 Amanda Usen on True Love and Homegrown Tomatoes Posted by Beth Andrews Jul 3 2012, 4:16 am
True Love and Homegrown Tomatoes My husband is a fantastic gardener, and his favorite thing to grow is heirloom tomatoes. He grows different kinds every year. This year we are waiting on Orange Jubilee, the Charlie Chaplin, Chocolate Drop, Gooseberry and Brandywine. The names are almost as much fun as the tomatoes, and my husband can’t resist the more unusual varieties. Last year, he had a ball offering friends samples of his Cream Sausage and Black Seamen tomatoes. Seriously, who could resist? Each year we discover a new favorite, although Orange Jubilee and Brandywine always make it into the mix. I also love the Yellow Currant (so tiny and cute), Black Pearl (like a cherry tomato but darker, and sweet as candy) and Rainbow (as pretty as it sounds). It’s an unspoken rule in the household that we don’t buy any tomatoes at the grocery store or even at the farmers’ market. We wait for our tomatoes…although I want them now! I can’t wait to sit on the back porch with a glass of wine and eat grilled bruschetta until I absolutely cannot hold another bite. It is our simplest summer pleasure, but it feeds my soul. I can taste the sunshine on the tomatoes and basil. The juicy tomato water soaks into the bread, adding flavor. The kiss of salt, pepper and grill char add mystery. Garlic gives it bite…and a little bit of risk. It’s best to know who you’re going to kiss when you’re eating bruschetta! Since my husband and I are both chefs, I always use our recipes in my books. It makes the research easier, except when my husband is cooking and I say, “Wait! I want to measure all of your ingredients for my blog!” So far that has only happened while he was making chimichurri http://amandausen.wordpress.com/chimichurri/ but I plan to nab his meatball recipe soon. Since Luscious, my second culinary romance, is set in Italy, I put grilled bruschetta on my characters’ menu. It couldn’t be easier to make, but somehow it transcends the simplicity of its ingredients. Grilling the bread does something magical. No fancy-schmancy chef stuff in this recipe. If you can slice bread, tomatoes, basil and garlic and operate a grill, you can have your very own simple summer pleasure. Note: For a truly Luscious experience, enjoy the bruschetta with a glass of Arrowhead Spring Vineyards 2010 Chardonnay. I helped harvest and crush the grapes for that vintage while doing research for the book! Here’s the recipe:
1 baguette Enough tomatoes to make 2 Cups, seeded, diced 5 good leaves of fresh basil or 1 t pesto ¼ clove of garlic mashed with ¼ t salt Freshly grated Parmesan cheese (optional)
I know, I know…it sounds too easy. It is. I hope you’ll try it and tell me if you like it as much as I do. Thanks so much to the Romance Bandits for hosting me today! I love sharing books and recipes. For the chance to win a copy of Luscious, leave me a comment and tell me your simple summer pleasure. Margaritas on the deck? Ice cream on the porch? Water balloons in the yard? I’d love to hear from you! Amanda Usen knows two things for certain: chocolate cheesecake is good for breakfast and a hot chef can steal your heart. Her husband stole hers the first day of class at the Culinary Institute of America. She married him after graduation in a lovely French Quarter restaurant in New Orleans, and they spent a few years enjoying the food and the fun in the Big Easy. Now they live in Western New York with their three children, one hamster, two guinea pigs, a tortoise and a new-to-them beagle. Amanda spends her days teaching pastry arts classes and her nights writing romance. If she isn’t baking or writing, she can usually be found chasing the kids around the yard with her very own luscious husband. If you want to chat about romance, writing or recipes, please visit her blog Writer. Chef. Romantic. http://www.amandausen.com where you can find recipes for many of the yummy dishes in her books. She can also be found on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/amandausen and Twitter https://twitter.com/#!/AmandaUsen Luscious Blurb Eat, play, love Plain old ice cream just isn’t going to cut it. To beat these blues, chef Olivia Marconi needs the good stuff: rich, creamy tiramisu gelato. And no place better to get it than Italy. But a fresh start is nearly impossible with Sean Kindred dogging her every move. She’s been burned by his too-hot-to-handle antics before. Though there’s no denying the man can still get her all fired up. Could a weeklong affair finally turn into something more lasting…or will it all go up in flames? TweetPosted in Amanda Usen, guest blogger, Luscious, recipes, Scrumptious Comments88 thoughts on “Amanda Usen on True Love and Homegrown Tomatoes” |
  
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Happy Release Day, Amanda. When I visit my cousin we do enjoy mango margaritas and lychee martinis on the deck. They live on a golf course and we just sit around watching the golf carts drive by. We enjoyed tossing water balloons when we were kids.
