tomatoes

Blendtec and Tomatoes. A Heavenly Match

September 24, 2013

This post takes the cake for all-time fastest tomato preserving.

Well, crap. Now that I think of it, there was the year I simply put entire tomatoes in the freezer whole… I guess that was faster. But this version actually qualifies as tomato puree, so I’m going with it.

As anyone who lives in the Midwest knows, it has been a bizarre gardening year. B I Z A R R E. Flood, Frost, Flame, F___ (don’t tempt me. I’m very bad at alliteration.) For example, I finally started harvesting tomatoes in September. While Bon Appetite and every other cooking-with-the-seasons resource is on to their fall recipes, Minnesota BEGINS to harvest the summer staples. I made my first gazpacho on September 5th. Who wants gazpacho in September?

Apparently, WE do! Because at that point on the calendar, I believe we topped out around 97 degrees. Like I said: crazy weather. Approximately 10 days later I experienced my first frost completely out of the blue. I had not one single clue that was even on the horizon, much less imminent. Nothing was killed — or at least nothing I really cared about.

But the early September heat wave certainly stimulated the tomato harvest, and for that I think most of us are grateful. It was also extremely needed for my raspberries and pumpkin patch, both of which seem to have caught up to where they need to be in order to be able to have successful harvests.

Maybe it’s my age — or maybe it’s because EVERYONE is now gardening, canning, preserving — but something seems to have made me apathetic. -And if I don’t want to do it, well then, at this point in my life I’m NOT going to do it, dammit. But the tomatoes. THE TOMATOES! They are rolling off vines knocking us over. Too many. And as apathetic as I might be, I still can’t seem to be able to wast them.

So I got to wondering: I wonder… I wonder… if I can just puree the whole tomatoes in the Blendtec and freeze them? [google. google. google…not much to be found…] So I just did it. And let me tell you: it was FAST and it was EASY and I’m THRILLED. Isn’t that all that counts?

I started by cutting them and ended by pulling the green stem off and throwing them in whole. Duh. I forget: the Blendtec can blend wood…

Yum! (looks more like MANGO than tomato!)

Then I measured 2 cups into small sandwich size and 1 cup into snack size ziploc bags.

And put the smaller bags inside a gallon sized freezer bag and laid flat to freeze.

All in, it took about 20 minutes. Stay tuned for how well it cooks up. I will try that soon, before I make buckets more of the stuff and update here.

How much of a good thing is too much?

August 12, 2011

Garden Tomatoes.

Can you ever have too many?

Yes and no, is what I say. Yes, if you are buried under mounds of work and untended-to yard and garden chores. No, if you have all the time in the world. Like my kids seem to have…

nevermind.

I am told it is a bad year for tomatoes in these parts. In my little corner of the world, it isn’t so bad. Better than last year for sure, but not as good a a few years ago.

I think all the rain — records smashed here in Minnesota– has made them get the blight sooner for most people, though not for me. I struggle with that particular problem every year, no matter where I plant them, what they are mulched with, or how much rain we get. Blight just seems to be my lot in life.

I accept that.

Right now though, I’ve got tomatoes coming out my ears. I picked a full bowl yesterday.

And left at least that many more on the vine. Making salsa is out of the question. I have no time. Hopefully I will soon, but even if I did have the time, there is something about preserving garden surplus that just doesn’t sit well with me in August.

Why is that? The most I seem to be able to do is chop and freeze. Or, on a really good day, roast, puree and freeze.

One thing I meant to write about earlier in the season was the strange way the plants were sold by the nursery this year. I bought them from a different place than usual since I was so behind schedule and had to pick them up when I could find them. Sadly, I had no time for a special trip to my local grower. I found my main-stay Brandywine in a fairly large sized pot while shopping for flowers and bought two pots. Oddly, this nursery had allowed several seedlings in the same pot to grow. So instead of having one sturdy seedling, there were about six. My understanding has always been that this is a huge no-no, so I asked one of the people at the nursery and they said not to pinch any back, but to let them all grow. I’m still not sure if they knew what they were talking about, but at the very least, because I also planted a pot with a only single seedling, it would prove to be a fun experiment.

