tweak and nourish

IRRESISTIBLE FOCACCIA. My husband and I love to watch cooking shows featuring the Italian cuisine. Last weekend, he was inspired to bake two kinds of focaccia: olive and rosemary, and pesto. The smell of freshly baked bread permeated from the kitchen to the living room. After it cooled down, my husband asked if I want to take a bite from a slice of the focaccia. It was so good that I took the slice from him and asked for more. My efforts in avoiding anything white (white flour, white sugar, white pasta, etc) went out the window. I reassured myself that it was the first and last day of eating the focaccia.

I was wrong! I woke up the next morning dreaming of eating it for lunch. After much internal debate of "should I?" or "should I not?", I finally gave in and created a "healthyish" dish out of the focaccia. The moment I decided to eat the focaccia, I didn't have a homemade marinara sauce ready. So I whipped up a mixture of pesto and tomato paste as base. Spread all over the focaccia and sprinkle garlic powder. (Fresh grated garlic is way better but I was in a hurry and very hungry) Layering came next: mozzarella cheese and tomato (remove the seeds- see TIP below), fresh basil (chiffonade), then roasted veggies and more mozzarella. Bake at 400F until cheese melts. Drizzle with olive oil.

I'm eager to share...my new basil plant. Look at those big leaves! It definitely came in handy for this delicious meal.

TIP: If you want to cook the discarded part of the tomato (shown in photo), save it in a container and use in soups, stews, marinara sauce, scrambled eggs, and other dishes.