The Thompson Kitchen

Approachable, everyday recipes

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Garlic Chili Edamame

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I love edamame, but the traditional steamed edamame with salt starts to get boring after a while.  That’s how this recipe was born.  About 10 years ago I was trying to come up with a new flavorful way to eat edamame and boy does this recipe deliver!  Garlicky, spicy, salty, three of my favorite food qualities.  10 years later and I’m still making it, so it must be good!

It’s quick, easy, and only requires 5 ingredients, all of which I always have on hand.  If you’re looking for a new weeknight recipe (let’s be serious, who isn’t?!), look no further!

You can serve the edamame with whatever you want, but I usually end up serving it with brown rice or potstickers.  Both of which I keep in the freezer meaning I’m less than 30 minutes away from a delicious dinner.

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Roasted Eggplant Caprese

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This roasted eggplant caprese is a play on one of my favorite dishes from Giuseppe’s Ritrovo, one of the best Italian restaurants in Columbus.  Giuseppe’s has since taken it off the menu, but they used to have an eggplant caprese stack that I always ordered instead of a salad.

Since they took it off the menu I’ve been on a mission to recreate it.  The method I landed on is a little different that the original, but in the best way.  I spoon garlic oil on the eggplant when it’s almost done roasting.  The eggplant soaks up the flavorful oil resulting in my new favorite way to cook eggplant!

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Summer “chop chop”

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My mom and I started making “chop chop” years ago.  The name came from the fact that there’s a fair amount of chopping.  We started making it to eat as a dip with tortilla chips, but always ended up eating it with a fork like a salad.  Either way you eat it, it’s delicious!

Chop chop is easy to make all year (just sub thawed frozen corn for fresh), but is even better using fresh summer corn and cherry tomatoes.  I started grilling the corn a few years ago and adds a wonderful depth to the salad.  You technically don’t have to grill it, but I definitely encourage you to!

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How to Caramelize Onions

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Caramelizing onions is an art form. I remember watching my Nana caramelize onions when I was little and thinking it looked so easy. Boy was I wrong! It took me years of trial and error to figure them out, but I still stay true to my Nana’s instructions. She would cook them low and slow using both canola oil and butter. Canola oil for the heat, butter for the flavor.  The result? Perfectly caramelized onions.

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Roasted Red Peppers

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This past weekend my mom and I roasted red peppers with Rich’s aunt Ricki, mom, and Grandma.  They roast red peppers every September and then freeze them for the season.  So smart, because they can pull out perfectly roasted peppers for months after.

We roasted, peeled, and cut over 120 (!!) peppers this year.  It sounds like a lot, but when you have five people and start an assembly line, it goes faster than you think.  So call some of your friends, open a bottle of wine, and host a pepper roasting party!  You’ll thank me when your pulling perfectly roasted peppers out of your freezer in January.

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Zucchini Potato Fritters with Goat Cheese

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It’s that time of year.  Zucchini is in full force at the farmers market and I go crazy, buying armfuls of the versatile vegetable without a definitive plan on what to do with it.  Next thing I know, I’m roasting it, eating it in pasta, and adding it to any and every dish.  One of my favorite ways to use my zucchini bounty?  Grate it along with potatoes to make into fritters.  Plus, goat cheese never hurts a recipe, right?

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Goat Cheese Tomato Toast

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This is one of those magical “non-recipes, recipes.”  Goat cheese tomato toast sounds so simple, but when you use fresh summer tomatoes and good bread, this is something you’ll end up dreaming about.  I used heirloom tomatoes, which I think have a deeper, more complex flavor, but fresh on-the vine tomatoes would work great as well.  The sweetness of the tomatoes, creaminess of the goat cheese, crunchy-ness of the toast, all topped with olive oil, sea salt, and pepper make the perfect combination.

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