I AM CULTIVATING PATIENCE, THANKS TO MY TROUBLED TOMATOES, learning to wait between sadly small outbursts of red fruit. Even my quick red sauce—normally made in hasty batches that overflow two spaghetti pots at a time—is an exercise in restraint, more meditation than mass production. Once a staple I never thought twice about, this year the tomato seems like treasure, and I am treating each little harvest as such: chopping finer (above), simmering longer, taking time to thicken each batch, filling the house with what precious tomato vapor the forces of nature allowed. Grateful for what there is, I’m savoring every drop—especially today for Tomato Week, the final installment of our cross-blog Summer Fest 2009.
Even though I followed the rules (started seed carefully, then tended the plants correctly) things went wrong, and then wronger. You remember; many of you have suffered alongside me. Happily, my Summer Fest collaborators (mostly in areas where the harvest’s been better than here) have tomato stories of their own:
Matt Armendariz of Mattbites does tomatoes 10 ways. Really.
Paige Orloff of The Sister Project with tomato-carrot soup.
Marilyn Naron of Simmer Till Done with upside-down tomato-basil bread.
Shauna Ahern of Gluten Free Girl with sliced tomatoes and smoked-tomato salsa.
Diane and Todd of White on Rice Couple with tomato jam recipes.
Jaden Hair of Steamy Kitchen on Caprese salad with basil vinaigrette.
This year’s crop proves that nobody’s perfect (though everybody’s beautiful in his own way; that’s me, front right, above). I’ve got every shape and misshape of tomato going, and they’re all going into the pot.
My basic sauce is really basic: Lots of whole sautéed garlic cloves in a puddle of olive oil, quartered plum tomatoes (or chopped if time allows, as it does this year) with skins and seeds and all, plus basil and parsley. Like I said, I usually really rush this. Simmer covered till the ingredients are thoroughly cooked, then remove the lid to let the sauce thicken while bubbling on low a little longer. A timer reminds me to stir every 15 minutes throughout.
Some years, after the desired 40 or so containers of sauce are in the freezer, there are still lots of tomatoes left (those tubs are from last year’s haul, above; I only have seven containers so far for 2009). My tactics for such past years of plenty (or for a glut of green tomatoes):
- Pickles and Mincemeat: Giving up and pulling your plants, green fruit and all? Pickle any unblemished ones with the same Refrigerator Pickles recipe I use for cucumbers (or peppers). Or turn them into Green Tomato Mincemeat for pies, also good as a chutney.
- All-Purpose Tomato Junk: Blessed with a bumper crop, and can’t cook them fast enough? Freeze them whole in freezer bags for saucing another time, or make Tomato Junk (and use it later as the base for soups or stews).
- Another Martha Memory: When the tomatoes are dead-ripe and the herbs are plentiful, why even cook anything but the spaghetti? One of Martha’s most charming (and literally handmade) recipes ever was the one she dubbed “Spaghetti No-Knife,” where you make a “sauce” of torn-up tomatoes, basil and oregano; smash a few garlic cloves, and toss it all (raw) in olive oil, with hot red-pepper flakes, salt and pepper. To serve, simply boil up spaghetti, toss with the tomato mixture, and tear off small pieces of fresh mozzarella as a final ingredient. The precise recipe is on Martha’s site here, but you get the idea. Finger food.
Happy harvest to you, for better or for worse.
___________
HOW YOU CAN JOIN IN SUMMER FEST:
So now it’s your turn: Have a recipe or tip that fits any of our weekly themes? Starting with our posts of Tuesday, July 28, for four Tuesdays through today, you can contribute in various ways, big or small. Contribute a whole post, or a comment—whatever you wish. It’s meant to be fun, viral, fluid. No pressure, just delicious. The possibilities:
Simply leave your tip or recipe or favorite links in the comments below a Summer Fest post on my blog, and then go visit my collaborators and do the same.
The cross-blog event idea works best when you leave your recipe or favorite links (whether to your own blog or someone else’s) at all the host blogs. That way, they are likely to be seen by the widest audience. Everyone benefits, and some pretty great dialog starts simmering.
Or think bigger: Publish entire posts of your own, if you wish, and grab the juicy Summer Fest 2009 tomato badge (illustrated by Matt of Mattbites).
THE 2009 SCHEDULE:
- Tuesday, July 28: HERBS. Any and all; I did parsley, and readers added everything else.
