Mini Profiteroles With Tomatoes And Basil

Can you guys believe it's almost Labor Day? I know we still have a few weeks of summer left, but for some reason, Labor Day always feels like a symbol of the end of summer. To keep the summer going strong, I made these mini profiteroles and filled them with a mixture of ripe, fresh-from-the-garden tomatoes and basil, plus olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and a little salt and pepper. These mini profiteroles would be perfect to serve at any Labor Day party or barbecue or just as a dinner-party hors d'oeuvre.

Classic And Creative Brioche Pastries With Joanne Chang

Those of you who have been reading this blog for a long time know that I spent a little over a year working at Flour Bakery. It was at a time in my life when I was seriously considering culinary school. I was unhappy in my editing job at the time (to the point that I was in tears pretty much every Sunday evening stressing about and dreading the week ahead), and I wanted to do something I felt passionate about. As I was searching job postings, I came across one for a baker position at Flour. I had a lightbulb moment and thought maybe I could work at the bakery and learn on the job as opposed to paying for culinary school. It was one of the best decisions I've ever made.

Roasted Tomato Farro Bake

I am getting tons of gorgeous, colorful tomatoes from my garden, and while I love eating them as is, I've also been trying to find new ways to use them. They're great in salads and in pasta dishes, but I was searching for something a little different.

My Garden, 2014

Last year I tried planting a vegetable garden for the first time, and while it was a learning experience and a lot of work, overall I was happy with the results and enjoyed getting outside, maintaining it, and reaping the benefits. I got a decent amount of plum tomatoes and peppers, handfuls of herbs, and some zucchini and pattypan squash. This year, I was inspired to plant a garden again and went to nearby Volante Farms toward the end of May to get the best selection of tomatoes (by the time I'd decided to plant last year, plum tomatoes were just about the only variety left). I kept the tomatoes inside until June just in case of too-low overnight temperatures.

I decided to plant along the side of the house this year instead of in the backyard (because we had visions of trying to get our backyard into some kind of shape), so I had a little more room to work with but wanted to keep things simple. I picked out a variety of tomato plants, all of which would yield bite-size tomatoes (my love of mini foods extends to vegetables as well!) -- Sun Gold, Yellow Pear, Red Pear, Sweet 100, Sweet Gold, and Golden Sweet -- some cubanelle pepper plants, and some basil and thyme.