Recently I learned the term used by real cooks “mise en place.” It means, basically, getting all your ingredients, pots, pans and utensils ready before you actually start to cook saving yourself the misery of realizing halfway through your recipe that you don’t have saffron threads. I have loosely translated this French term to mean “mess at my place” when I cook. For this week’s recipe, encourage any available children to de-stem the tomatoes, tear the basil leaves and pick the thyme leaves off the stems. Reserve the mincing of the garlic and shallot with the very sharp 10½” chef’s knife for an adult. This recipe can easily be doubled.

1 pint cherry tomatoes, de-stemmed
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 shallot or 4 scallions, minced
1 handful basil leaves, torn into small pieces
1 Tbsp fresh thyme leaves
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Heat the olive oil in a non-stick skillet over medium high heat. Sauté the garlic and shallot or scallions briefly. Add the tomatoes and herbs. Cook, stirring frequently for 3 to 5 minutes, until the tomatoes just begin to soften. Season with salt and pepper, and serve with anything. So simple, yet so elegant.

Makes 4 servings

Nutritional values per serving:
Calories: 52
Fat: 4 gm
Saturated Fat: 1 gm
Trans Fat: 0 gm
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Carbohydrate: 5 gm
Fiber: 1 gm
Protein: 1 gm
Sodium: 7 mg

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