Have fun with the GR Jane
Helen
Jane, congrats on nabbing the GR! I hope he’ll behave for you.
Congrats on nabbing the rooster, Jane! My younger daughter loves mango but I’m not a big fan. Maybe that would change if I tried it in margarita form *g*
Thanks, Jane! Those drinks sound divine. I love mango margaritas – one of my favorites!
Amanda
I do love the sound of that receipe and I too love tomatoes although I don’t grow them myself there is something about the taste of home grown rather than bought ones yummo I will be trying that receipe when it gets a bit warmer it has been really cold here in Australia at the moment.
For me I love sitting in the air con with a good book and some Tim Tams during summer am not a fan of the heat LOL.
Congrats on the release love the sound of the book. Thanks Beth for inviting Amanda along today
Have Fun
Helen
Thanks so much, Helen! It has been crazy warm here in WNY – we need rain! My husband has been watering like a madman, and I fear the water bill. Enjoy your book and your AC!
Helen, you eat Tim Tams in the summer? They might melt. You better send them to me instead. *g*
Of course, it was only 102 degrees here yesterday….
Helen, I think some people around here are envying your cool weather! As Amanda said, it’s been hot and dry and we could use quite a bit of rain.
I’d say Tim Tams are good eating no matter what the weather
Welcome, Amanda, and congratulations on your release. Sounds as delicious as the bruschetta recipe!
We love growing our own fruit and vegetables – we aim to be able to have something to eat from our garden everyday of the year and keep it looking pretty! My favourite summer treat is home-made ice cream (hubby’s area of expertise) made with fruit fresh from the garden. But you can’t beat a lovely bruschetta (made with home-grown tomatoes, basil and onions) with a crisp glass of NZ Sauv Blanc while sitting outside in the lovely garden … on my prized Lutyens bench *g*.
Anna, you painted such a pretty picture! I love ice cream, especially when someone else makes it! *g* My Luscious characters enjoy a honey lavender gelato that knocks the hero’s socks off. I really need to work on that recipe. Enjoy your wine!
I love ice cream, especially when someone else makes it!
LOL, Amanda. I usually have my younger daughter make the ice cream. She’s just so good at it! It always comes out the perfect consistency and so creamy.
Anna, my dad made wonderful peach ice cream every summer. I always think of him when I think of homemade ice cream or fresh South Carolina peaches (which I have yet to enjoy this summer because I haven’t driven south).
Revealing my ignorance–Lutyens bench?
You’ll know what it is when you see it – Lutyens designed a beautiful bench! Google it and you’ll see what I mean.
Anna, I so want to visit you in the summer (or, anytime, really *g*) to try your husband’s ice cream. I made salted caramel ice cream Sunday that was a big hit with my husband, but the best ice cream so far was when my younger daughter made raspberry cream cheese ice cream.
So. Good.
If you visit, I promise to have lovely hubby make you ice cream! In the freezer at the moment are strawberry banana, melon and raspberry. He also makes a wicked Malteser ice cream (an English chocolate brand). That raspberry cream cheese and salted caramel sound gorgeous.
If you visit, I promise to have lovely hubby make you ice cream!
LOL. It’s a deal! Would love to try the raspberry ice cream
Salted caramel is one of my favorite flavors! There’s an ice cream place called Lake Effect in Lockport that makes it. I wanted to go tonight to celebrate Luscious release day, but then my husband found this little trailer out in the middle of nowhere with barbecue… Barbecue is a pretty good trade!
We’ve either been to the Lake Effect or had plans to go but it definitely sounds familiar. And I agree, barbecue is a good trade
I love the cover of your book… and love getting into the kitchen to cook for friends and family. And isn’t there an old adage where the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach??
Well, I sure wish I could use the fruit of love in my recipes for the man I have my eye on; but if he even gets a seed or the juice into his system, he’d end up in the ICU of the nearest hospital! The sweet – and very tall, dark and handsome – man I enjoy the company of is deathly allergic to tomatoes! So, I have made sure my recipes are interchangeable to exclude them, yet still taste great!
And seeing my brother used to be an apprentice chef years ago, I caught the cooking and being able to change things in recipes off him! 
Anyway, one of my best recipes for Summer is my Turkish Carrot Dip. I found this on Food Safari – strangely enough, the reception was really bad, so I could only go by what they said… but it turned out brilliant!
