Southern Tomato Pie

In that flaky crust is a whopping three and a half pounds of tomatoes, cooked down with caramelized onions and herbs and cozily blanketed with an oh-so-Southern hit of mayo and a not-so-Southern-but-really-really-good dose of fontina and parmesan. More tomatoes sit on top—fresh instead of roasted—for a pretty visual touch alongside some leaves of basil. It’s a gorgeous pie, and to be perfectly honest, one of the best things to come out of our test kitchen all summer.

MAKES 1 10-INCH PIE
2 HOURS, 30 MINUTES

For the pie crust

1 14 cups all-purpose flour
2 12 tsp. granulated sugar
12 tsp. salt
6 tbsp. cold butter cut into 12-inch cubes
2 tbsp. plus 1 tsp. ice-cold water
12 tsp. white vinegar

For the filling and topping

3 1⁄2 lb. vine-ripe tomatoes (about 12), cored, seeded, and cut into 1⁄2-inch dice, divided
2 tsp. salt, divided
1 tsp. sugar, divided
1 tbsp. butter
1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced with the grain
1 tsp. picked thyme
2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
14 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
13 cup packed whole basil leaves
12 cup mayonnaise
13 cup grated fontina
13 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
2 large Roma or heirloom tomatoes, thinly sliced and blotted dry with paper towels

Instructions

Make the pie crust: Place the flour, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium for a few seconds. Begin adding the butter one cube at a time. Continue until the flour is speckled and crumbly, about 4 minutes. With the mixer still running, add the water and vinegar until just combined. Do not overmix. Press the dough into a 6-inch disk, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and chill in the refrigerator overnight.
Bring the crust to room temperature and lightly butter a 10-inch metal pie pan. Preheat the oven to 400°. Dust your counter and rolling pin lightly with flour and roll the crust slightly larger than your pan. Lay the crust in the pan and press gently into its edges. Cut off the edges that hang over and discard. Freeze for at least 15 minutes or until you’re ready to blind-bake.
Lay foil or parchment paper on top of the crust and weigh that down with dried beans or rice. Blind-bake the shell for 30 minutes. Remove the pie weights and foil or parchment and bake 5 minutes more. Set the cooked crust aside as you prepare the filling.
Make the filling: Toss half of the diced tomatoes with 1⁄2 teaspoon salt and 1⁄2 teaspoon sugar. Set them over a colander to drain while you get everything else ready, at least an hour.
Lower your oven to 375°. In a medium sauté pan or skillet, melt the butter and then add the onion and 1⁄2 teaspoon salt. Cook over medium-low heat until deeply caramelized. This will take about 45 minutes. If the onion gets away from you and burns a little, add 1⁄4 cup of water to the pan, scrape up the overbrowned bits, and keep going. In the end, you have a scant 2⁄3 cup caramelized onion.
Toss the remaining diced tomatoes with 1⁄2 teaspoon salt, thyme, and olive oil. Spread in a single layer on a sheet tray with as much room separating the individual pieces as possible. Slide the tray onto the middle rack of your oven and roast for 30-35 minutes. You’re looking for the tomatoes to dry out and brown slightly.
Once all the individual components are done, stir together the onion, the fresh and roasted diced tomatoes, the remaining salt, sugar, black pepper, and basil.
Make the topping and finish the pie: In a separate, smaller bowl, stir together the mayonnaise, fontina, and Parmigiano. Spoon the filling into your blind-baked crust. Top with the cheese mixture and tomato slices. Bake in the middle of your oven for 30 minutes. You can serve this warm or at room temperature. Both have their virtues.

The Seeds of Vandana Shiva

Do we want what we grow and what we eat to be determined by a few giant corporations whose first and foremost agenda is profit before people and planetary well-being?

Imagine a world where small farmers are respected as experts in the processes of nature and are honored as stewards of our arable land.

What about a world where farmers are no longer replaced by massive machines force-feeding toxic chemicals into vast monocultures of GMO seeds?

