Greetings <<First Name>>
Are you getting into the grove of the summer bounty? Tomatoes just keep on rolling in! We've been putting up canned or frozen goods when we can on the weekend. I know everyone is busy in August - its almost back to school, and many of you are trying to squeeze in a vacation before September. So I wanted to spend some time talking about how to deal with all of the vegetables!
A lot of what is coming in your shares can be divided into, "eat soon", "it'll hold", "freeze it for later" or pesto! Lettuce and other greens I lump into eat it soon, they can hold or be freshened up in water but it saves work to just eat them up by the weekend. Items like squash & cucumbers can really hold well in your crisper. If you know your going to be out of town for a couple of days, put them in plastic to increase moisture retention.
Tomatoes - they fall under all three categories. Some are perfectly ripe and should be used up, some need a day or two on your counter to ripen up. Finally tomatoes freeze wonderfully. Don't get me wrong, canning tomatoes - stewed, sauce, salsa in its many forms is great too. But freezing tomatoes is such an easy way to deal with a handful of tomatoes that you know you don't have time for. Cut into medium to large pieces and place into a freezer bag. I prefer to fill the bag in one flat layer and lay flat into the freezer. This way you can easily break pieces off, and not need to defrost the whole bag later. Pull the tomatoes out this winter for some delicious sauces!
Other things like zucchini, and melons can be frozen too. I love making chocolate zucchini bread - but I don't have time in the summer! So I shred the squash in the Cuisinart in two cup amounts and pull it out in the fall and winter when I have time to bake. Melons are also wonderful blended and frozen or cut into chunks and frozen - makes for great smoothies and margaritas!
Below you will find a quick guide to what tomatoes are in your share this week. As the larger heirlooms come on in numbers, you will see some of our other varieties.
Thanks & Happy Eating!
Elisabeth & Steven
|
|
|
|
|
|
Heirloom Tomato Brandywine comes in many shapes and sizes!
|
|
|
|
A brandywine tomato, fresh off the vine.
|
|
|
|
Do you have a favorite tomato recipe? We'd really like to share your ideas and recipes - There are so many delicious ways to cook up your bounty of tomatoes! Send us an email - farm@kingshillfarm.com This is one of my favorites - it comes from Lidia Bastianich - Its tomato pesto! I heard her talk about this recipe on the radio and went home and made it immediately. It takes the word Pesto, or Pestato which means to pound or crush, making it any sauce you crush to release flavor. So crush it up! See it here & here
|
|
|
|
|
|
Check out this gorgeous tomato!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Roasted Tomatoes!
|
|
Roasted Tomato Sauce
This recipe comes to me from my Mom, via Martha Stewart. You can use either cherry tomatoes, plus some of your smaller 'saladett' tomatoes like the Jaune Flames. This is wonderful served as an appetizer with ricotta cheese smeared on toasted bread. Yum!
1 pound tomatoes
3 cloves garlic, smashed
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon basil minced
2 teaspoons packed light-brown sugar
1 teaspoon coarse salt
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Mix together tomatoes and garlic in a nonreactive 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Whisk together oil, vinegar, basil, brown sugar, and salt in a bowl. Drizzle over tomato mixture.
Bake until tomatoes are softened and caramelized, about 1 hour. Serve warm or at room temperature. Can also be tossed over pasta or served as a side dish. Enjoy!
|
|
|
|
|
|
Examples of the tomatoes you will see this week. Click here for a larger image.
|
|
Roasted Beet Salad with Oranges
Ingredients
3 medium beets with beet greens attached
1 large orange
1/2 sweet onion, cut through root end into thin wedges
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon fresh thyme
1/2 teaspoon grated orange peel
Directions
Preheat oven to 400°F. Trim greens from beets. Cut off and discard stems. Coarsely chop leaves and reserve. Wrap each beet in foil with a sprinkle of thyme. Place beets directly on oven rack and roast until tender when pierced with fork, about 1 hour 30 minutes. Cool. Peel beets, then cut each into 8 wedges or dice depending on your preference. Place beets in medium bowl. Cook beet greens in large saucepan of boiling water just until tender, about 2 minutes. Drain. Cool. Squeeze greens to remove excess moisture. Add greens to bowl with beets. Cut peel and white pith from orange. Working over another bowl and using small sharp knife, cut between membranes to release segments. Add orange segments and onion to bowl with beet mixture. Whisk vinegar, oil, garlic, and orange peel in small bowl to blend; add to beet mixture and toss to coat. You may have a little of the dressing left over, you don’t want the beets to swim in the dressing, just a good coating. Season with salt and pepper. Let stand at room temperature 1 hour. Serve. Use extra dressing in chopped romaine salad if romaine isn’t being saved for BLTs.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
