Space Jam©

Space Jam©: Left to right: Rhubarb,
Citrus (mixture of lemon and orange)
and Strawberry, plus T&G Powder

I've been making some dried fruit powder, and making Space Jam© out of it.

• Dehydrate fresh fruit until it's really dry and crisp.

• grind it to powder. 

I store the powder in the freezer but i mix some in shaker spice jars.

1:1 mixture of fruit powder and sugar free powdered sweetener. 

Serving: spread peanut butter on a cracker, shake Space Jam© on top to taste. It's pretty darned good, but none of the carbs or calories of sugar. 

I took this mixture on a family campout, and my niece decided this needed to be called Space Jam©. So it's Space Jam© now. 

Also: roast tomatoes with fresh garlic. Dehydrate completely. Grind to powder for T&G (Tomato & Garlic) powder. Still working on the best application for this one. 

NB: Rhubarb, Lemons, Tomatoes and Garlic from my own garden. Strawberries from Spooners. Oranges from the produce department.

NB: Apricot Space Jam© is not worth the effort. Needs a fruit with some zing. Going to try Raspberry and Blackberry soon. 

Roasted Tomato Soup

Ingredients

4 or 5 pounds Roma tomatoes - halved and roasted

3 cloves garlic - peeled

1½  TBSP olive oil

1 tsp salt - divided

Some freshly ground black pepper

1½ tsp butter

1 onion - sliced

½ cup fresh basil - plus more for serving

1 TBSP chicken bouillon concentrate

1 cup milk (your choice what kind)

½ tsp red chili flakes - plus more, if desired

optional croutons or crackers

Instructions

    Roast the tomatoes and garlic (400° for maybe 45 minutes).

    Sauté the onions in olive oil and butter. Sauté on lower heat for at least 10 minutes or until starting to brown and caramelize. Stir often.

    Add the tomatoes, fresh basil, broth, and red chili flakes to the pot. Bring to a low simmer, reduce heat to low. Add the oven-roasted tomatoes to the pot with their juices, and return to a simmer.

    Simmer. Simmer the soup uncovered and over low heat for approximately 20 minutes.

    Puree with an immersion blender. Avoid over-blending; you want some chunks. You may also use a stand blender.

    Season and serve. Return soup to your pot and season with additional salt and pepper, to taste. Garnish with fresh basil, croutons, or a splash of fresh cream, or crack an egg into a bowl of cool soup and microwave 4 or 5 minutes until egg is done.

Yummy! 

Fairly Keto Breakfast Pizza

Ingredients:

¾ cup parmesan cheese.

1 large Roma or San Marzano tomato, sliced.

2 cloves fresh garlic, minced.

20 or so basil leaves, sliced.

8 or 10 slices pepperoni (or ham, or bacon), sliced.

½ cup shredded cheese (I used a Mexican blend).

Instructions:

• Spread the cheese on a pizza (baking) stone

• Bake at 350 for 7 or 8 minutes, or until it’s begun to melt together. Take it out and let it cool to solidify.

• Spread on cheese crust: sliced pepperoni, sliced tomato, sliced basil leaves, minced garlic.

• Cover it all with the shredded cheese

• Bake for an additional 7 or 8 minutes, until cheese melts, or until it browns, as you wish.

Comment: this makes a one-guy pizza.

This wins for carbs: only 9 carbs for the whole thing.
But this does not win for calories: 560 calories for this pizza.

Easy Tomato (Basil) Soup

Ingredients:

4 TBSP unsalted butter

½ large [sweet] onion, coarsely chopped

1 can (28-ounce) tomatoes, diced, peeled, crushed. Fresh tomatoes are even better. 

1 can (6-ounce) tomato paste.

1¾ cups water

1 tsp Reduced Sodium Chicken Base.

Pesto to taste (optional)

Directions:

•

•  In a large saucepan, melt the butter and fry the onions until they start getting transparent.

•  Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, water and chicken baste.  

•  Heat it (high is fine) until it starts to boil. Reduce to a simmer.

•  Simmer (uncovered) for 40 minutes, stirring regularly. (This will stick to the bottom and burn.)

•  Blend until smooth with an immersion blender.

•  If you want the pesto/basil flavor, add pesto now. I used about 2 oz (¼ cup). It was a very light touch of basil.

•  Garnish with Parmesan cheese. Serve with garlic toast, Parmesan toast, or cheese sandwiches.

Comment: this tastes more like fresh tomatoes than like Campbell’s soup: really good. We thought it was better than the local restaurant we like so much (plus the TV’s aren’t blaring in the background!)