locally grown stuffed quinoa tomatoes

my obsession with eating local and buying local just hit an all time high.

i came across this local farm by accident. by accident i mean; i have been stalking them, i have seen them on local menu’s, and have spotted their baskets of herbs, tomatoes and zucchini flowers floating around our neighborhood.

i talk about eating seasonal all the time, i talk about farmers markets, and yes, i even talk about my own garden (that has not been that successful this year). so when i had the chance to taste some of this local goodness i couldn’t pass up the chance.

i’ve been eating their tomatoes at work, i’ve been sneaking pieces during down time, and i have been just waiting for the chance to pick up some of my own to play with.

and then i got the chance. i got a delivery. i got an in at langdon farms.

i was looking for stuffing tomatoes. i got lucky at the farmers market last week and got my hands on two of the last ones from another local farmer, but i needed more. a couple more. so i sent out my first text message to mark, and then i harassed joanie on facebook, i needed to get my hands on some of their fresh, local, beautiful, tasty tomatoes (and i did).

i craved to stuff these guys. i couldn’t wait to get my hands on them. i needed them. i needed to sink my teeth into these tomatoes that had been picked that morning. i had dreams of the sun beating down on them, the warm and sweet juice dripping everywhere. i couldn’t wait. i just had to have them.

and then i got them. i sliced off the tops, i scooped out the insides and put them off to the side. i drained them, i had it. i had the tomatoes…and then there was the stuffing…

locally grown stuffed quinoa tomatoes

a note on de-seeding the tomatoes. cut the top off of the tomato and with a teaspoon carefully carve out the insides. it doesn’t have to be totally seed free. you can see at the top, if you use firm tomatoes, it makes the process much easier. handle them gently (don’t forget to save the insides for the quinoa). turn them upside down on a paper towel and let them drain while you prepare the stuffing.

1. pre-heat oven to 350
2. in a pot (that has a cover) add 2 tbl of oil, add minced onion, garlic, and saute for 2-3 minutes. add chard. cook for 5 minutes more.
3. to the pot add quinoa, mix and cook for 1 minute (you just want to toast up the little pieces of quinoa real quick). add stock, the reserved tomatoes and sugar. simmer for 15-20 minutes or until most of the stock has been absorbed (not all of it).
4. take off the heat, cover and walk away for 5 minutes.
5. add panko to quinoa mixture, and then stuff the tomatoes.
6. lay the tomatoes in an oven proof pan and stuff. drizzle with a good olive oil. cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. take cover off, bake for 10 minutes more.

serve as a main with salad, a side with steak or chicken, or just eat the out of the baking dish (because that is what i did).

langdon farms doesn’t have a website, but you can find them on facebook here. i received 4 different varieties of tomatoes( i was thrilled with the selection!). I received a cuore di bue (the reddish one), a golden san marzano (the yellow one), black ethiopian (purple one), and an english princess (the red round one).