- Tuesday, August 4: FRUITS FROM TREES (also known as stone fruits, but we won’t scream if you toss in a berry or another fruit, promise). My entry was a peach clafoutis.
- Tuesday, August 11: BEANS-AND-GREENS WEEK (either or both, your choice). My entry was here.
- Tuesday, August 18: TOMATO WEEK. How do you like them love apples?
And in case I forget what week it is, won’t somebody remind me on Twitter? Thanks. We’ll be talking it up there, too.
That’s how a Summer Fest works (and the way that Food Fest 2008 worked, too, remember?).
Welcome, Jennah. I am a skins-on girl but you are right: Boiling water makes the tomatoes shed their skins pretty easily. Thank you for the reminder. See you soon again, I hope.
Like you, I had some not-so-pretty tomatoes this year. Near the end, some of my tomatoes got “sunburned” and looked downright ugly, so all I could do was peel them.
I just did a “basics” post on my blog about “How to Peel and Seed Fresh Tomatoes”, so that’s my one and only entry into Summer Fest! http://formerchef.com/2009/08/20/how-to-peel-and-seed-fresh-tomatoes/
Welcome, Kristina. Seems like that will be a very useful tip for many of us, thank you. Glad to have you join us for the final installment…and hope to see you soon again, Summer Fest or no.
My first ever blog post. I feel kinda shy about it.
http://unfussyfare.com/2009/cherry-tomato-and-farro-salad/
Thanks for the celebration of tomatoes. My post this week was inspired by Nancy Silverton’s caprese from Pizzeria Mozza — roasted little tomatoes over creamy mozzarella, an explosion of tomato-ey goodness in your mouth. My recipe and photos are at http://www.kitchenelly.com/2009/08/roasted-tomato-caprese-served-warm/
I love to make an Heirloom Tomato Salad with Watermelon Sorbet and Pickled Watermelon Rind! The recipe and a photograph can be found here.
Welcome, Kelly. I could go for the “explosion of tomato-ey goodness in your mouth.” Sounds delightful; I have never roasted the fruits for a Caprese first, so thank you. Hope we see you soon again.
Welcome, Gillian. Glad you felt comfortable enough to show it off here. I love farro, so this sounds delicious to me…all those ancient grains are my kind of food. See you soon again I hope.
I made some tomato ketchup from our harvest:
http://whatscookingdad.com/homemade-tomato-ketchup/
As the tomatoes kept coming I had to try something else: tomato bread, which turned out better than I could have imagined!
http://whatscookingdad.com/tomato-bread/
Welcome, Cooking Dad. Tomato Bread, you say? Count me in. How delicious-sounding, and thank you for participating. See you soon again, I hope, with more good ideas.
Hi Miss Margaret
I just stumbled upon your site from a mention on Simmer Til Done. I’ve spent the last few hours going through your site finding answers to all my rookie gardening questions…too late for this my first year of gardening in earnest, but good stuff to know!
You know those little light colored channel-shaped blemishes on the tops of your tomatoes in your picture? Mine have those too. What are they? Bug holes? Eek.
Welcome, Ivy Manning. I think it’s some kind of what’s called “catfacing” from cool weather at flowering/pollination time, but not really sure. Some of the early fruits looked like that, that formed during the worst of the weather here. Not since. Glad you found me through Marilyn, whom I adore. See you soon again!
here is my latest – golden gazpacho.
http://www.cooking4carnivores.com/2009/08/golden-gazpacho.html#comments
Welcome, Cooking for Carnivores (great name!). The golden gazpacho looks delicious, thank you, and do stop by again soon.
that was really a basic tomato sauce but really yummy though. for a differnce i will give an indianised version of the tomato chutney which is really hot but heavenly. all you need is tomatoes, garlic and red chillies dried. saute garlic and red chillies in coconut oil. if it is not available olive oil would be fine. (coconut oil gives that extra flavour). add tomatoes and saute till the oil seperates and it has become a puree. let it cool for some time blend it in a blender to make a sauce.
Welcome, Grasshopper. I have never made a chutney like that; sounds great. Thank you for the inspiration for next tomato season. See you soon again!
I followed your recipe for tomato sauce but put the heavy pot in the oven at a low heat and did not worry about stirring
Brilliant, Jane. I must try that — and less chance of a mess if the pot bubbles over on the stovetop, which sometimes I have had happen, oops!