Tomatoes Provençal
Glancing through cookbooks penned by some favorite chefs, Ina, Julia, Martha and Jacques, I found recipes for Tomatoes Provençal. While admittedly it’s a French classic, have you ever visited a 4th of July buffet table that didn’t include this tomato dish? Think of it as our appreciative tip of Uncle Sam’s hat to the Marquis de Lafayette and French support during the Revolutionary War.
Fifteen minutes to throw together and less than an hour in the oven. How good does that sound?
This week’s French Fridays recipe, an appropriate flag-waving choice, is Dorie Greenspan’s take on Tomatoes Provençal. In her own words, “Every French cook who makes oven-roasted herb-topped tomatoes has his or her own recipe, but the fact is it needs no recipe at all.
A weekend adventure to Rocky Mountain National Park and the Continental Divide.
There are a few givens,” Dorie explains. “The tomatoes, to be sure, olive oil to moisten them and make a little basting sauce; herbs to top them, and garlic to set your culinary compass to the South of France – but which herbs you use, how you cut your tomatoes, whether you roast them until they’re almost melted or leave them a little firmer are all up to you.”
DonnaC and Francine are unable to explain why an overnight trip with four women requires all this luggage.(So, they smiled instead.)
What’s intriguing about Dorie’s is what she doesn’t do. She doesn’t remove the seeds after halving the tomatoes. And, she doesn’t include breadcrumbs in her topping. It’s all about the tomatoes (juicy), herbs and garlic (fresh) and olive oil (top-quality). Think simple, rustic and toothsome. (If the juices run down your chin, grab a napkin or use your sleeve.)
Forget anything? DonnaC, our in-house dental professional, gifted us with a dental kit.
TP can stand alone or be an accompaniment to any dish, eggs, salads, fish or meats. It’s delicious hot, cold or presented at room temp. It was my lunch (with a salad), then, breakfast, with eggs, and, finally, dinner, with lamb chops.
DonnaG (r), is having a “geologic moment” to explain 300 million years of recent geologic history. (Well done, friend).
In the spirit of the 4th of July, to honor our country’s Independence, I am sharing through pictures one of America’s great treasures and strengths – our National Park system. As a kid growing up in Iowa, my parents took my brother and me on many vacations. Etched forever in my memory bank, however, are our trips to Yosemite and The Great Smokey Mountains National Parks. With my own family, I visited many more, also introducing my Iowa girls to skiing, hiking and the grandeur of the American West.
The well-earned 6p.m. cocktail hour after a full day in the Park.
After moving to the Colorado mountains in 1988, it’s no surprise that I morphed into a total tree-hugger, would rather be outside than in and since becoming a volunteer forest ranger, strut around in my uniform as if I’m John Muir incarnate! My Melissa married an outdoor-sorta-guy and is raising my two granddaughters in a small town in the Sierra Nevada’s. It’s a good life with weekends of hiking or skiing, camping and exploring. Our family Thanksgiving’s are always spent in Death Valley, my favorite Park.
The evening’s entertainment, Bird Bingo, complete with prizes. Light’s out at 9p.m. (We never claimed to be hell-raisers.)
These federally protected outdoor spaces have helped mold me, delight me, and sustain me. That’s why I joined my like-minded friends, all volunteer rangers and belonging to our nature study group, for last weekend’s trip to Rocky Mountain National Park. Located 200 miles northeast of Aspen, RMNP is 265,873 acres of magnificence. We all registered for a one-day field seminar entitled “Wildflowers of the High Country: Tundra in Bloom”, an outdoor class taught above 11,000 feet. The question: Would our brains even work above 11,000 feet?
Our Sunday day-long Alpine Wildflower class, above 11,000′ complete with 30 MPH winds. Not kidding. Our instructor found a small hideaway where we could eat lunch and review our morning’s work.
To give ourselves every opportunity to succeed, we booked condos, planned a menu of home-cooked nutritious meals, chose appropriate brain-stimulating wines and put together our itinerary. Using each of our strengths: DonnaC and Francine, wildflowers; DonnaG, geology; and, me, birds, we parceled out our own teaching assignments. One day to see the park. One day of class. A perfect weekend of friendship, scholarship and beauty. More memories for my bank.
This is the highest we climbed. Think Base Camp at Mt. Everest. Long’s Peak, 14,259′ (4,346M) is in the background. We’re with our instructor who thinks this is fun!