With pretty much no conclusion.

At this stage in the game, when compared to my single-seedling plants there isn’t much difference. I can’t even say for sure if the multi-seedling plants were more susceptible to the blight or not. That was my hunch, but I would guess, from looking at them planted all together, that blight damage is more a factor of proximity to another blight-damaged plant than to multiple seedlings in a single planting.

This is a very boring post, isn’t it.

Anyway, getting back to the title, “how much is too much”, it really didn’t refer to the harvest. It pointed back to the eating. How much is too much?

Is this too much?

Because that was my lunch yesterday. I decided to eat the split tomatoes before the fruit flies (curiously absent so far this year) found the leaking fruits. But there were three (!) split tomatoes.

So I ate them all.

Is that too much?

Is that gluttony?

I tempered it with some fresh moz. I love fresh mozzarella. Sometimes I think the tomatoes are just an excuse.

I also heaped the rest of my quinoa salad on the side. Which I thought I had already posted here, but I apparently did not. Or did I? I can’t find it. Can anyone help me resolve this burning question?

Anyway, this salad is SO GOOD! Make some today or as soon as the temperature starts to melt you. It keeps in the fridge for about 3 weeks.

I’m kidding. Not three weeks. More like 1 or 2. Just smell it for gawd sake. Everyone is so flipping freaked about about things going bad! Just SMELL IT! If there isn’t anything funky growing on it and smells the same, eat it and stop being so paranoid. I’m still alive. That should give you some confidence.

Or not.

Quinoa Salad with Fresh Anything

2 cups quinoa, rinsed (skip the rinse if you are lazy like me)
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup fresh-squeezed lemon juice (more or less to taste)
1/4 cup olive oil
various fresh veggies diced: onion, cucumber, tomato, sugar snap peas, asparagus, sweet peppers, fresh raw corn, etc.
2T chopped fresh herbs: any combo or single addition of basil, mint, cilantro.

In a medium saucepan, add a film of olive oil and toast quinoa over medium heat for about 5 minutes it starts to smell good. Again, if you are über lazy, you may skip this step. It just adds a dimension to the flavor. Add 3 cups of water and 2t salt to pan and bring to a boil, then turn to low, cover and simmer about 12-15 minutes. Fluff and cool.

In a large bowl, whisk lemon juice and olive oil together. Add add quinoa and diced veggies. Stir in chopped herbs. Salt and pepper to taste. A stunning additions is — of course — diced, fresh mozzarella. Another thing I tried was left-over strips of warm flank steak. It was yum!

How I Spent My Birthday

May 30, 2011

(the most important day of the year.)

We, in Minnesota, are in the midst of about the worst Spring ever. Rain, snow, frost, wind and more rain. It hasn’t been the best environment to garden in.

It. Has. Been. Dismal.

But on the most important day of the year, the sun shone. All day.

And I planted almost the whole garden. On May 25th, all I had in the garden was rhubarb (perennial), asparagus (perennial), garlic and shallots (planted last year), and onions (planted in early April).

And by the end of the day on May 26th, I had added tomatoes, perppers, beans, peas, edamame, cucumbers, corn, zucchini, all my potted herbs, zinnias.

I was tired, sunburned and princess for a day.

I love my birthday!

First I planted my herbs that wintered in the barn all winter.

The sage is so pretty!

The rosemary is a little worse for the wear, but will rebound fine, I’m sure.

Next, I went after that damn, damn “non-invasive” ginger mint.

You might remember that from last year and the year before, when I attempted to dig it out. Over and over. This year, I started with Round-Up. And after two applications, it’s still doing just fine. So I took out the big guns: Round-Up Poison Ivy and Tough Brush Killer. Somehow, I’m not optimistic. But stay tuned for an update in a few weeks.

And speaking of invasive, though on a much cuter level, we visit the ever-burgeoning Johnny Jump-Up population. Which, as predicted last April, has exponentially increased in number. But I didn’t Round-Up them. I probably should have. But I didn’t.

