What do you do with frozen tomatoes?

Make tomato soup
Man, it's been cold here in Denver.  I returned from Seattle late Sunday, woke up to a 54 deg morning and by 10 am it had dropped to below freezing and it has been there for a week now.  I still had some tomatoes on the vine ripening but couldn't see them until Thursday because it was dark when I was home.  So out I went to the garden to see what was in the deep freeze:  Enough tomatoes and peppers to cry about.

tomatoes on ice

So what's a gardener and cook supposed to do ?   Make tomatoes soup:

Cream of tomato soup

one onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

frozen or really fresh or canned tomatoes- about 4 lbs

chicken stock, 2 cups

1 TBs pesto- or basil

salt, pepper

1 cup fresh goat's milk

Saute the tomato, then add the garlic, fresh basil or a frozen cube of pesto

Add the tomatoes 

Add the chicken stock

Cook on low heat for about 20 minutes

Puree in batches in a blender

Return to the stove and 

Add milk

Stir until the right temperature

cream of tomato soup with a dollop of goat yogurt and parsley

Add a grilled cheese sandwich on the side.  This lunch will warm you up when it is cold outside

Jack 

Next dish:  Green chili

Yes the peppers and tomatoes will be used for this dish.  Then the garden is officially closed for the 2014 season:

Poblano chilis

Finally tomatoes for 2014!

After 3 hailstorms in June and freezing temperatures last week with a three month very mild summer my tomatoes are finally able to eat.  A very poopy crop so far but I am grateful for any.  My favorite are the Cherokee purple.  The green ones are Green Zebras and the black shoulder smaller ones are Indigo Rose..... of course the chocolate cherries are delicious too.  I have enough to eat fresh every day with my fresh goat cheese.  Yum.  Soon I hope to have enough to share.  Happy late summer harvest!

Indigo rose tomatoes, originally uploaded by cabanagirl.

Gazpacho

Gazpacho, originally uploaded by cabanagirl.

What do you do when the snow falls before the garden is harvested? Make gazpacho!
Today was a cold day in Denver but with the quick harvesting I did a few days ago it was absolutely what I had to make for lunch. Gazpacho is a wonderful "fresh" soup made from the summer harvest of tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers. It is served cold and rarely can you stop with one serving.
Last week with the freeze I picked about 15 cucumbers 20 peppers and pounds and pounds of tomatoes. Instead of pouring tomato juice out of a can I used my food mill to extract the juice of my extra grape and cherry tomatoes. I used Ina Gartin's recipe (click here)
I hope you can make this on the last of your warm "summer" days.
Bon Appetit!

tomatoes, originally uploaded by cabanagirl.

grape tomatoes getting ready for ratatouille

Indigo rose tomato, originally uploaded by cabanagirl.

Yes these are tomatoes

What to do with your green tomatoes:

green tomatoes, originally uploaded by cabanagirl.

When the first winter storm was in the forecast I had plenty (more than 80 lbs) of unripened tomatoes. "Fry them" I heard. I tried fried green tomatoes years ago and even though everything fried tastes good it didn't even resemble a tomato in the end. So I asked every patient that sat in my chair if they were a gardener and if they answered "yes" my next question was "how do you ripen the green tomatoes?"
1. Wrap them in newspaper loosely in no more than 3 layers.
2. Place in a cardboard box and seal it up.
3. Store in a cool place.
4. Peek every 7-10 days
5. Cross your fingers.

This week in the garden

tomatoes, red grape, originally uploaded by cabanagirl.

It's beginning to look like the end of summer. last night the 98degree day was interrupted by a heavy downpour of rain and a quick switch to cool weather. I actually slept with my windows open for the first time in many months.
The wane of summer also is visible in the garden- finally the vegetables that take so long time to mature: winter squash, pumpkins, eggplant and my very favorite--TOMATOES. Dare I say my feathered girls like tomatoes too. I guess it's a fair exchange since I am getting 2 eggs a day now.
Also the sunflowers are towering over 9 feet in the air and are in full bloom. I get more and more zinnias and beautiful morning glories. I pulled up a few summer squash plants an harvested the blossoms. They will be stuffed with goat cheese by the end of the day.
This is going to be a gorgeous Saturday!
I hope yours is wonderful too

Saturday morning harvest!

harvest, originally uploaded by cabanagirl.

