Back!
Back from vacation. It was a relaxing week of sleeping, reading, swimming and visiting a most-curious village.
I ate my first tomato sandwich of the year -- Oatnut bread, Hellman's mayo, and a Black Krim, which I can recommend highly. My first BLT was quite acceptable, what with the home-cured bacon. I used a Mortgage Lifter for that, which was good, but I can't say it lived up to the hype.
The garden weathered a nine-day period of 98+ high temps and no rain pretty well, thanks to my gardensitters, one of whom won the raffle prize of the first cantaloupe of the year -- I can't wait to hear how it was. When I got back this afternoon, I picked 7 pounds of tomatoes. Most of those were Principe Borghese, which will get dried in the oven in the next couple of days.
I also picked a Brandywine, a Persimmon (I think) and about 10 of our mystery black tomatoes. Oh, also three skinny white Asian eggplants and a late-breaking artichoke from the second plant that got a late start in the Fall.
And I just finished a dinner of penne with the aforementioned eggplant, a Costoluto Genovese, spinach, and homemade pancetta.
And this concludes my entry for the most-riveting-blog-post-of-the-year award.
I ate my first tomato sandwich of the year -- Oatnut bread, Hellman's mayo, and a Black Krim, which I can recommend highly. My first BLT was quite acceptable, what with the home-cured bacon. I used a Mortgage Lifter for that, which was good, but I can't say it lived up to the hype.
The garden weathered a nine-day period of 98+ high temps and no rain pretty well, thanks to my gardensitters, one of whom won the raffle prize of the first cantaloupe of the year -- I can't wait to hear how it was. When I got back this afternoon, I picked 7 pounds of tomatoes. Most of those were Principe Borghese, which will get dried in the oven in the next couple of days.
I also picked a Brandywine, a Persimmon (I think) and about 10 of our mystery black tomatoes. Oh, also three skinny white Asian eggplants and a late-breaking artichoke from the second plant that got a late start in the Fall.
And I just finished a dinner of penne with the aforementioned eggplant, a Costoluto Genovese, spinach, and homemade pancetta.
And this concludes my entry for the most-riveting-blog-post-of-the-year award.
posted by Kelly at
8:49 PM
5 Comments:
How do you decide which tomatoes to dry? How do you store them once you do?
Stacey,
Any tomato classified as paste, roma, or plum is generally good for drying because they're less juicy. They'll keep for a while in the refrigerator, but we also pack them in plastic containers and freeze them -- we were using last year's in sauce and pesto through about February this year.
We planted these Principe Borgheses specifically for drying, but they turned out to be a lot smaller than I expected. I might just opt for a hybrid roma next year. Since the drying concentrates the sweetness, they don't have to be anything special to begin with.
Your photo isriveting, Kelly - what a great crop so far!
No Costolutos or Principes here, but we have a steady supply of Juliets and a grand total of 3 Black Krims.
Annie at the Transplantable Rose
I'm really envious of that tomato crop. Do you completely dry them or just roast?
This is the first year my crop has failed because I was away when the leaf footeds came in. They have destroyed almost all. I think the deer are happy because that's where most are going.
Anyway I am hopeful that my second planting will produce a better fall crop.
I thought it was a no no to put toms. in the fridge. Don't they lose their flavor?
Jen
Annie -- Thanks! I've had one Black Krim so far and I think it my be my new favorite.
Jen -- I've been pretty vigilant with the soap spray on the leaf-footers this year, and I'm not seeing as many as usual. I must have killed a few dozen nymphs in the spring, so maybe I dented the population.
Putting fresh tomatoes in the fridge is bad, but I don't think it makes much difference when they're dry. I'll have a full post on drying soon.
Post a Comment
Links to this post:
Create a Link
<< Home