Cherry tomatoes with honey and feta

We needed a cocktail snack last week and these feta-stuffed tomatoes (below) did the trick. Choose red cherry tomatoes for this, or a mix of colors, or the beautiful marbleized Indigo Rose cherries from Silverbrook (which, by the way, look stunning paired with purple basil.)  Get yourself an E&T honey stick to use as a miniature squeeze bottle, or use a squeezable E&T honey bear. Pinch out some tiny leaves from a bunch or pot of fresh tomato-loving herbs like basil or oregano. For the cheese filling, we used Mermaid Farms’ feta from the Farm Institute table. It’s sold as a cake floating in a tub of salt-water, so slice off what you need and dry it before use.

Cherry tomatoes with honey and feta
12 cherry tomatoes, halved
3-4 Tbs. drained, crumbled Mermaid Farm creamy feta cheese
1 tsp. or so olive oil
1 honey stick from E&T, or honey from an E&T honey bear
salt and freshly-ground pepper
3 pitted Kalamata olives (from the farm-friendly Windfall Market, for instance)
small fresh leaves of green or purple basil, tiny thyme sprig, oregano or marjoram

Halve cherry tomatoes and scoop out seeds. Salt insides very lightly and turn cut-side down on a paper towel to drain. Meanwhile let feta cheese come round to room temperature, mash with a fork and work in olive oil. The cheese should hold together. Halve each Kalamata olive and cut each half lengthways into four or more slivers.

Pat tomatoes dry. Snip open a honey stick (or use a honey-bear as a squeeze tube.)  Squeeze a dot of honey into each tomato cup. Fill each one with a dab of creamy feta cheese. Grind over black pepper. Poke a sliver of olive into each one. Poke in a small leaf of basil, or tiny sprig of fresh thyme, or a fresh oregano or marjoram leaf. Serve as a cocktail snack or casual appetizer with a glass of wine before dinner. For 4-6.

Variation: fill cherry tomatoes with a dot of honey, feta, and top with a dot of fiery Singe-Sations jalapeno spread.