Cupboard Tomato Mozzarella Salad

A beautiful, colorful, delicious salad made with mostly cupboard ingredients plus tomatoes, mozzarella and purple onions. Great for barbecues, buffets and potlucks. It's even better the next day!

I know that is a strange name but I honestly couldn’t think of a better one.  This gorgeous salad is made mostly with ingredients from your kitchen cupboards, with the exception of fresh tomatoes, mozzarella and a little onion. And perhaps a bit of chopped basil. But look at the colors!

It’s great for a buffet table or to bring to a potluck because this salad just gets better after it sits a while.  So forgiving, beautiful and delicious.

Ingredients

• 1/4 large purple onion

• 2 tablespoons lemon or lime juice or vinegar
• 10.5 oz or 300g red grape tomatoes (I used NatureSweet Cherubs.)
• 10.5 oz or 300g yellow grape tomatoes (I used NatureSweet Sunbursts.)
• 1 jar (12 oz or 240g) marinated artichoke hearts
• 1 can (drained weight 6 oz or 170g) pitted black olives
• 1 can (15 oz or 425g) chickpeas or garbanzo beans
• 8 oz or 226g fresh ciliegine or cherry size mozzarella balls
• 1 can (14 oz or 400g – 7.5 oz or 212g drained) hearts of palm
• Sea salt
• Black pepper
• A few leaves of fresh basil (optional)

Method
Slice your onion very thinly and add to a salad bowl that will be big enough for all of your ingredients.   Pour in the juice or vinegar and set aside for a few minutes.

Open the jar of marinated artichokes and add them to the onion, with all of their marinade, along with the tomatoes and mozzarella.

Drain the cans of olives and chickpeas, rinsing the chickpeas if necessary, and add them to the salad bowl.

Drain the can of palm hearts and cut into pieces about the size of your tomatoes.

Add them into the bowl.

Toss and then sprinkle the whole bowl with sea salt.  Add black pepper to taste.

If you are adding basil, stack the leaves, roll them up and slice them thinly.  Add to the salad and toss again.  (This salad did actually have basil but, unfortunately, I wasn’t able to photograph that step.)

Bring to your sister’s house for a barbecue or wherever you have been fortunate enough to be invited.

Enjoy!

My mom took this one showing a little of the basil.  Thanks, Mom! 

If you are looking for more dishes using fresh tomatoes, you are going to love this week's Sunday Supper. Check out the link list below to see what our talented tastemakers are sharing. Many thanks to our host, Rini from Healing Tomato, and our event manager, Cricket of Cricket's Confections.

Sunday Supper Recipes Using Fresh Tomatoes

Chicken Recipes

• Caprese Chicken with Bacon by Family Around The Table
• Cheesy Caprese Pesto Chicken and Quinoa Casserole by Fantastical Sharing of Recipes
• Easy Balsamic Chicken with Tomatoes by Life Tastes Good
• Grilled Chicken and Pasta with Grated Tomato Sauce by A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures

Main Courses

• Bronzed Tomato Spinach Cheddar Panini by Cindy’s Recipes and Writings
• Ground Beef Curry by Wholistic Woman
• Lamb and Fresh Tomato Curry by Sunday Supper Movement
• One Pan Pork Chop Dinner with Tomatoes by Simple and Savory
• Tuna and Tomato Bento by Ninja Baker

Pizza, Pies, and Pastas

• Angel Hair Pomodoro by Healing Tomato
• Heirloom Tomato Tart by Authentically Candace
• Pressure Canned Homegrown Tomato Sauce by What Smells So Good?
• Savory Tomato Pie with Pre-Made Crust by The Foodie Affair
• Three Cheese Tomato Basil Pie by Jersey Girl Cooks
• Tomato and Caramelized Onions Galette by Brunch-n-Bites
• Tuscan Pasta with White Beans and Tomatoes by A Mind “Full” Mom

Side Dishes

• Bacon Caprese Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms by Crazed Mom
• Bloody Mary Mix by Our Good Life
• Bruschetta di Pomodoro by The Freshman Cook
• Caprese Garlic Bread with Arugula Pesto by The Crumby Cupcake
• Slow Roasted Tomatoes by Caroline’s Cooking
• Tomato Cauliflower Rice by Family Foodie
• Tomato Tulips for a Veggie Platter by Sew You Think You Can Cook