Instead, I dug them all out and placed them inside my round trellis. (All except one, that is.) Something tells me I’ll rue this day.

Needing refreshment, I decided to run up to the house for a drink and came upon Lola, with the door wide open. She apparently wanted a fresh drink too, and let herself in. Then decided to bask in the sun a bit.

Well, hello Lola. You bad dog!

And who is this, lurking among the garlic?

Why, it’s my psychotic rooster, Senor. He has finally figured out he is free.

And our lives may never be the same again. He is scary as Hell. And while he never attacked me all day, he did attack Dave when he got home with a delicious picnic lunch for my birthday! I have a video of it happening. It’s hilarious.

It was a great day. I was so grateful to be able to work outside. Then I had to pack it up and head off to a soccer game. Which isn’t how I’d voluntarily spend my birthday, given the choice. But that’s just the way it is sometimes, kids. And when that happens, I have to act like like a grown-up and not complain. (too much.)

We went out for a late bite at a Mexican spot the next town over. And had Boston cream pie for dessert at home! Like I said, it was a great day.

I should note that the temperature dropped steadily all night and was 34 degrees when I woke up. Looking out the window, I saw what looked an awful lot like frost on the roof of the barn.

Huh. Imagine that.

Meatless Monday Catch-Up

September 20, 2010

Meatless Mondays 28 – 38.

I know you all just think I fell off the Meatless Monday wagon. That I am too ashamed to even admit it.

But you are wrong.

We’re still doing Meatless Monday. I just haven’t been writing about it. There are several reasons why:

They have been lame.
They have been lame.
And, they have been lame.

Remember when I said I wanted to do no repeaters?

Fail.

Remember when I said having plain noodles or rice was a cop-out and I wouldn’t do it?

I’m a hypocrite.

Remember when I said we’d — all of us — be eating Meatless Monday together, even if it wasn’t on a Monday?

I was on drugs.

But I’m a stubborn one. I’m not giving up. Just yesterday, I was busy stewing up a Meatless Monday enchilada recipe for dinner to be made with my freshly made green tomato sauce.

This isn’t tomato sauce made with unripe, green tomatoes.

Rather, it is made with the variety of tomato (Green Zebra and Green Grape in this instance) that is green when it is ripe:

A delicious, delicious variety. Probably one of my favorites.

And one that should never, ever be made into tomato sauce.

And yet I did, because what the hell else am I going to do with two buckets full of them? They’ll rot before we can eat them with fresh mozzarella. Not to mention that if I ate that much mozzarella, I would start to look like a log of the stuff myself.

What to make with green tomato sauce, what to make with green tomato sauce…

Green enchiladas! Yes! (I mean, that would look OK, right? Sort of like salsa verde??)

What to add, what to add…

Those extra frozen red beans from the batch I made in June!

And it was all downhill from there. The red beans had big chunks of chorizo that I had forgotten about, wrecking my Meatless Monday plans (yeah, I know it was Sunday, just go with me here). The addition made the sauce a sick orangish color that looked like vomit. So I figured, what the heck, I’ll add some of these chicken legs… The very legs that had been holding up one of my roosters up about three hours before.

And I sat there stirring that ungodly brew, sort of crying about those stupid roosters and thinking of becoming a full-time vegetarian.

Seriously. There is nothing like butchering your own meat to push you over the edge.

Wait. That isn’t accurate. I’m sounding way too cool. You are probably thinking, “Wow. She killed them herself?” No, no, no. I’m a ninny. I always think I can do it, but I actually can’t. It’s happened several times out here. Me thinking I can kill any number of varmints. But I never can.

I do hunt upland birds, but I think I can do that because there is always the chance I will miss them. A good chance. It’s certainly never a sure thing.

Going into the coop, where I have fussed and carried on to keep the chickens safe and not afraid of me. To go in grab them and kill them? Nope. Sorry. No can do.

That’s what dads are for.

My dad.

It was the nicest thing he’s ever done for me. I know it was hard for him because he babies my chickens even more than me. He offered to help since he had the time. I knew he didn’t really want to do it and yet I let him do the whole dang thing. Dave was finally obligated to help him once he realized it was really happening. He didn’t want to look like a ninny, either. But the truth is, no one really wanted to do the deed, Dave included.