Ingredients:
4 carrots – grated (not finely)
1 clove garlic – crushed (not cooked)
1 pinch of salt
1kg Natural Yoghurt
Method:
Get a pan and put a tablespoon of olive oil into it and put the grated carrot into it cooking over a low heat. Don’t rush this stage or you’ll burn the carrots… and cook them until they change colour and become a brighter orange and soften. Taste them to know when they’ve changed. Then, turn them off, put the lid on and leave to cool completely.
In the dish you’re going to serve, put all the yoghurt, the pinch of salt and crush the clove of garlic and mix it all up and put it into the fridge until the carrots are cold.
Once the carrots are ready, spoon small lots into the yoghurt mixture and mix gently until all of the carrots are mixed in, then garnish with either sliced olives or paprika.
This is used as a dip and a condiment in Turkey.. so if you can’t eat it all at your BBQ’s, don’t worry, serve it up as something to put on the salad too… then put it on your sandwiches the next day. It’ll keep for around 5 days in the fridge; but I rarely get anything back from it when I take it anywhere.
You can also make it from beetroot; so long you use fresh beetroot and not tinned.
Mozette, this sounds great!
Wow! This sounds amazing, Carrots cooked this way get really sweet and I’m intrigued by the idea of putting this on a sandwich. Thanks so much for the recipe!
I made this dip/condiment for Christmas Day for a group of around 25 people… and there wasn’t a scrap of it left! Just an empty bowl where they all licked it clean with bread.
Looks great, Mozette! Thanks for sharing *g*
Amanda, welcome to the Lair and congrats on your new release! We grow tomatoes every year–well, the dh does; I have a brown thumb, so I leave the garden alone–and nothing says “summer” to me like a tomato sandwich made with a vine-ripened tomato.
Unfortunately, we had a dry spell just as the first tomatoes were about to start turning red. The dh went out one afternoon, and all the tomatoes were gone, plucked by thirsty squirrels.
He gets so aggravated at seeing a tomato on the ground with a single bite out of it! The squirrels should at least, he fees, have the decency to eat the whole thing if they’re going to steal it, and leaving it in the garden with that single bite gone adds insult to injury.
thanks for the recipe. We love recipes in the Lair.
Nancy, thank you but I’m so sad about your tomatoes! Some critter did that t o my tulips one year and I still feel violated. I hope you have a good grocery near you so you can satisfy your craving for a tomato sandwich!
Nancy, how frustrating for your husband! We’ve had critters nibble on low lying tomatoes and he’s so right, they should at least finish the thing off – and leave the other tomatoes alone *g*
That happened to our cherries, the first year we came home. We had 6 precious cherries on our tree and we watched them ripen daily. When we thought they were ready we went out to pick them and something had done just that (not squirrels, but probably birds!) eaten half of each one. There was only one decent cherry left!
LOL – We’re fighting that battle currently with blackberries. The bush was loaded with almost ripe blackberries a week ago. Now, not so much although we haven’t picked a berry.
I enjoyed your post and the delectable recipe which is one of my favorites. Perfect for summer. Congratulations on the release. I enjoy blueberries with yogurt.
Thanks, Pearl! I looooove blueberries! We go picking every year. I can’t wait to fill – and eat – a whole bucket of berries! Enjoy yours!
Pearl, blueberries are a favorite around here. We’re lucky to have bushes that produce enough to keep us happy in the summer with plenty set aside in the freezer for the winter months
Pearl – I love blueberry pie – not the cooked kind – the kind where you just put blueberries in the cooked pie shell with a glaze and then put it in the fridge. Served with whipped cream – yum! Easy and delicious – though I bet serving them with yogart is better for the waistline
Donna, that sounds fabulous! We make a strawberry pie that’s like this but I haven’t tried blueberry *g*
Welcome to the lair, Amanda! I’m so happy you could hang out with us today. I’m dying to hear more about SCRUMPTIOUS and LUSCIOUS, especially your research at Arrowhead Spring Vineyards *g*
And you know I’ll be trying this recipe as soon as my husband’s tomatoes are ripe ‘n ready to go! I highly recommend everyone check out Amanda’s website for recipes (her recipe for pot stickers is to die for!) and excerpts from her books
One of my favorite summer pleasures is sitting around a small campfire with my family. If margaritas are involved, even better
Thanks so much for inviting me, Beth! It’s a pleasure to visit. My kids love nothing more than a fire. They know that means we have marshmallows, graham crackers and Hershey bars. I’m not a s’mores girl, so I’m with you – margaritas!
Congrats on the new book, Amanda. One would never guess from the covers that your books’ descriptive titles had anything to do with food.
