Tomatoes - Part Two

I know this is going to sound weird, but the truth is that tomatoes are remarkably easy to grow – even at 6,000 feet elevation in Wyoming. Even with the wind. Even with the hail. I start them in the sun room in March along with the chilies, but you can buy tomatoes plants at a nursery. I like to start them myself because I can grow some heirloom varieties – big purple Cherokee, or Brandywine, or Black Krim, to name a few. I grow a few varieties that will ripen early and some that ripen late in the season. I grow cherry tomatoes – red, gold, or black (I didn’t like the black ones as well – they don’t produce as many as the red or especially the gold ones). Cherry tomatoes are amazingly prolific. They come on a few at a time –they are so sweet that they’re like growing candy in the garden – then you get an avalanche of cherry tomatoes until the first freeze.

I start the tomato seeds in peat pots and plant several in a pot. I thin them later. I’ve tried all sorts of different seed markers through the years and have yet to come up with a satisfactory way to mark each pot. The little plastic markers are great till I plant the tomatoes outside, then the writing disappears through the summer. They only help when I’m planting the tomatoes – I know which plants to plant together.

We have a lovely garden bed on the south side of the house. It’s probably a big factor in our success with tomatoes. It faces south, so it’s warm and it’s up against an exterior brick wall, which makes it warmer still. Walt built 6 different trellises out of PVC pipe  and construction wire – four of them are 8’ tall and two are 4’ tall. The tall trellises are on the ends – they are for the cherry tomatoes. The short ones are under a window – they are for the shorter varieties.

We compost this bed heavily and use drip irrigation because tomatoes like lots of water and lots of heat. They like being protected from the wind. They’re notoriously sensitive, but the truth is that if you give them half a chance, they actually do really well – even in our high altitude environment.

If you are limited for space and only have room for a planter – plant a tomato. Go to the nursery and buy a quick ripening variety. As it grows, stake it up and tie the plant to a stake. Plant some basil seeds around the rim of the planter. You’ll get enough tomatoes to enjoy fresh ones in late August with some fresh basil.

When the weather warms up around the first part of June, I plant the tomatoes – peat pot and all. That way, they don’t have too much transplant shock. I tie them up immediately on to the trellis as I plant them. Cheyenne has lots of wind in June and I want the tomatoes to put their energy into growing tomatoes, not trying to stay upright.

I keep them weeded, mulch with grass clippings to keep the weeds down and keep tying them up as the summer progresses. Some of the cherry tomatoes grow about 8’ tall and all the tomatoes need the support of being tied. We used to do tomato cages but the trellises work so much better, especially for the taller plants.

 

About mid-August, I prune. I cut off all the shoots and stems that have blossoms on them – not the main ones with tomatoes on them. There is not enough time by mid-August for those blossoms to make tomatoes and I want the plant’s energy to go to ripening tomatoes, not making more. By this time, we’re eating cherry tomatoes, but I still prune them where I can.

I pick the tomatoes as they ripen – at first a few, then enough to make  

Simple GARDEN Marinara Sauce

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 large onion, diced

5 garlic cloves, minced

2-3 small or 1 large zucchini, rough chopped

2-3 rough chopped carrots

2 tbsp. each chopped fresh parsley and basil

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 qts. fresh tomatoes, chopped

2 dried bay leaves

That's one of those big Cherokee purple tomatoes

Sauté the onions, carrot and garlic in olive oil until soft, about 7 minutes. Add the zucchini and sauté for another 1-2 minutes. Add bay leaves. Add the tomato, salt pepper, and the parsley and basil.

Let simmer for 1 - 1 1/2 hours, or longer depending on the variety of your tomatoes.

When finished simmering, remove bay leaves, and puree until smooth.

I love my immersion blender for just this reason!

Then I put them in 1 qt. Ziploc freezer bags; but I just freeze 2 cups in each bag.

Or this makes a richer tasting variation:

Roasted Marinara Sauce

Use above proportions. Cut all vegetables in 1” pieces. Slice garlic. Place all on baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast at 300°, stirring occasionally, about an hour or more or till very dark. Put in pot. Simmer till thick. Puree.

Or make salsa (see the salsa blog).