Snacks

• Cheesy Thumbprint Cookies with Green Tomato Strawberry Jalapeno Jam by Soulfully Made
• How to Make Homemade Salsa by Cosmopolitan Cornbread
• IPA (India Pale Ale) Green Tomato Pickles by Gourmet Everyday
• Italian Nachos by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Marinated Cherry Tomatoes with Cottage Cheese by Cricket’s Confections
• Tomatoes Stuffed with Apple-Walnut Salad Filling by Asian In America
• Tropical Fruit Salsa by Pies and Plots

Soups and Salads

• 10 Minute Greek Inspired Couscous Salad by Sprinkles and Sprouts
• Burrata Caprese Salad with Balsamic Pearls by That Skinny Chick Can Bake
• Cherry Tomato and Preserved Lemon Salad by Shockingly Delicious
• Cupboard Tomato Mozzarella Salad by Food Lust People Love
• Fresh Tomato and Couscous Salad by Basic N Delicious
• Fried Green Tomato BLT Salad by Palatable Pastime
• Rustic Dill Tomato Soup by Hot Eats and Cool Reads
• Summer Tomato and Bread Soup by Monica’s Table
• Tomato & Roasted Red Pepper Soup with Pimento Grilled Cheese by Bottom Left of the Mitten

Apple Oatmeal Muffins #MuffinMonday

Apple Oatmeal Muffins have a bit of sugar, to be sure, but I like to think those are counterbalanced by the oats and apple to create a reasonably healthy muffin, perfect for breakfast on the go, or snacking.

Happy Muffin Monday! This month we've got a short list of great muffins to share and a host to thank. I'm in Atlanta for our nephew's wedding and my good friend Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm volunteered to help with the behind the scenes work.

It's been an amazing weekend, reconnecting with family and sharing the joy of the happy couple as they begin their married life, made even more enjoyable for me, knowing that Wendy was in charge and taking care of business.

I baked these muffins before I left Dubai and left them behind for my lovely house guest, Daphne. She's in Dubai for her own event, Fully Booked, an art book exhibition with vendors, that was running concurrently with Art Dubai. It was a huge success and I am so proud of her!

I hope you like these muffins as much as she did!

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups or 190g all purpose flour
1/2 cup or 42g quick oats
3/4 cup or 150g sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup or 240ml milk
1/2 cup or 120ml canola or other light oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 large egg
1 large apple

Method
Preheat oven to 375°F or 190°C. Generously grease cups and top of 12-cup muffin tin.

Whisk together flour, oats, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt together.

In another bowl, whisk together milk, oil and egg. Peel, core and chop the apple into small pieces and put them immediately into the wet ingredient bowl. Stir.

Add all the milk mixture to flour mixture. Gently fold just until dry ingredients are moistened.

Divide your batter relatively evenly between the 12 muffin cups.

Bake 20-25 minutes or until muffins are golden.

Remove from oven and let cool 10-15 before removing muffins from pan. Cool completely on a wire rack. These apple oatmeal muffins are tender and fluffy on the inside with a nice crust on the tops.

Aren't these trivets fun? I received them as a gift from Daphne. They come from Good Thing. 

Enjoy!

Who wants a muffin? We've got some lovely ones for you today!

• Apple Oatmeal Muffins by Food Lust People Love
• Asparagus Goat Cheese Muffins by Farm Fresh Feasts
• Cacao Nib Muffins with Dark Chocolate Glaze by Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Cheese & Thyme Muffins by Passion Kneaded
• Coffee Cake Muffins by Sew You Think You Can Cook
• Oh My Darling Muffins by A Day in the Life on the Farm

#MuffinMonday is a group of muffin loving bakers who get together once a month to bake muffins. You can see all our of lovely muffins by following our Pinterest board.

Updated links for all of our past events and more information about Muffin Monday, can be found on our home page.

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Lazy Cow Rich Tea Biscuits #CreativeCookieExchange

Rich tea biscuits are a British classic, baked up crispy so they are perfect for dunking in a cup of hot tea. Use my "lazy cow" method to avoid rolling out the dough and using cookie cutters.

