 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
July 2008 | ||||||
SU |
MO |
TU |
WE |
TH |
FR |
SA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ||
| 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
| 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 |
| 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 |
| 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | ||
Margaret Hochla
El Reno, Oklahoma
I have been married for 27 years to Victor and have 4 children. The two girls and two boys range in age from 25-10 years. We are pleased to still have one grandparent from each side of the family ... More about Margaret
Sareen Dunleavy-Keenan
Minneapolis, Minnesota
I live in Minneapolis, in 1.5 story craftsman bungalow with beautiful woodwork, but a tiny lot. Sharing this space is my husband Brendan, 'baby' (5/07) and 'new baby' who is expected to join the fold in August. More about Sareen
Gina Keenan-Klages
Eau Claire, Wisconsin
My name is Gina, and my husband's name is Patrick. We have three children, ranging in ages from 1 to 5 years. Our household also includes my mother, who is living with us from September to May. More about Gina
Donna McClurkan
Kalamazoo, Michigan
Early January may seem an inauspicious time to begin an "eat local" project in Southwest Michigan. As if to underscore that point, nearly a foot of snow fell in Kalamazoo on January 3. More about Donna
Cher Stuewe-Portnoff
St Louis, Missouri
My first father-in-law taught me to garden in the mid-1960s. Over the next few years, with a family of five to feed, I read everything I could find about nutrition ... More about Cher
Vera Schabicki
Ashland, Mississippi
Four years ago my five children, one husband, two dogs, one cat and I moved to the rural South from a large northern California city. We went from .12 acres to a rambling 57 acres. More about Vera
- oh yeah
- Love
- successes and failures
- Hurrah for (kind of) local juice!
- Wow, it has gone fast!
- You must be brave
- Perhaps to give you some insight
- Finale: The Meaning of Life
- Meeting Joel Salatin ... and other posts from the cutting room floor
- The snack that does what?
< Fall Garden | Main | Madisonites - you are spoiled! >
TOMATO WINDFALL
Posted at 1:22 PM on July 23, 2008 by Margaret Hochla
Tomato season in Oklahoma is one of our happiest times of the year. We usually buy 50-75 pounds at a time. We sort them immediately to be sure that any spoiled or damaged ones don't affect the entire crop. Then, the children place them in baskets and bowls sorted according to: eat now, cook now, will keep and green. At first, they were repulsed when they had to brush off the occasional caterpillar or worm. Now, they're disappointed when they don't find any.
We usually buy a box of windfall tomatoes to keep it more economical for us. Sorting right away is important! Most important, however, is the making of tomato sauces and pastes. I place the halved fresh tomatoes in a broiler pan with herbs, red wine, garlic, balsamic vinegar and paprika. I roast them at 300 degrees, stirring occasionally and slipping the skins, until I have the taste and consistency I want. After that, I cool and freeze them in gallon bags to be ready for winter.
They are a great addition to soups, sauces for pasta, and can even be spiced a little differently for Mexican and Greek foods. The only difficulty is to have enough tomatoes to work with because sliced tomatoes and homemade bread make a pretty good sandwich!