Inspired to visit a park? To see where America’s 58 national parks are located, go here. To see today’s recipe, go here. Note that the only difference to Dorie’s original recipe is the cooking time. I baked mine 30 minutes and then another 20, as Dorie originally suggests.French Fridays with Dorie is an international cooking group working its way through Dorie Greenspan’s Around my French Table. To see how my colleagues enjoyed TP, go here.
Meet Mr. Yellow-bellied Marmot who enjoys the tundra more than I do.
This handsome bull elk likes his own space. We saw hundreds of elk – Moms, Dads and babies as well as two beautiful moose.
Great memories…so happy you documented this event for the rest of the universe and I am not talking about the tomatoes. But they do look luscious. I don’t even remember the marmot, but that was a great picture of the bull elk.
Also, I did not recall that Leanne was such a giant. Or were we all standing in pocket gopher holes?
Love, love this post! It is 110 here in Vegas but I am bound and determined to smoke some ribs this weekend. Next up, sous vide brisket. I am experimenting with the sous vide but I must say it is amazing. You worked hard for your libation!
What a great post! Loved it! And your tomatoes turned out great!
Oh Wow, TP featured in all three meals at your place! I am dreaming of them with crispy bacon and fried eggs for breakie tomorrow! And love your post – great writing and contents!
Lovely post Mary (love your pics!). Wishing you a wonderful long weekend!
Oh, you’ve made me so ansty to get to the mountains!!! So many memories for me, too. We’ll be in Denver for a few days later this month, but as much as I’ve brainstormed, I don’t think we have time for a side trip. Sniff, sniff.
PS…another winner from Dorie! Happy 4th! xo
Wow, Mary! What a wonderful experience. I think you should submit an article to a women’s magazine about getting out and enjoying nature together. Thanks for taking us along!
Happy 4th of July!
xoxoxo
Mary, only on your blog could the phrase “brain-stimulating wines” somehow be worked seemlessly into a post about exploring the great outdoors:-) I always enjoy reading about your adventures, your enthusiasm for the park system is contagious.
Dear Mary, what a great post with tons of admirable pictures so full of joy and happiness – great to see that you are doing better/good! And hope that you spend one wonderful fourth of July! The girls started their summer vacation (six weeks) yesterday, so it was time to celebrate a bit and not only watch soccer on TV but bake a Black Forest Cake for dessert (would you believe the first one in my life) and those lovely Provencal Tomatoes as an appetizer – I certainly did not realize that these were so popular in the States! By the way, the French as well as the German food won over my taste testers hearts, no left-overs.
Have a great weekend filled with joy and more delicious food!
Andrea
Mary you have such a zest for life. Thanks for sharing your weekend adventure. I agree with you about National Parks. I have visited Glacier National Park and thought it was the prettiest place on the planet. It has inspired me to see more National Parks. My leftover TP is going on pizza tonight.
Your posts make me smile every time, Mary. TP was delicious. I had it for lunch and dinner but it didn’t occur to me to have it for breakfast until you and Gaye mentioned it. Next time, as the leftovers are all gone.
Have I told you that Howard and I went to Rocky Mountain National Park for the first two days of our honeymoon? We stayed in the (scary) Stanley Hotel. Then we drove across Colorado to Moab Utah to enjoy Arches and Canyonlands. What a scenic trip! Your photos remind me of those happy days. It looks pretty much the same. Still gorgeous.
Loved the holiday snaps – you girls look like you are having an amazing time. Enjoy! Your tomatoes look pretty good too.
I love RMNP! (Actually, I am a National Park junkie – can’t get enough). Joe and I went there several years ago and it still ranks as one of our top three vacations. We also had some crazy nagivator led experiences on that trip too (roads that weren’t really roads – thank goodness for four wheel drive. It was all good as long as we didn’t look down…) Your pictures made me smile!
I hope you had a lovely 4th!
As always a fun and interesting post, Mary! Looks like you and your friends had a fabulous time! A perfect girls weekend! Love all your vacation photos!
Your tomatoes look perfectly delicious!! They were a hit with my picky eater and all our guests. Have a good week!
Beautiful photos! I think parks are an invaluable resource – from municipal, province/state, to national. I’m glad there are passionate advocates for them that volunteer and keep them accessible.
As for the tomatoes, I thought they were the epitome of summer eating. So good!
What incredible photos! Your weekend trip looks like so much fun. I’m intrigued that Death Valley is your favorite national park. It’s one I’ve never been to, but I definitely hope to make it there someday.