(simple) Heirloom Tomato Salad Recipe + 2 additional tomato recipes

I'm back with another quick and easy salad recipe! I recently went to a local farmers market with my mom and aunt and came back 5 pounds of beautiful, heirloom tomatoes (I am also working on another post about the other farmers market goodies so be on the lookout for that!). They were all super ripe and ready to go so I had to come up with some quick ways to prepare them. For this recipe I only ended up using one of the six tomatoes that I got because it was so HUGE! You could totally substitute multiple smaller Roma tomatoes, a pint of cherry tomatoes, or whatever else you have on hand. **Be sure to check out the two bonus tomato recipes at the bottom!**

 (simple) Heirloom Tomato Salad Recipe:
- 1 BIG tomato, or several smaller. This would also be great with cherry tomatoes
- 1 bunch of cilantro chopped (about 1/4 cup)
- 2 or 3 green onions chopped (about 1/4 cup)
- Half of a large avocado or a whole small one
- Season with salt and any other spices you like (such as cumin)
- Be grateful to your local farmers and ENJOY! :)

Tomatoes as big as yo face!!

Since I still had a lot of tomatoes left over I made a few other quick tomato meals including a SUPER easy "Gazpacho" and my take on Tabbouleh / Tabouli (sp?). Unfortunately I don't have a picture of the gazpacho but it was literally just diced up tomatoes with garlic and salt so you're not missing much. 

So to finish up the rest of the tomatoes I diced them all up in to smallish/medium sized chunks then placed them in a big bowl, making sure to get all the juices from the cutting board to the bowl. Since I had 5 pretty large tomatoes I'm estimating this ended up being about 5 or 6 cups once diced. I then added about 3 cloves of garlic, minced. This was the base for both the "Gazpacho" and Tabbouleh. After making the multi-purpose tomato 'Base' I just had to add a few finishing touches to achieve the two separate dishes. These recipes are below :) P.S. I only list the ingredients (not the method) because for both of these I literally just combined all the components in a large bowl and mixed - super simple!

 4 Ingredient "Gazpacho" Recipe:

- 1/2 of Tomato Base mentioned above, plus the majority of the liquid from this base (about 3 cups of diced tomatoes and 1.5 cloves minced garlic) -> I used all the liquid from the tomato base since I was going for a soup/gazpacho consistency, and my second recipe (the Tabbouleh) doesn't require any additional tomato juice or liquid

- 1/2 cup chopped parsley

- 1/2 to 1 tsp. coarse salt (depending on how salty you prefer it)

Fresh and Delicious Tabbouleh

- 1 cup (measured dry) of Freekeh or Bulgar cracked wheat (I like Freekeh because it sounds like FREAKY haha - the brand I used is Village Harvest Organic $10 for a 3 pound bag at Costco) >> combine with 2 and 1/4 cups of water and bring to boil, reduce to simmer, simmer covered for 12 mins, then remove from heat and let sit (still covered) while preparing other ingredients

- Remaining 1/2 of Tomato Base (about 3 cups of diced tomatoes and 1.5 cloves minced garlic)

- Juice of 2 Lemons (about 5 Tbsp - you can use less but I like it really lemony)

- 1 large Cucumber (I used the English / Hothouse variety b/c I prefer the thin skin and small seeds)

- 1 and 1/2 cup chopped Parsley (I know this sounds like a lot, but for good Tabbouleh you need it!)

- 2 Tbsp Olive Oil (this can be omitted if you want it to be oil free)

- Salt & Pepper to taste (about 1tsp pepper and 2 tsp salt)

- Optional: additional minced or granulated garlic for added flavor. A 1/4 cup of chopped Dill is another great addition!

How To: Cleaning Makeup Brushes!

Normally I "deep clean" my makeup brushes about once per month, this is when I wash the brushes with a mixture of either dish soap or hand soap and olive oil. I like using this combination because the soap is good for removing all the makeup residue and buildup, plus it helps get rid of any bacteria, while the olive oil keeps the brush bristles from becoming stripped and drying out too much. If you don't have olive oil on hand you could also use a moisturizing body wash. In the time between "deep cleans" I like to "spot clean" my brushes. For this I like to use MAC's Brush Cleanser ($15 for 8 oz) which I have transferred to a little spray bottle from Target. Having the cleanser in a spray bottle helps to evenly disperse the product and avoid using too much / wasting it. I just take a dirty brush, spritz it with cleanser a couple times on each side, then rub the brush back and forth and in circles on a clean wash cloth - adding more cleanser as needed - until the bristles are clean. Tip: if possible use a white washcloth so it is easy to tell when the brush is clean!

 Alright, now on to deep cleaning! Here's a (semi) quick step by step of the deep cleaning process (pictures below!): first I mix together the olive oil and soap using a bit more soap than oil (about 3 parts soap to 1 part olive oil) because otherwise the bristles will remain oily after drying, then dip your brush in the mixture and swirl it around, next run the brush under cool or warm water (not too hot or it can dry out the brush hairs) always making sure to keep the handle upwards and bristles angled down because if you get water too far up on the brush handle it can loosen the glue that holds the ferrule (the metal part which holds the brush hairs together and connects them to the base of the brush) to the handle - and your brush might fall apart! While rinsing the brush at a downward angle run the hairs back and forth over your palm - like you're painting your hand - to help remove any dirt, continue this process until the water from the brush runs clear and is no longer soapy or bubbly. Squeeze or shake out any excess water, then put on a brush guard! Brush guards are something I came across about a year ago at Walmart and have been loving them ever since, in addition to brush drying they are great for traveling you can find them here: on Amazon. To put the brush guard on: slide the plastic mesh on to the handle in first then pull it down over the brush hairs. Last, put the brush bristle side down in a cup or jar - this way any remaining water will drip downwards so the glue holding the brush together is not loosened by the moisture. If you are not able to find the brush guards or do not want to purchase them, you can also roll up a washcloth or small towel and prop the brushes on this to dry (with the handle on the rolled up cloth and the bristles pointing down), which I have done many times before I found the brush guards. Although this technique doesn't allow the brushes to dry completely upside down, it is definitely a good option for those who don't have access to brush guards.

Voila all done - now you're a brush cleaning pro! Hope you guys found this helpful :)

xoxo emma