Tomato Pie from Simply Recipes shared with me by my friend, Jenny Spicher!

Tomato PiePREP TIME15 mins
COOK TIME55 mins
TOTAL TIME70 mins

SERVINGS6 servings
​Ingredients

• 1 9-inch pie shell (see pie crust recipe for homemade version)
  
• 1/2 cup chopped yellow or red onion (about 1/3 onion)
  
• 3 to 4 tomatoes, cut in half horizontally, squeezed to remove excess juice, roughly chopped, to yield approximately 3 cups chopped tomatoes
  
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  
• 1/4 cup sliced basil (see recipe note)
  
• 2 cups (8 ounces/225 g) grated cheese (combination of sharp cheddar and Monterey Jack, or Gruyere or Mozzarella)
  
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
  
• 1 teaspoon (or more to taste) Frank's Hot Sauce or Tabasco
  
• Freshly ground black pepper
  

Method

1. Pre-bake the crust:Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C).
   If you are using a store-bought pie shell, follow the directions on the package for pre-baking, or pre-bake it in the oven for about 8 to 10 minutes (a little longer for a frozen pie shell), until lightly browned.
   If you are using a homemade crust, freeze the crust first, then press a sheet of aluminum foil into the crust to keep the sides of the pie crust from falling down as it cooks. Fill the pie with pie weights such as dry beans or rice to help hold the foil in place.
   Pre-bake the homemade crust for 15 minutes, then remove the foil, use the tines of a fork to poke a few small holes in the bottom of the crust (for venting), and bake for 10 more minutes.
   
2. Salt and drain the tomatoes:Lightly salt the chopped tomatoes and set them in a colander over a bowl to drain while you are pre-baking the crust.
   Squeeze as much moisture as you can out of the chopped tomatoes, using either paper towels, a clean dish towel, or a potato ricer.
   
3. Layer pre-baked pie shell with onions, tomatoes, basil:Sprinkle a layer of chopped onion over the bottom of your pre-baked pie crust shell.
   Spread the drained chopped tomatoes over the onions. Sprinkle the sliced basil over the tomatoes.
   
4. Make cheese mixture, spread over tomatoes:In a medium bowl, mix together the grated cheese, mayonnaise, Tabasco, a sprinkling of freshly ground black pepper.
   The mixture should be the consistency of a gooey snowball. Spread the cheese mixture over the tomatoes.
   
5. Bake:Place in oven and bake at 350°F (175°C) until browned and bubbly, anywhere from 25 to 45
   

Spaghetti Squash w/ Chunky Vegetable Sauce
By Chef Liz Arraj


The spaghetti
1 spaghetti squash, cut in half lengthways.
Scoop out seeds.
Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt.
Place flat side down in parchment paper lined baking pan.
Bake in oven at 400 for 30-40 minutes.
When it's cool enough to touch use a fork to scrape out all the "noodles".


The Sauce
2 TBSP. olive oil
1 onion, peeled and diced
2 zucchini, quartered lengthwise and sliced
2 sweet peppers, seeded and diced small
4 tomatoes, cut into small chunks
Season to taste with salt and pepper
Sautee onion in olive oil with salt until soft and translucent.
Add rest of the ingredients and cook down for 10-15 minutes.
Season with salt and pepper.

Create your bowl with spaghetti noodles, top with your veggie sauce and whatever you want to garnish it with; minced flat-leaf parsley, nutritional yeast or parmesan.


BONUS RECIPE: Quick Fridge Pickles
This recipe is from my good friend, Michelle Shin, who moved from South Korea to L.A. when she was thirteen. She generously shared her pickling recipe that can be used for basically any root vegetable: carrots, radish, turnip, onions, etc. She always has some pickled veggies in her fridge, so she keeps it super simple and easy to prepare.
 
1. Mix 1 part sugar, 1 part soy sauce, 1 part water, 1 part vinegar. 

2. Boil the mixture and let it cook a few minutes. You can also skip this step and mix it cold, but it won't last as long.

3. Pour over the chopped vegetables in a jar.

4. Store in the fridge.

Chef Liz told me she was roasting green beans with tahini sauce the other day and I thought this was a great, simple way to prep green beans! She roasted beets with them, but you could substitute another good roasting veggie you like (carrots, onions, peppers, etc)


Olive oil
Kosher salt to taste
1 handful of green beans, chopped in half
4 organic red beets, washed well and cut into cubes (or substitute another vegetable you like to roast)
Tahini sauce
Zaatar seasoning

1. Preheat oven to 400.
2. Toss vegetables in olive oil with salt.
3. Roast in oven for 25 minutes or until beets are soft.
4. Drizzle tahini and sprinkle Zaatar seasoning over the veg before serving.

If you're not a die hard tahini sauce person or are hesitant to pour pure tahini on your veggies, you can try out this Basic Tahini Sauce from Dishing Up the Dirt:

1 clove of garlic, minced
3 tablespoons tahini
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon honey
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
pinch of salt & pepper

Whisk all the ingredients together with 2 tablespoons water, until smooth and creamy. Taste test and adjust seasonings as needed. Add more water to thin if necessary.