Rustic Fresh Tomato and Onion Focaccia

I love this version of focaccia, the golden onions and anchovy gives it the umami taste that everyone craves, and it is one of the best-easy to make, easy to pack for picnic or school lunches, you can eat it hot or room temperature and it is very healthy! It's simply divine with the fresh taste of summer tomatoes, golden onions that have carmelized in the oven, along with the saltiness of the anchovy and the briny olive, somehow you don't miss the cheese, so here is an Italian version of a French Onion and Tomato Tart, enjoy while you can get fresh tomato!
(Convection Oven 400 degrees F)

Dough
3-1/4 cups bread flour
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 tablespoon sugar
1 scant tablespoon yeast
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup warm water

Mix all dry ingredients in a large bowl, including the yeast, combine the oil and water, pour over dry ingredients, mix with handle of wooden spoon until most of the flour mixture is incorporated, dump contents of bowl onto dry counter, knead the dough until it is smooth and all flour has been incorporated, about 5-7 minutes. Wipe out bowl, drizzle with a little oil, put dough back, turning it once to coat with the oil, cover with plastic wrap until double in size or when you push your finger into the dough, it stays indented. See finishing instructions below.

Topping
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 large onions, peeled and thinly sliced
2-3 large fresh tomatoes, cored and sliced
2-3 cloves of garlic pressed into tiny bits with garlic press
2-3 sprigs of fresh thyme
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
10-12 whole anchovy fillets
12 pitted Kalamata olives, spicy mixed olives,oil cured black olives, or mixture of all of them

While dough is rising In a sauté pan, heat oil on medium heat, when hot, add onions, salt and pepper, sauté until onions are soft, not brown, add sliced tomato, garlic and thyme sprigs, sauté until the onion and tomato mixture is almost saucy,and thick, but you can still see the individual components. you may wish to remove the tomato skins when stirring the mixture. Remove the thyme. Let cool for 15-20 minutes. At this point the dough will have risen enough, punch down, then, on a 15x11 inch piece of parchment, roll dough out too 1/4 inch thickness, making the edges higher to hold the sauce, transfer the dough-lined parchment to a sheet pan, spread tomato mixture onto the dough, artfully top with the anchovy fillets and the Kalamata olives,(each slice should have an anchovy and a couple of olives) cover with plastic wrap and let rise again till edges of dough are puffy. Bake at 400 degrees F for about 35-40 minutes, check bottom of pizza occasionally for doneness and rotate pan in middle of baking period.

Easy No-Bake Granola Bars

Back to school is just around the corner, make these easy no bake granola bars for healthy after school snacks! This recipe includes peanut butter, but if you or your child has allergies, use almond butter as a good healthy substitute. If your school allows some seeds and or nuts, substitute those or use dried fruit and rice crisps for that crunch instead-let that be your guide if planning to pack the bar into lunch boxes.

3 cups Quick Oatmeal, I used steel cut oats

1 cup raw pumpkin seeds

1 cup raw whole almonds

1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds

2/3 cup nut butter(peanut or almond butter) you can process any nut into butter with your processor and a little oil and water

1/2-2/3 cup corn syrup, brown rice syrup, or other syrup I used 1/3 cup corn syrup and 1/3 cup golden syrup

In a large bowl, combine the first 4 ingredients, add 1/4 tsp salt, mix all together. In a smaller bowl, combine the nut butter of your choice and the syrup, mix well, then pour over the oatmeal mixture, combine thoroughly, adding a little more syrup if the mixture is too dry. When satisfied that mixture is well combined, prepare a 9x9 inch pan, line it with parchment paper, pat mixture into pan with damp hands until it is spread out and uniform. At this point you may want to sprinkle with coarse sea salt for the sweet n salty taste, or leave plain to be coated with drizzle of chocolate, peanut butter or butterscotch chips melted, when hardened, and cut, or press a piece of dried fruit (dried cherries, apricots, dates, figs, blueberries, cranberries, raisins.....)into the top of each bar or square, let your imagination run free!

Tuna/Chicken Macaroni Salad

One of my all time favorites when I was a kid was this Tuna Macaroni salad, it was easy to make and easy to eat, very portable for camping, picnics work or school lunches, etc. The version I make now is a bit classier than the cheaper canned flaked tuna version I ate when I was a kid, but it's still great to have on hand on a hot day, cool but satisfying. Load it up with crunchy veggies, even a chopped dill pickle or two! If your child doesn't like tuna, use diced, cooked breast of chicken, or canned chicken, or bits of deli sliced chicken.

Tuna Macaroni Salad

500 gram package of Elbow Macaroni, or other small macaroni shape
2-7 ounce tins of Solid white Tuna
2 stalks celery, cleaned and diced small
4 green onions, sliced diagonal, reserve onion tops for garnish if desired
4-6 small radishes, quartered, or diced dill pickle
1-1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cracked black pepper
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon fresh dill, sliced into 1/2 inch bits
Or 1/2 teaspoon dried dill
1 cup mayonaise
1/2 cup miracle whip
Or
1 cup mayonaise
1/2 cup cucumber salad dressing

In a large pot bring 8 cups of water and 2 teaspoons of salt to boil, cook pasta until tender but with a little bit of bite, drain well, then rinse in cold water to stop the cooking process and to cool the pasta. While the pasta is cooking wash and cut the veggies, put into a large bowl, add the herbs and seasoning,lemon juice, tuna, broken up into little chunks, the mayonaise and miracle whip (or cucumber dressing if using), mix all well. Let sit for 15 minutes to allow the pasta to drain off, then mix the two together, mix well, cover and refridgerate. This salad may need a bit more dressing, depending on how cold the macaroni is when mixing it up, (warm macaroni will absorb quite a bit of dressing), so be sure the pasta is quite cold when mixing with the tuna. refridgerate at least an hour before serving. You may also add a couple of sliced hard boiled eggs to the top of this salad to improve the protein content.

Roasted Salt and Pepper Pear, with Blue Cheese and Pecans Salad

Roasted salt and pepper pears are simply divine, matched here with a combination of greens, blue cheese and pecans makes a wonderful salad for this hot weather. You can use the Barbeque to roast the pears, as long as you put them in a suitable baking dish, and regulate the temperature so they don't get carmelized before cooking through.

Salt and Pepper Pears Salad. Convection Oven 350 degrees F

6 hard pears, red or white Anjou, seckle, Comice, Bartlett, or combination
1 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper
2 tablespoons white sugar
5 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons olive oil

2-3 cups greens, arugula, romaine, Bibb lettuce, or combination of greens
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper

4 ounces Gorgonzola, or other blue cheese, crumbled

1/2 cup roasted pecans
4-6 slices of prosciutto
2-4 fresh figs sliced in half

Peel and cut pears in half, using a watermelon baller, cut the core out. Set out cut side up on a roasting tray. Mix the salt, pepper, sugar in a small bowl, sprinkle on top of pears, turn over and sprinkle on back of pears, turn cut side up, then sprinkle with the vinegar, water, olive oil mixture. Roast pears for 25 minutes, remove tray from oven, turn over and sprinkle with 2-3 tablespoons of water, put back in oven for another 15 minutes, or until the pears are golden brown and tender, remove from oven.
On a cold plate, place the lettuce leaves, drizzle with the olive oil and salt and pepper, crumble the blue cheese over, and toss a few pecans, place figs, prosciutto and roasted pears on the plate, dress pears with the baking juices. Add a piece of crusty bread or make some garlic bread, delicious! Serves 2-3