And I hid in the kitchen wringing my hands.

What a weenie.

I did do a brave thing later on. I actually cooked a couple of the legs.

And it made me sad. I’m not going vegetarian, but it does seriously make you consider every bite.

Every dang bite of every morsel of chicken. You gettin’ my drift? Chewing chicken has never been so hard…

So, for Meatless Monday tonight I had this:

It might have been the best one ever: Blue cheese on triscuts with red wine. Just me and my blue cheese with a book and some wine.

Meatless Monday suddenly took a turn for the better.

Will the Real First-Tomato-of-the-Season Please Stand Up

August 2, 2010

I feel like a loser. July 23rd and my first tomato of the season.

Maybe that’s not so bad. I think I was waiting into August one year… But who really knows for sure. I’d share my “garden journal” with you, but I’m too lazy to scan it. Suffice to say, it is hardly conclusive. It contains things like:

First mosquito bite of the season 4/17
5/03: Cold wet and windy
Notes from ’04: Chickens ate and pecked everything

And other profound and critical bits of information.

This year, if you remember, I got my plants again from a local grower. They were not quite as stunning as in year’s past, but were every bit as intriguing: Blackcherry, Roman Candle, Green Grape, Potato Leaf, Green Zebra (old standby), Jubiliee, Greensilver, and… if I didn’t plant a Brandywine, I will be ticked off! Did I not plant a Brandywine??!

July 26th (the day I am writing this) is hardly the time to realize I forgot to plant my favorite tomato. Let’s table that discussion for now.

I finally picked a red tomato. It was the Blackcherry, which isn’t a CHERRY tomato at all:

I guess it’s hard to tell the size of these. They fit into the palm of your hand — exactly the size of a Grade A Extra Large Egg. And very pretty.

I’m excited for these to ripen, too. They’re called Roman Candle

I’m very vexed by this one, called Green Silver:

It’s all flopped over and too heavy for itself. Stunted, floppy, lame. Plus, an unripe tomato fell off it and rotted already. Bad Juju.

In general, I’m not too happy with the tomatoes this year. For all the hot weather we’ve had, it seems to me they should be bigger and more laden with fruit.

And, I’m not surprised at all to find the beginning of blight, with all the rain we’ve gotten. Inches and inches and inches of rain. Rain splatters the leaves with the dirt and causes leaf disease. From my perspective, life is too short to go through all the steps necessary to prevent blight. Believe me, I’ve tried.

You can remove the affected stems, but — trust me — it won’t stop the spread. It might slow it, but it won’t stop it. Some varieties are more susceptible. I don’t use chemicals, so I just live with it. Embrace the blight, I say. And leave it at that.

I am looking forward to gorging myself on tomatoes. Tomatoes with basil. Tomatoes with basil and fresh mozzarella. Tomatoes with basil and fresh mozzarella and avocado. Tomatoes with basil and fresh mozzarella and avocado and olive oil. Notice the increase in fat with each sentence? Only the last one reaches the true epiphany.

Feed me that (with balsamic vinegar, of course) and I will die happy.

The Earliest Ripe Tomatoes

June 11, 2010

Step-By-Step Instructions

You can read all about Wall-O-Water mini greenhouses, early tomato varieties, special fertilization methods and countless other ways to get the jump on your garden tomato season and try to implement them with varying degrees of success depending on the weather and rainfall in your area. Or, you can follow my easy, step-by-step instructions for the earliest garden tomatoes right here. It’s your choice.

This is the easiest, fastest (by about 2 months!), and foolproof method. It’s a little like scoring a deal on a cute pair of shoes from Target: you might not want to tell anyone how you did it, but you’ll feel a little guilty if you don’t. That’s my disclosure.

Are you ready?

1) Buy a medium to large tomato plant from a nursery with tomatoes already growing on the plant. Frankly, I don’t think these plants transplant very well, nor do I think they thrive in the garden as well as smaller plants, but don’t worry, because that won’t matter. I bought my beautiful plant in an 8″ pot for only $6.95.