The film is important because Vandana Shiva articulately and scientifically presents the alternative: Ecological agriculture that restores biodiversity, organic seed freedom, healthy soil, fresh water and clean air.

http://kck.st/1N9AOkN
 
How did the willful daughter of a Himalayan forest conservator become the world’s most powerful opponent of Monsanto? The Seeds of Vandana Shiva, a feature-length documentary, presents the remarkable life story of the Gandhian eco-activist and agro-ecologist, Vandana Shiva. A classic David versus Goliath tale, the film shows how Vandana, a brilliant scientist, became Monsanto’s worst nightmare and a rock star of the international sustainable food movement.

The Seeds of Vandana Shiva

Love At First Bite – The Ad Doritos Don’t Want You to See

Rainforests across Southeast Asia are being destroyed every day to make way for massive palm oil plantations, where workers, even children, are trapped in modern slavery to cultivate the vegetable oil. The clearing of these rainforests and peatlands are driving many species like the orangutan and Sumatran tiger to the brink of extinction, while also polluting the Earth’s atmosphere by releasing gigatons of greenhouse gases.

“PepsiCo has contributed $1,716,300 to oppose the passage of California Proposition 37, which would mandate the disclosure of genetically modified crops used in the production of California food products.”

Each year, PepsiCo buys 427,500 tonnes of palm oil. Given how high profile the Doritos Super Bowl campaign is, we’re using this opportunity to let consumers around the world know about PepsiCo’s irresponsible palm oil sourcing policy. there’s never been a better time to spread the message and make friends, family and colleagues aware of PepsiCo’s practices.

please sign the petition to PepsiCo

Watch the Exclusive Worldwide Premiere of Origins

Find out who’s hijacking your health…
and how to reclaim it!

Origins (movie)

About the Filmmakers

Pedram Shojai, OMD, is the founder of Well.Org, the editor of BeMore! Magazine, the author of Rise and Shine, and the producer and director of the documentary films “Vitality” and “Origins.” It was when he ran a large medical practice treating patients with the same lifestyle-induced ailments again and again, that Dr. Shojai began his mission — to help people understand the intrinsic connection between their lifestyle, their health and the vitality of our planet. He works to preserve our natural world and wake us all up to our fullest potential.

Mark van Wijk is a filmmaker based in Cape Town, South Africa. He studied Photography at Port Elizabeth Technikon, specialising in travel. After 4 years of travel he then made a natural progression onto film and television.

“The great outdoors gives me energy – the earth and nature inspires me in my work and in my life! Respect for all is my only rule! People need to understand that they are actually a part of nature and my dream is for my work to bridge the divide that civilization and technology have created”

The message in the film – Origins – kept me inspired throughout the entire project. I am so happy and privileged to have been able to make this film with Pedram and I believe it carries a message that all of us need to understand and live towards!

Katie Couric Hosts “Fed Up” in Charlottesville Tomorrow

It’s predicted that if nothing is done about this continuous cascade of sugar into the American diet, in two decades 95 percent of Americans will be obese or overweight. Couric says that if this unprecedented consumption of sugar is not curtailed, by 2050 one out of three Americans will have diabetes.

This clarion call for the use of common sense when it comes to sugar shouldn’t be dismissed as just the latest scare tactics from no-fun leaf-and-twig eaters. Studies show that because of rampant obesity among children today, youngsters are on track to be the first generation in memory to have a life expectancy shorter than that of their parents.

“The average American eats almost one pound of sugar and flour a day altogether,” Hyman said. “That amount creates a vicious cycle of addiction, where you crave more and eat more sugar.

“Studies that show sugar can be eight times more addictive than cocaine. Sugar, not fat, creates a triple whammy for weight — an increase in hunger and sugar cravings, an increase in fat storage and a decrease in metabolic rate.

“It is also the major driver of heart attacks, stroke, dementia, many cancers and, of course, type 2 diabetes.

Artificial sweeteners can actually be more addictive than regular sugar. Artificial sweeteners jack up your cravings, driving you to eat more food over the course of the day. Just say no to sugar and artificial sweeteners.”

“Fed Up” will be presented at 2 p.m. Saturday at UVa’s Culbreth Theatre. A discussion with Katie Couric, Dr. Mark Hyman and Dr. Christine M. Burt Solorzano will follow the screening. For tickets and a full schedule of films and events for the 27th annual Virginia Film Festival, go to www.virginiafilmfestival.org.

Related: Artificial Sweeteners Linked to Metabolic Disease