In the many years I’ve been watching the Great British Bake Off or GBBO as it’s known for short, I’ve learned a lot about British classics as well as traditional baked goods from other countries. Paul Hollywood and Mary Berry are both a wealth of baking knowledge.

There’s just one thing I have to disagree with. Paul maintained throughout the series (and I’ve heard him say it elsewhere also) that the difference between biscuits and cookies is that biscuits are crisp, while cookies are softer.

But if we are talking American English, biscuits are fluffy baked quick bread akin to British scones and cookies can be both crisp and soft. In all my many years of visiting the British Isles and hanging out with British friends, I have never heard them use the term “cookie” for anything traditional that they bake.

I tell you all this as a preamble to today’s bake. They are indeed crispy, so even Paul Hollywood would call these rich tea biscuits. That said, traditional rich tea biscuits are rolled out and cut into circles. Which is my least favorite way of making cookies or biscuits. Blessedly, the circle is the classic shape for these guys, so I rolled the dough into a log, partially froze it, and then sliced it into circles. So these are my “lazy cow” rich tea biscuits. To everyone else who hates to roll dough, but loves rich tea biscuits, you are welcome.

Adapted from this recipe on The Baking Bar, where David does it the old-fashioned way. Because he's not a lazy cow. Apparently.

Ingredients – for about 14-15 large biscuits
2 cups or 250g plain flour
1/3 cup or 75g caster sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
Pinch fine salt
3/4 cup or 170g unsalted butter
2 tablespoons milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method 
Line your baking sheets with baking parchment or silicone liners and set aside.

Mix the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt together in a large bowl.

Add the butter, cut into cubes.

Use your fingers or a pastry blender to mix in the butter till the mixture looks like crumbs. My kitchen is always too warm and my hands are too hot, so I use the pastry blender.

Add in the milk and the vanilla and use a fork to combine.

Use your hands to bring it all together into a firm dough.

Roll the dough into a thick log about 2 3/4 in or 7cm in circumference, shaping the ends flat.

Wrap it in cling film and pop it in your freezer, standing it on one end so that the log retains a nice cylindrical shape. Set a timer for about 40 minutes.

When the timer is nearly up, preheat the oven to 375°F or 190°C.

Use a sharp knife to cut the log into slices about 1/4 in or 1/2cm thick. I find a sharp serrated knife works best because you can "saw" the slices off without pressing the log out of shape, which gives more circular circles, if you know what I mean.

Put your dough circles on the prepared baking pans, leaving room for some expansion as they bake. I used a toothpick to make little holes all of the circles, just like the store-bought rich tea biscuits but I could have saved myself some time because they weren't really visible after baking. Feel free to skip this step.

Bake for about 8-9 minutes in your preheated oven. Ideally, you want them baked through but not brown. Mine are a little darker around the edges than a classic rich tea biscuit should be.

Leave to cool for a few minutes on the pan and then transfer to a metal rack to cool completely. They will crisp up as they cool.

Enjoy with a cup of tea!

If you like cookies or biscuits with your tea, you are going to love this month's Creative Cookie Exchange link list. Check out all the great teatime treats we have for you today!

• Buttermilk Cookies with Nutmeg and Thyme from The Spiced Life
• Chai-Scotti from What Smells So Good?
• Chocolate Covered Digestive Biscuits from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Honey and Vanilla Madeleines from A Baker's House
• Lazy Cow Rich Tea Biscuits from Food Lust People Love
• Lemon Basil Marmalade Cookies from 2 Cookin Mamas
• Lemon Blueberry Shortbread Cookies from Upstate Ramblings
• Lemon Poppyseed Shortbread Cookies from Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks
• Lilikoi-Lime Shortbread Thumbprint Cookies from All That's Left Are The Crumbs
• London Fog Cookies from A Shaggy Dough Story

Creative Cookie Exchange is hosted by Laura of The Spiced Life. We get together once a month to bake cookies with a common theme or ingredient so Creative Cookie Exchange is a great resource for cookie recipes. Be sure to check out our Pinterest Board and our monthly posts at The Spiced Life. We post the first Tuesday after the 15th of each month!

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