Oh Boy! Now this is what makes all the work worth it!
I started June 1st working in my garden like a crazy person...up at 6am working the soil until it got hot (usually by 8am) and then again as soon as the shade hit the back yard until dark. Despite the damaging hail storm 2 weeks ago the garden survived.
Sophie and the chickens were of little help but they did keep me company. Now 2 months later I have plenty of veggies to keep me in antioxidant heaven and lovely flowers to make me smile.
This is just my first week's harvest.
tomatoes (only one so far..a Japanese version..I have 14 tomato bushes)
French green beans
these are the two crops that would satisfy me ......2 essential ingredients to a great Nicoise salad!
Swiss chard...rainbow brights
sweet peas....fabulous fragrance
zinnias
beets
summer squash, 4 kinds (Cocozelle, rond de Nice, cube of butter and Tigress)
arulgula
kale

garlic and onions, planted last fall
Anybody hungry?

Tomatoes for dinner on shrimp enchiladas

shrimp enchiladas, originally uploaded by cabanagirl.

This morning on the way to the Farmers' Market to buy these lovely heirloom tomatoes I was listening to a segment by chef Jaime Gwen. She created this recipe for some sort of seafood celebration and highly recommended to give it a try. So I did. It reminded me of a fabulous lobster thermidor only with a chipotle kick wrapped in a tortilla and topped with guacamole and fresh Brandywine tomatoes. Brandywines are an heirloom tomato very dark red with a bit of black streaked through. OMG these were good. Her recipe will be posted only for a week. If you want it past then, I can e-mail it.

Tomatoes for lunch!

green zebra, originally uploaded by cabanagirl.

The heirloom tomatoes are in the Farmers' Markets everywhere this time of year. Hurry and get some before the weather turns cold. These are green Zebra tomatoes.....green when fully ripe. For lunch: add fresh mozzarella cheese, freshly picked basil and high flavor olive oil and balsamic vinegar. What a lovely Sunday meal

Melly's pasta

Melly's pasta, originally uploaded by cabanagirl.

The beginning of a pasta dish starts with pasta and fresh organic tomatoes. I need to find some shrimp and fresh basil before I start cooking. To be continued.....

Tomato & goat cheese tart

Tomato & goat cheese tart
Originally uploaded by cabanagirl

A lazy Saturday and watching the Barefoot Contessa inspired me to gather my on hand ingredients and throw this together. It was divine. Tomato and  goat cheese tart with cipollini onions and rosso bruno tomatoes. The nasturtium was illegally growing in my garden and was pulled out by the mean property management witch.

I missed one

I missed one
Originally uploaded by cabanagirl

I have been on the hunt for tomato worms and there are many squished ones in the garden but....

It is very significant of what happened to my retirement money yesterday....damn tomato worms!

Tomato Harvest

Tomato Harvest
Originally uploaded by cabanagirl

What beautiful gifts from the garden these are. Each has its own flavor and of course each has a vibrant color. The red ones came from my garden (lucky I found the worm in time). The rest came from a gorgeous farm in Carlsbad. I collected these so that I could make a yummy roasted tomato sauce. I hope you will try it.

Roasted Tomato Sauce:

Makes 3-3 1/2 cups

3 pounds fresh tomatoes
1/2 cup chicken stock
1 large red onion, sliced
1/2 cup whole fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup olive oil
2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp black pepper

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Place all the ingredients in a roasting pan & toss to combine. Transfer to the oven & cook until the tomato skins are charred & sauce has begun to come together, about 1 hour. Coarsely chop the tomatoes & onion, taking care to scrape up pan juices.
Serve immediately, or cover & refrigerate up to 3 days.

I do not know the original source of this recipe.