Day 345 (Erev Shabbos)

So we went back to the doctor again today, because thank G-d BSM is fever-less and I really wanted to send him back to daycare. The lab results were in: sure enough, BSM had a heckuva virus, but he's better now. I could have told you that. At least the blood-torture wasn't entirely in vain (ha ha): they checked his iron levels as long as they were sucking blood, and I can stop giving him iron supplements. Good good good. I mean, it's a bit of a shame, because BSM really likes taking his medicine, but I'm glad that his hemoglobin count is finally up to scratch.

When I went to Rami Levy earlier this week, the grade B tomatoes looked much better than the grade A tomatoes, so I made the obvious choice. The only problem is that meant I had to buy about 4lb of tomatoes instead of 4 single tomatoes, because the grade B stuff is sold pre-packaged. It wasn't a huge deal, and it meant that I made a new side-dish today, inspired by Spice and Spirit, but tweaked very heavily by yours truly. It came out really yummy, but the rice was so flavorful that next time I'll pair it with chicken breast instead of tomato halves.

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Stuffed Tomatoes

8 medium tomatoes
2/3 c rice
1 cube basil seasoning (that's a thing that they sell here: it seems to be a soup-mix cube with basil)
oregano
1 onion
1 small can mushrooms
fresh garlic to taste
white wine

• Cut tomatoes in half and scoop out their insides.
• Puree the tomato pulp and measure it. If there's less than 4/3 c puree, add water so you have twice as much liquid as rice.
• Combine rice, oregano, basil cube, and tomato-guts in a rice cooker and cook. 
• Sautée onion, mushrooms, and garlic.
• Deglaze the pan with white wine.
• Add the cooked rice to the sautéed mixture, and pour in enough wine so everything is nice and moist. 
• Arrange the tomatoe-halves in a greased baking dish, and fill them with the rice mixture.
• Bake covered at 350°F until the tomatoes are tender. I think it took about 45 minutes/an hour, but I really don't remember.