The Small Town Chef

Big flavor, easy prep—homemade Shawarma done right! Who doesn’t love delicious street food? Every culture has one—the kind of food you grab with your hands, packed with bold flavors, and meant to be enjoyed fresh and hot. One of my favorites? Chicken shawarma. Perfectly spiced, juicy, crispy-edged chicken, wrapped in warm pita, or not. Drizzled with garlicky sauce, and served over a delicious rice pilaf. Or stuffed into a soft, warm pita with crunchy veggies. Pure comfort food that’s also ridiculously easy to make at home. Let’s be real: restaurant and food truck shawarma is amazing, but when you make it yourself, you control everything—how spicy, how crispy, how saucy. Plus, it's perfect for feeding a crowd and incredibly budget-friendly. The secret? Chicken thighs. Why chicken thighs? Because they’re packed with flavor, stay juicy no matter what, and have just the right amount of fat to crisp up beautifully. Unlike chicken breasts, which can dry out if you so much as look at them...

Because you can’t eat all of them in salads. Every summer it happens—I get overly excited planting tomatoes, and by August my kitchen counters are buried in bowls of grape and cherry tomatoes. You can only make so many salads, right? That’s when I lean into recipes that transform tomatoes into something totally new, like this Roasted Grape Tomato Ketchup.   This isn’t your standard squeeze-bottle ketchup. It’s smoky, savory, and a little tangy, with a whisper of anchovy for depth (don’t worry, no one will know—it just adds magic). Roasted garlic, caramelized sweet onion, and a splash of white balsamic make it sweet-savory in the best way. This ketchup is just as happy dressing up fries as it is spooned onto a burger, and it even plays nice with cheese boards.   So, if you’ve got too many grape tomatoes and not enough ideas, this is your answer. Recipe: Roasted Grape Tomato Ketchup Ingredients: 2 lbs grape tomatoes 1 large sweet onion, peeled and quartered 1 small head garlic ...

Summer’s best, saved for later By August, my grape tomato plant doesn’t just grow — it takes over. Five feet high, five feet wide, climbing the trellis like it’s auditioning for a jungle. Which means I’m swimming in tomatoes, the sweetest little jewels of the season. When they start piling up, this recipe is my go-to. Roast the tomatoes with garlic, olive oil, and thyme until they’re jammy and caramelized. Blend or mash them into a rustic puree, then spoon over fresh mozzarella slices and finish  with a drizzle of balsamic glaze  and fresh basil. Serve it with crackers or grilled bread, and you’ve got a breezy, delicious, unfussy appetizer that’s pure summer entertaining.   But here’s the magic: roast extra. Tuck the puree away in the freezer, and when the days are short and gray, pull it out. Warm it up. Spread it over mozzarella or burrata, garnish with fresh basil, and suddenly you’ve got a back-pocket winter recipe that tastes like a warm evening on the patio.   ...