I love tomatoes too. We didn’t grow any this year, but I have an aunt and uncle, in their 80s but still avid—and successful–gardeners, who keep us supplied with fresh vegetables all summer. But the taste of summer to me is ice cream, home made in an old-fashioned, hand-turned churn, filled with the sweetness of peaches picked at a local farm. There’s something Proustian about that first taste stolen when the paddle is pulled from the churn. I am a child again, and summer days seem endless. Voices long-silenced sound sweet in my ears, the air is filled with the fragrance of old roses, and happiness is almost tangible everywhere I look.
Janga, I’m LOL because when I made ice cream Sunday, my older daughter said it wasn’t the same as using a hand-turned churn (I have an electric ice cream maker). To which I pointed out that unless SHE wanted to turn the dang thing (and yes, I have done it) we’re using the electric one
Speaking of homemade ice cream…one of my kids’ and nieces’ favorite memories was when we tried to make ice cream in a coffee can. I’d seen on a children’s TV show that if you put the ingredients in a coffee tin, put that tin in a larger tin, surrounded it with ice and salt and rolled it around, you could make ice cream. We followed the directions and had a great time rolling that thing down the front yard and back and forth between us. When it was ready, we scooped it out, thrilled to see it HAD frozen, took a bite…and realized that the table salt I’d used (the only salt I’d had) had worked it’s way under the smaller tin’s lid *g* We ended up going to the local Tasty Freeze
Now THAT takes salted caramel to a whole new level. Ewwww! It reminds me of the time one of my students was fooling around in pastry class and spiked his partner’s pastry cream with salt. He didn’t know I taste EVERYTHING before it goes into the dining room – busted!
LOL! Serves him right for thinking he could get away with it
Your description is so poetic, Janga! All this talk about ice cream is making me very hot and hungry. We may have to get ice cream AND barbecue tonight. I feel a powerful desire for peaches…
Best wishes on the book and the covers are appealing. Fantastic ideas for summer and bruschetta is the best. I make eggplant caponata and drink iced lemon water. Refreshing.
Pearl, eggplant caponata sounds delicious! This summer I’m into iced coffee – so tasty!
Thank you! Man candy does have some appeal, doesn’t it? *g* My father-in-law is an eggplant lover. Sometimes I make eggplant for him, but it isn’t one of my passions. One of these days I’ll find the right recipe!
Congrats. on the release. Tempting. A summertime treat for me is always watermelon.
Ellie, we love watermelon, too. My daughter is trying to grow some but they’re not cooperating *g*
My husband has never had success with watermelon, although he did grow a 492 pound pumpkin one year. We named her Julia! My kids love watermelon, but I’ll only eat if there’s added incentive…vodka!
Nothing like home grown tomatoes and bruschetta. perfect. Your book sounds captivating. Foods for summer are the most enticing. orzo salad with shrimp and luscious cherries.
Summer is the perfect time for salads, isn’t it? Love throwing one together for a light meal
Hi, Diane, thank you! Orzo makes a perfect summer salad with balsamic dressing, goat cheese and veggies. A great idea for the 4th!
Congrats!
Love bruscheeta!
For me, I like things like grapes, berries….etc.etc.
Mary, in the summer I love to make a light dessert with frozen berries and hot white chocolate sauce
May Pau, I visited a friend in California a few weeks ago. We went to the farmers market and I could not believe the beautiful berries. I almost bought a flat of mixed berries to eat myself. So perfect!
Breakfast on the deck with my boyfriend
Sandy, we love eating breakfast outside, too. My husband does a huge breakfast cooked on the grill for the fourth of July. The kids don’t love getting up early but we make them do it anyway
My kids try to talk us into eating every meal outside in the summer time. That’s a little easier now that they are big enough to help us haul the food out and back into the house!
SUMMER PLEASURES ARE HAVING CHILDREN OVER FOR COOK OUT NOTHING BETTER THEN FAMILY TIME LOL
EXCEPT A GREAT READ
I agree, although when my patience with the kiddies starts to slip, my husband is always quick to remind me, “Precious gifts. Precious moments.” and he’s right.
So true, Tammy!
Thanks for the recipe! It looks great. Right now a simple summer pleasure for our family is blueberry iced tea. It is simply blueberry herbal tea that I buy and make the hot tea in big pitchers and then chill it. We don’t need any sweeteners since it already has a touch of sweetness.
Oh, that sounds heavenly! We love to drink lemonade with strawberries and mint and lots of ice. Your blueberry tea sounds just as refreshing!
Sounds delicious, Maureen!
