hungry for dinner.
Solution? Tapas for two!
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There were five small plates (on two…very large plates, hm) and it made the perfect light early dinner.
I started off the prep work by making a balsamic reduction.
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Making balsamic reduction could quite possibly be one of the easier tasks I’ve ever completed. Pour some balsamic in a saucepan, let it simmer, and keep an eye on it until it reduces down to a syrup-like consistency. Done!
The balsamic reduction was used for two dishes -
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Honeydew! Just chopped honeydew with balsamic drizzled on top. The balsamic also gets a little sweeter (or is that just my imagination?) when it reduces, so it works wonderfully on fruits like melon or peaches.
And for the second…can you guess?
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Oh you know I dug right into that bad boy.
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It’s poor red cousin pales in comparison.
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Fact: I hate eating regular tomatoes plain. Fact: I could eat an heirloom tomato just like an apple!
However, last night, I ate it a la mozzarella , balsamic reduction, and fresh organic basil:
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No words.
None.
zip!
On the next plate, I had cut up two 6 inch soft pitas into 8 triangular squares, and toasted them at 425 degrees for about 5 minutes. Then, I topped half of them with a crab meat/sour cream/spinach mixture for Shane, and left half nekkid (for skinny hummus dipping) for me.
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(the recipe for the crab mixture can be found in this month’s Clean Eating magazine)
Save the best (and simplest!) for last, raw cheddar + tart jam
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I love this! I want to make raw cheddar and jam sandwiches now!
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Yumberries?
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Who wouldn’t want yumberries?!
But we didn’t stop for long.
After relaxing on the couch and taking a leisurely walk with NIko, we were ready for dessert. The beauty of small plates is it’s tough to get too full for dessert!
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Again, no words
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Just pictures.
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THEN, we were done
Have a fantastic Sunday, everyone!! I’m off for a 7 miler this morning. Looking forward to it:D
What’s your favorite way to eat a tomato? I love the heirlooms, but as far as regulars go, I’d have to say on a pizza! haha










that entire meal looks amazing!! I didn’t realize making a balsamic reduction was so simple!
oh, FUN! i love your couples tapas spread. tomatoes? i love them all ways! maybe in a salsa with lots of cilantro, still very chunky. yum.
What a fun meal – looks delicious!
Hope you’re seven miler went well!
What a gorgeous meal! I love making tapas-style dinners for Marcus and I. I wish I could tell you what my favorite way to eat a tomato is, but that would require choosing, and I don’t know that I can actually do that.
If you serve me a tomato, unless it’s some terrible, mealy, rotten thing, I will always eat it.
I love eating tomatoes sliced and plain. Or on sandwiches. I really love them any way though. I crave them!!
I felt like my Saturday went like that too.
I agree, I’ve been eating tomatoes totally naked this week and loving it… no salt, nothing! If only they were that good year round!!