Slow-Roasted Tomatoes with Quick Ricotta Gnocchi (or my FIRST food post!)

I'll admit it. I am an addict.

Addicted to food blogs that is, with one in particular.

Molly Wizenberg is a foodie, a blogger, journalist, author and now restaurateur with her husband Brandon Petit. Molly was responsible for one of the best-loved food/life blogs around, Orangette (http://orangette.blogspot.com/).

Two years ago the couple opened Delancey (www.delanceseattle.com), a woodfire pizza spot in Seattle's Ballard neighborhood. She is funny, candid and her recipes hit the spot. Basically, Molly is a food blogger goddess and I worship the counter on which she bakes.

In her book, A Homemade Life, Molly shares her recipe for slow-roasted tomatoes.

I just had to try it because:

A) the recipe calls for 4 ingredients,

B) tomatoes are cheap and in-season and

C) I am Sicilian and 2/3 of my body is literally a mixture of olive oil and tomatoes. It's genetic.

This is a weekend recipe, as it takes 4 to 6 hours to complete,

but it is WELL WORTH THE WAIT!

This recipe makes a LOT. You'll be surprised how many dishes you will want to which you'll want to add some of these sweet little guys. In the last few days we have added them to burritos, eggs and pasta salad. They are a great way to spruce up an otherwise "blah" dish.

Rinsing the tomatoes, just like my momma taught me.

Tomatoes sliced in half and tossed lightly with olive oil.

Tomatoes spread on a cookie sheet, sprinkled with sea salt and fresh ground pepper.

Sure, these little guys don't look pretty, but they are absolutely irresistible.

As you can see, many of them disappeared before I could take a picture.

To highlight the sweet flavor of the tomatoes, I made a recipe from another favorite blog, Budget Bytes. This was the first gnocchi recipe I have tried. It was easypeasie (is that how spell that?).

http://budgetbytes.blogspot.com/2011/08/easy-ricotta-gnocchi-258-recipe-065.html

Mmmm...slow-roasted tomatoes

with ricotta gnocchi, fresh Parmesan cheese and basil from the garden.

WARNING! Collapsing Snowfields!

My fellow frugal friend Rachael and I promised each other that each month we would pile into the car with a day's worth of snacks, the camera and the GPS and visit a part of the Puget Sound we have never visited before.

Just over an hour from Seattle, this weekend's destination was Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest's Big Four Ice Caves.

Nestled in a valley, the caves are created by the melting snow from the mountain peaks above.

The water from the melting snow creates waterfalls and rivers within the mammoth ice banks. As the water flows through these hidden channels within the ice, it melts more of the ice and creates the caves.

The pictures below were taken by Rachael.

In the height of summer their is still plenty of ice and snow (FYI, those small dots are people).

Waterfalls that then disappear back into the ice, creating the caves.

Approaching the other-worldy looking mouth of the caves, visitors are blasted with cold air some 20 degrees cooler than the air around it. Fog pours out of the entrances, which are about 6 feet tall.

All one hear's at the foggy front door is the perpetual "drip drip drip" of the melting snow from inside.

The beautiful ceiling of the ice cave (reminiscent of a cathedral) is created by way the melting glacier drips off...forming these peaks and basins.

Light broke through from the snow field above the cave.

Filling our water bottles with ice cold glacier water. DELISH!

To begin planning your own adventure, visit http://www.wta.org/go-hiking.

There is Fun (and Frugal) Life North of Seattle: Day Trip to Everett

Saturday morning I treated myself to a road trip to the historic North End neighborhood of Everett for their 3rd Annual Garage Sale Day. What fun it was!

Over 100 families participated. There is no ticket or entrance fee.

All are welcome to just stroll down the tree lined streets and browse the sales.

The neighborhood is filled with historic homes and well worth a walk on a normal (non-garage sale) day.

I spent less than $10, and picked up three new books and some vintage yellow dishes.

For the dates of next year's garage sale day, visit www.northwesteverett.org.

But what i really wanted to share with you from that morning is my discovery of a beautiful P-Patch tucked between downtown Everett and the waterfront.

A P-Patch is public land that has been set aside for individual's from a community to have a small patch of land to bring their own gardening dreams to life. In an urban area, P-patches can be one of the only resources available for citizens to grow their own fruits, vegetables, herbs and flowers.

I stumbled upon Everett's Bayside Bicentennial P-Patch. Talk about making lemonade out of lemons! The space is no wider than two of the car lanes of the highway racing beside it.

The gardens are beautiful. Each patch is obviously well-loved and cared for.

In a strange way it felt like my dog and I were visiting someone's home as we strolled through. Each patch so personalized.

Instead of falling to disuse, becoming an addition to the parking lot beside it, or just another example of inner-city decay, this small piece of land has been used to build and sustain the community around it.