My simple pleasure is strawberry lemonade and chocolate with a good book in a cool place.
Come on over to my house, Gail! We’d get along just fine. I consider chocolate (all kinds and colors) a food group and when I don’t have a book to read I get twitchy.
Gail, those are some of my very favorite things *g*
Amanda – I believe I’ve seen your cover around the house. My daugher went to culinary arts school for a couple of years and loves fiction that incorporates recipes. If she hasn’t read yours, I’ll make sure she’s aware of its existence
I love sun-ripened tomatoes. Those hot house things don’t have the flavor of tomatoes grown in the soil out in the sun. Summer pleasures are bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwiches with good tomatoes – or tomato, basil, fresh mozzarella sandwiches. I hope to can some homemade tomato relish – tomatoes, onion, green pepper – for use in the winter. It brings back that lovely summer flavor when you need it most – when you don’t think winter will ever end.
Donna, you’re so right about hot house tomatoes just not being the same. My husband refuses to eat them unless I’ve made Pico de Gallo
Donna, since your daughter has a culinary background, I bet she’d really like Scrumptious!
I only tried canning once. I love the idea, but it makes the kitchen so HOT! It would be nice to have a taste of summer during a Buffalo winter, though!
Ice cream!
Ice cream is a summer favorite around here, too, Minna!
I second that!
I only have room to grow in pots and green onions are one of our favorites. I have grown peppers, lettuce, gr. beans and cucumbers and of course tomatoes. My grandparents use to farm and always had a garden and I so miss so many fresh vegetables. Luckily we get local corn but the vegetable stand is no longer there (sigh).
My husband’s nickname is Farmer Ben. I think, if given the chance, he’d love to run a farm and a vegetable stand. I’m so sorry you lost the one near you but your summer veg pots sound lovely!
We have a farmer’s market on Saturday mornings but I never seem to make it downtown for it. Sorry to hear about your vegetable stand!
My father-in-law’s specialty was freshly made
peach ice cream. This was back in the days
of hand-cranking & no one else was allowed
to set hand to that crank! Despite that mar-
vellous treat I’ve always loved homemade
vanilla ice cream, especially in summer. And
Vanilla and I never make it out to the porch!
Pat C.
It is a well-known chef saying that the best dishes never make it out of the kitchen!
I’m writing that into the next book, in fact. Enjoy your vanilla. Yum!
Pat, vanilla ice cream is my favorite. Then again, I’m crazy for vanilla and oftentimes would rather have it than chocolate. Or, better yet, have them both!
Hi Amanda! Hi Beth! Amanda, welcome to the Bandit lair! You sound like you’ll fit right in – we all like to drink….uh, eat! And the cabana boys can slice tomatoes with the best of them. Well, they do if you stand over them with a baseball bat, anyway. Love the sound of Luscious! It sounds luscious! Bet you’ve heard that before. Love the bruschetta recipe!
LOL, Anna. Yes, I knew Amanda would be a great guest as we all love to discuss fabulous romance books, great recipes and yummy drinks *g* As a matter of fact, I’m craving a margarita! I might have to whip up a batch tonight
Ooh, I’ll be there in an hour! x
It’s true, I love to eat and drink! Later in the month I’m posting my new favorite drink on Books and Cocktails – the blackberry smash. Lemonade, tequila and smashed blackberries – divine! It’s a pleasure to visit with like-minded folks in the Lair!
Thanks for the recipe. I like eating ice cream on the porch.
To celebrate Luscious, I just bought six pints of Lake Effect Ice Cream – Loganberry, Angry Orange Sherbet, Banana Pancakesx2, Cake Batter and Ellicotville Stout with milk chocolate. And yes, we ate it on the porch!
Looking forward to reading your latest, Amanda!
That recipe is SO going to my sister-in-law who is the family chef ! I agree with the consensus ! Ice cream is my favorite summer treat, especially when it is homemade!
However, we have a fabulous gelato cafe in the tiny town where I live and it is making believers of all of us! Heavenly!
My brothers both have huge gardens this year and are perfectly amenable to their big sister raiding said gardens for my fresh veggie needs! The cucumbers are especially good this year!
Louisa, I prefer my veggies grown by others too! It’s like magic. All of the yum and none of the sweat! Happy cucumbers!
You can’t beat ice-cold watermelon on a hot day. My grandfather used to grow them. He would choose three & put them in the creek to cool them down. We ate so much. My Mother always said we’d be sick. We never were.
One memorable Halloween we told our middle child she was going to be sick if she ate anymore candy. The end of that story is not as nice as the end of yours…enjoy your watermelon!
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