A couple of weeks ago, I saw a recipe I wanted to try, but when I went back and re-read it, it was too fussy. Too many steps, and sounded overly finicky. I decided to use my usual method instead, and I was really happy with the result. Apparently my Facebook friends were as well, since it got lots of positive comments. So here’s the recipe:
Turn the oven to 400F.
Start the filling:
2 large tomatoes
One medium onion
15 ml olive oil
Dice the tomatoes roughly, and the onion more finely, and place on a cookie sheet with parchment or a silicone liner. Drizzle with the oil and put in the oven (don’t worry if it isn’t up to heat yet).
Now make the crust:
280 ml whole wheat flour
15 ml dried oregano
90 ml cold salted butter, diced
30-40 ml ice water
Mix the oregano into the flour. Cut in the butter with a pastry blender or two knives, or pulse in the food processor until the butter is the size of peas. Then mix in the water with a fork, or pulse in, 15 ml at a time, until the dough is just starting to clump together. Squeeze it together into a disc and wrap in foil or plastic wrap or a beeswax wrapper, and put in the fridge for 15 minutes to half an hour.
When you put the dough in the fridge, check your tomatoes. They should have released their juice and start to look a bit caramelized. If not, give them a few minutes longer. You want them to not be wet, but sort of jammy.
Then take them out of the oven, and set them aside while you roll out the crust. (Leave the oven on at 400!)
Roll out the pastry and place in a tart tin (or a pie plate will work; it may take a little longer to cook).
For the rest of the filling:
30 ml Dijon mustard (I used Kozlik’s Bordeaux)
120g of sharp, old cheddar, grated
5 eggs
60 ml milk or cream
60 ml chopped parsley
Ground black pepper to taste
Brush the bottom of the pastry with the mustard. Then sprinkle with the cheese.
Next, put in the tomatoes.
Beat the eggs with the cream, parsley and pepper. (I don’t usually have cream, but I bought it for another recipe, and it does add a certain richness). Pour it over.
Bake in your 400F oven for 45-55 minutes (a knife inserted in the centre should come out wet but not eggy).
Let stand 5 minutes before serving.
Sometimes when you’ve had a long day, it can seem onerous to make homemade food. That’s when something like a one-pot or oven dinner comes in handy. Also, if you’re really tired, the best thing for you is to get some fresh air and exercise, so you’ll be able to sleep when the time comes.
ots – these aren’t a traditional chili vegetable, perhaps, but they have the tremendous effect of adding a little sweetness to the chili, as do the onions as they sweat down more and more.
last. Use any colour, but red and green give a great combination. Continue to cook until this mixture of vegetables (the “holy trinity plus” or a mirrepoix) have begun to soften nicely. Now you’re ready for the rest of the ingredients.
ns. Stir everything well so you get a good mixture.
ls will help it thicken and contribute to the meatier texture some people prefer. 
he opportunity to cook together with friends or family and to have a warm, low-maintenance dinner at the ready. Freeze whatever you don’t need, and remember it’s always better on the second day.
Fresh, ripe tomatoes, warm off the vine. You might think you need a plot of land, or at least a large-ish garden to make this happen, but we have been happily surprised with the productivity of our condo garden this first year. We have planters on our balcony, as well as a metre-square plot in the building’s communal roof garden (a yard, if you’re using imperial measures).
enough; you really just need a big 
pot of boiling water that is deeper than your canning jars. I’ll blog about that another time.