2) Protect your plant from the elements and very gradually harden it off to sunlight and wind. This is important! You don’t want your plant to be stressed when you plant it outside! Most nursery tomato plants have been grown under glass or plastic. Moving them outside into direct sunlight (and even a little wind) can stunt the plant’s growth.

3) Once your plant is hardened off, place it in a protected area of your garden until you are ready to plant it with the rest of your tomato plants.

4) On planting day — this is important — forget to plant your large and pampered tomato plant. In order to get the most ripe tomatoes in the fastest amount of time, also forget to water the plant for approximately 4 days. It is helpful if these four days are also hot and sunny.

5) Wait 7 days.

6) Harvest red ripe tomatoes and brag to neighbors and friends.*

*Disclaimer: This article neither defends nor denies the use of artificial growing methods. Due to challenged diameters, tomatoes are a potential choking hazard for children under 6. Tomatoes are part of the nightshade family; vines are toxic to humans and animals. Methodology is not intended to be a long-term growing strategy nor does it survive cost benefit analysis.

Meatless Monday Fourteen!

April 16, 2010

Linguine with Tomatoes & Shrimp (for lack of a better name)

Disclaimer: Recipe adapted from Pioneer Woman’s Penne Pasta a la Betsy.

Why didn’t I just make it easy on myself and duplicate Pioneer Woman’s no-doubt delicious recipe? Well, for one — and you should know this by now — I didn’t have at least one main ingredient (penne). But there are a host of other reasons, as well:

I have yet to find a PW recipe that doesn’t call for a cup of cream, and I’m still recovering from the last PW recipe which involved a cup of cream and a stick of butter combined with a gaggle of blue cheese, served over a grilled steak. Honestly? Fatty thought she was going to die.
I wanted to use a fresh tomato
I hadn’t committed to any particular recipe when I started cooking the pasta. (No, I have not learned my lesson yet from Meatless Mondays One and Thirteen.)

Another reason was that I didn’t have any shrimp. Or at least I didn’t think I had any shrimp. I had thoughts of making a pasta with just tomatoes, at first. Then, in the middle of cooking, it just seemed so blah. “I wish I had some shrimp,” thought I. So I threw some boots on and ran up to the loft (the studio apartment above our barn where my parents live when they are in town).

Lo and behold, a brand new bag of frozen ready-to-cook shrimp. Thanks Dad! (I’m pretty sure he did not know about this until now.)

So it became Pasta with Tomatoes and Shrimp.

It was good.

We dined on it almost a week ago. So why so late with the post? I lost my USB SD card reader, I’ve been in meetings all week, wrote this days ago, didn’t have a photo, heated some leftovers up on the way to a 50th birthday lunch (no, not for me!) today and am racing to get it up before the end of the day.

Recipe?

Basically, it went like this…

Saute 3 cloves Garlic in olive oil and butter (less than half of what PW uses)
add about 20 medium shrimp to garlic and flash fry over high heat about a minute. Remove and chop shrimp
cook a box of linguine in salty water
Add a bit more olive oil to same pan you cooked the shrimp in, add another clove of garlic, saute.
Sauté about 1 cup chopped onion until translucent
Add 1/2 c white wine and bubble a few minutes over medium heat.
Add 1 chopped tomato, saute a few minutes
Add 1 8 oz can Tomato Sauce
Add 1 T dried oregano
Add 1 T dried basil
Add 1 t red pepper flakes
Salt and Pepper to taste, simmer
Then finish with 1/2 c half and half
Heat to simmer and stir in shrimp
Then stir in drained noodles
Top with toasted pine nuts and good grated pecorino cheese.

What? Why Pecorino cheese?

Because I’m so cheap that that’s what I bought last time at Costco instead of the Parmesan, which was more than double the price. It is simply delicious. It is multi-tasking cheese. And I appreciate that.

Pioneer Woman’s looks way better than mine. It probably tastes way better than mine, too–how can it not with all that cream and butter? Take a look and judge for yourself:

pasta betsy 150

I call a do-over.