Tomatoes

August 30, 2007

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This is What 50 Pounds of Tomatoes Looks Like

Because I woke up this morning and said to myself, “Self, you do not have enough tomatoes. Must. Get. More. Between the bowls in the fridge, the bowls on the counter, the bowl that was just roasted, the bowl that was oven-dried, and the tomatoes still in the garden what you really need right now is another 50 odd pounds. Give or take a few. Mostly give.”

Okay, that’s a lie. The real story is that I ordered these from the Sosnickis at the Farmer’s Market two weeks ago in a moment of weakness (aka insanity). I was only going to order 25 pounds but then I saw in the order book that my friend Jen had ordered 50 pounds so I figured if she was going to jump off a bridge into a lake of ripe, organic, roma tomatoes then so was I, damn it! And so I did. My order came in today.

Send help.

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August 28, 2007

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Is There Anything Else?

And earlier this evening we enjoyed Homemade Oven-roasted Heirloom Tomato Soup.

How To:

It’s so simple you’ll be asking yourself why you didn’t make it before. Cook longer in the oven or heat it up afterwards in a pot and you’ve got sauce good enough for pastas and pizza. The only difference is the thickness of the liquid.

1. Pop a bunch of tomatoes in a pan with some fresh basil, salt, and a drizzle of olive oil. Apply a little balsamic vinegar or throw in a few garlic cloves if you think you can handle it.

2. Roast on a high temperature (around 400 F) until the tomatoes are cooked and swimming in their own juices (about 30-40 minutes).

3. Work those delicious, juicy tomatoes through a food mill to separate the seeds and skins from the good stuff. Take advantage of the fact that no one seems to want these awesome, old-school contraptions anymore what with all the new-fangled electric gadgets available. I got mine for 5 bucks at a yard sale. I got my friend one too.

4. Add some salt and pepper to taste. I sprinkled some freshly grated Parmesan cheese on top and served with a piece of toasted rosemary bread from the market. Take that Campbell’s!

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August 26, 2007

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From Out of a Crack… Behold, a Tomato

Whomever says tomatoes can not and should not be grown in pots has not witnessed some of the surprising discoveries I have made over the years. While out biking yesterday afternoon, I happened upon this fully mature, volunteer cherry tomato growing up from the dusty earth beneath a pile of discarded parking lot blocks. I was on the ball enough to stop and snap a few photos but realize in hindsight that I have got to go back and collect a few fruits for seed-saving. Because a tomato plant that can make it there, especially in the middle of what some are calling “the worst drought in Toronto in 50 years” can surely make it in a pot of soil. Never mind if that pot of soil is tended and watered now and again. A pot would be like moving into a full-service luxury spa complete with Swedish seaweed serum treatments, warm sage-infused towels, and full-body herbal body wraps after that kind of hard-living, right?

I love a lush, abundant garden as much as the next but I think the plants that best capture my respect and inspire the greatest sense of awe are those that are resilient and remarkably determined.

Related:

Broad Ripple Yellow Currant – One of my favourite heirloom varieties because of their delicate, golden translucency and their dramatic risen-from-a-sidewalk-crack back-story. Who can resist a plant with a history of triumph over adversity? Not me, sappy sucker that I am.
Secret Gardens – An alley tomato farm discovery that has become a perennial favourite and a great source of inspiration.

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August 13, 2007

9 Comments

Easily Amused

The bottoms of all of the ‘Purple Calabash’ tomatoes are so bumpy and misshapen that they are morphing into cartoonish grumpy old man faces as they ripen and mature. Today a friend remarked that we are so programmed to accept perfectly smooth-shaped produce that people often refer to lumpy heirloom tomato varieties as “ugly.” We both agreed that it is their irregularity that makes them so beautiful much in the way that I can study the portrait of a grumpy old man’s face for hours because there is so much to see in every crease, bump, and scar.

Maybe tomatoes are not the best produce to illustrate my point because when push comes to shove I like most tomatoes, smooth, bumpy, pink, purple, or otherwise. I suppose it’s just that within a sea of uniformity unusual shapes and colors are fascinating. They taste better too! And maybe I grew up with enough of a certain kind of pop culture influencing my sense of taste that I just can’t resist the charm of anthropomorphic produce.

Today I traded some garlic and tomatoes from my garden for two tomatoes: a ‘Paul Robeson’ and an ‘Aunt Ginny’s.’ Another round of tomato testing is in order.

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August 10, 2007

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Poised to Be the Best Tomato Harvest Yet

Aside from several handfuls of ‘Whippersnapper’ tomatoes that started ripening over a month ago there have been tomatoes here and there but not in the numbers we’re starting to see on the roof and over at the community garden plot. Despite a tray-full like this I am still eying clusters of green tomatoes dripping off the vines at the garden plot, willing them to ripen faster. I’m anxious to reach that point where the tomatoes are so abundant that we’re nearly drowning in them.

You would not believe how monstrous and prolific the ‘Zapotec Pink Pleated’ plants are! It’s been hard work keeping the plants pruned and staked. The minute I turn my back there is another fruit-laden branch flopping over and threatening to break off.