Tag: tomatoes

Home Grown Tomatoes

1 Comment

My delicious Black Cherry tomato plant got whacked by the hard freeze in January. I had it covered, but apparently without a heater, a warm quilt was no match for the three day cold snap. I sadly watched the first morning of the freeze as all the leaves on our plants took on a purple tint – a sure sign they were done.

I couldn’t find another Black Cherry, but I did find a Sweet Millions and another cherry variety at my favorite nursery. I wish I had a time lapse camera because these things grew over night. In 8 weeks, they went from seedlings to producing handfuls of fruit! And they are good. Really good. Like I don’t get any inside because I eat them as I water plants good. And our strawberries are going bonkers – it’s a good time to be hungry in the yard.

Cherries

IMG_4897Sweet Millions not quite ready yet

IMG_4902

I’m giving the roses credit for bringing the bees for the tomatoes

IMG_4903

Delicious strawberries

IMG_4901

Pinterest in Action

3 Comments

I found these lovely little appetizers on Pinterest and made them last weekend for a dinner party. The picture doesn’t show the final product, which was drizzled in olive oil and balsamic reduction, but it does the little beauties justice. In addition to adorable, they are delicious! Little basil leaves wrapped around mozzarella balls and grape tomatoes…bite sized caprese salad!

Oh, and I made the cake plate – more on that in a later post 😉

 

Home Grown Deliciousness

Leave a comment

Some of our tomatoes are finally ready! Peter surprised me with a little appetizer the other night made of yellow tomatoes, shallots, mozzarella cheese and fresh basil. The mixture was served both chilled and also toasted on sourdough – delicious!!

The yellow tomatoes are going crazy and the reds aren’t far behind

Fresh and Easy Tomato Sauce

1 Comment

I really dislike jarred tomato sauce – I think it has a funny taste no matter how much I mess with it. (There is a yiddish word that I want to use here and although I can say it, apparently I can’t spell it to even begin to look up how to actually spell it!). So I made up my own little sauce last night and it was delicious. It was approved by Peter by evidence of his second helping of dinner and actually eaten by Baylie so it must be a winner:

2 cans of diced tomatoes. I like the organic kind and without added salt if possible

20-30 basil leaves depending on size

1 tablespoon of sugar

2 diced cloves of garlic or about a tea-spoon of minced, jarred garlic (I think Safeway’s organic is the best)

some spices – oregano, “pasta sprinkle”, whatever sounds good and is on hand

salt and pepper

Saute the garlic in some olive oil. Add in the two cans of sauce and stir. Chiffonade the basil leaves and add them to the pot. Add in a dash of whatever spice sounds good (oregano is my favorite) and salt and pepper. Add in the sugar and stir. Let it simmer for a few minutes and then taste for more seasoning.

That’s it! It’s a thinner sauce but the fresh taste is great. Add in partially cooked pasta to soak up some of the juice and or turkey meatballs to warm in the sauce. Serve with garlic bread, as a sandwich, with pasta or by themselves. If you don’t have canned tomatoes or would prefer fresh – hull the fresh tomatoes and put them on a foil lined tray. Add some salt and olive oil and roast for approximately 45 minutes in the oven. Add all parts of the tomatoes to a sauce pan and then the same ingredients above.  Enjoy!