Although the weather pattern in Cheyenne has changed, we still get a threat of frost in mid-to late-September. If it’s just a threat and not a major weather change, we cover the trellises with sheets for the night. It looks like a visitation of ghosts, but protects the tomatoes (and chilies). Then we have another few weeks of summer-like weather to ripen the last of the tomatoes.

Last year, we picked about 150 pounds of tomatoes; almost that much this year. After making marinara and salsa, I freeze the rest. This is the easiest way to do tomatoes – much easier than bottling them. Just wash them well, cut off the stem end and any blemishes, and put them in freezer bags. That’s it.

Then when you take them out of the freezer to use in soups, stews, spaghetti sauce, or what have you, let them sit on the counter for 30 or 60 minutes. Run them under some warm water and the skins slip right off. While they are still partly frozen, I chop them up to add them to whatever I’m cooking. A quart Ziploc bag equals about a can of tomatoes.

Here are some other family favorites:

SPAGHETTI SAUCE

1 chopped onion    

1 chopped green pepper       

1 lb. ground meat        

½ lb. sliced mushrooms      

3 cloves garlic, minced      

1 (6 oz.) can tomato paste

1 can tomatoes, or bag of frozen tomatoes

1 tsp. beef bouillon

1 c. water (approx.)

½  tsp. rosemary

1 ½ tsp. basil   

Dash of cinnamon

Brown meat till crumbly, add onion and green pepper when meat is nearly done. Drain meat if necessary. Add all remaining ingredients except herbs and cinnamon. Bring to boil, simmer till thick (about 1 hour), add herbs and cinnamon. Simmer 20-30 minutes more. Stir occasionally.

Heirloom Tomato Soufflé with Mozzarella

2 tbs. finely grated parmesan

3 tbs. butter

3 tbs. flour

1 ¾ c. milk, warmed

½ tsp. sea salt

¼ tsp. freshly ground black pepper

Pinch of nutmeg

5 large eggs separated

1 tbs. pesto

2 c. chopped tomato

1 c. shredded mozzarella

Oven - 400°. Spray an 8 c. soufflé dish with Pam. Dust bottom and sides with parmesan.

Heat butter in large saucepan, stir in flour. Cook 3 minutes over medium heat stirring occasionally, till light beige in color. Whisk in warm milk. As mixture bubbles, stir in salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Remove from heat and cool slightly.

In small bowl, whisk together eggs and pesto. Stir into butter mixture with tomatoes and mozzarella. In separate bowl, beat egg whites with pinch of salt till stiff. Fold ¼ of whites into batter and mix gently but thoroughly to lighten the mixture. Fold in remaining whites very gently.

Pour into prepared soufflé dish. Lower temperature of oven to 375°, bake 35 minutes. Center of soufflé should be very slightly wobbly. Remove from oven, serve immediately. Center will still be molten. Serves 3-4

Savory Roasted Tomato Crumble

3 lbs. plum or Roma tomatoes, quartered

3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

3 sprigs fresh thyme

2 sprigs fresh rosemary

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

2 tbs. olive oil

Oven 300°. Spray roasting pan with cooking spray. Place tomatoes in pan, scatter garlic and herbs over. Season with salt and pepper, drizzle with oil. Cover and bake 1 ½ hours. Remove from oven; discard herbs, set aside to cool. Raise oven to 375°.

Topping:

¾ c. flour

½ c. butter

½ c. fresh bread crumbs

½ c. grated parmesan

¼ c. pine nuts

1 c. shredded mozzarella

In food processor, place flour, bread crumbs and parmesan. Add butter and pulse till pea-size bits. Add pine nuts and pulse for 2 seconds.

Spray a 9”x9” or 8x10” pan with cooking spray. Place tomato mixture in pan. Cover with crumb topping. Bake 45 minutes till golden brown. Remove from oven, turn on broiler, top crumble with mozzarella, broil 3-5 minutes. Cool slightly, and serve hot. Serves 4

I made some pesto the other day (I'll write about that later), spread the pesto on some crusty bread. Then I layered on some tomatoes and mozzarella and broiled it till the mozzarella melted.

 

 

Or you can spread the pesto on the bread and smother it in the marinara sauce.

You deserve this after doing all that cooking

 

 Tomatoes form the basis for countless delicious recipes, and the taste of homegrown tomatoes makes all the difference.