pleasure and pain

So I just got back from the dentist. Without details that WILL make you cringe, I will only say that I am not working out today. I am going to snuggle up on my couch and veg-out. Perhaps have some soup or ice cream, only soft cold things she told me :(

In the meantime it is my great pleasure to introduce my good friend Heather H2O who has graciously put together a wonderful post for us today about her home grown heirloom tomatoes and some snazzy and healthy recipes (with pix!) to go with them. 

enjoy!

martha

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Tomato Ideas from the Kitchen Garden of Heather H2O 

So this summer we went crazy growing tomatoes and as a result, we had to get creative with ways to serve and eat them.  We actually grew 6 different varieties, most of which grew to more than 8 feet, and all were very good fruit producers.  I think that starting with a super delicious tomato is the key to everything, including a good sauce.  

Everything we planted was described as an eating tomato (as opposed to a sauce tomato), but the sauces we made with them were pretty great as well.  

We only grew heirlooms, but we did try several different varieties.  All of them had slightly different flavors.  I really like cherry tomatoes because they are sweeter and, somehow, more tomato-like in flavor – plus they produce massive quantities.  Another big favorite was the Brandywine; it produced giant (like each one was about 1lb. or more) tomatoes, and the fruits had a great texture (not mealy, not dry, but not too filled with seeds and liquid either) and a good mellow flavor.

!!!!RECIPES!!!!

The proportions in the following recipes are to serve about 4 people, but I kind of made them us as I went along.

Corn/lime/jalapeno salsa

Husk and clean 5 ears of corn and cook them in boiling water with a dash of salt.

Rinse, drain cool until you can handle the corn without burning your fingertips.  Make sure you strip any corn silk that may be remaining.

Cut the corn from the cob by placing the larger end on the cutting board and firmly holding the narrow end.  With a sharp knife, slice down and most of the corn will come off the cob.  If you turn the knife around, so the blunt side faces the cob, you can run the knife down the same area again, and any remaining corn will come off.  Place corn into a large bowl.

Squeeze 5 limes, add the juice to the corn and mix.

Add 2 to 3 jalapenos, finely minced.  We are growing jalapenos in our back yard, so I just took a few that were ready.  I like spicy food, and so I put in 3, but you can back it down if that’s too much for your taste.

I added some of the cherry tomatoes from the garden, about ½ yellow pear cherry tomatoes, and ½ of a small orange-colored cherry called ‘Sungold.’  The total quantity was about the size of one of those green plastic strawberry containers, and then I added one large ‘Pineapple’ variety tomato.  (The corn and the cherry tomatoes are sweet, so I added the ‘pineapple’ to balance out the flavor.)  All tomatoes were coarsely chopped & added to the mix.

Add 1 avocado, loosely chopped.  Add ½ of a red onion, finely chopped, and 4 or 5 minced cloves of garlic.  Add a small pinch of sugar & salt and pepper to taste.  (The sugar helps bring out the salt/lime flavor, but you can skip it if you want.)  Add a small bunch of chopped fresh cilantro & mix well.  (I added the cilantro by taste; it was probably about 2 tablespoons chopped, but you can vary it according to personal preference).  Mix well and serve.

I think this salsa tastes better cold, and if you let it sit overnight, it will have more kick the next day.  It’s good with fish & shrimp (and probably chicken, although I don’t eat poultry).

Cucumber & tomato salad with feta cheese 

Peel 2 cucumbers, coarsely chop, and add to large bowl.  I didn’t de-seed mine today, but you can, and it will help reduce the amount of water/liquid in your salad.  Add 1 large tomato.  I added a Brandywine, coarsely chopped, and a few yellow pear cherry tomatoes, chopped.  Add ½ red onion, minced, 2 minced cloves of garlic and some feta cheese ( a little less than a cup) & salt and pepper to taste.  Mix, chill & serve.

 

bbq’d tomato – we just cut a Brandywine into a few slices and put it directly on the grill.  Once it was done, we sprinkled a little kosher salt on the top and that was it.  (Kosher salt tastes less salty than sea salt, but the larger grain of it makes it more fun than simple iodized Morton’s salt.)

 

Grilled salmon  Lightly coat in olive oil (leave skin on) and sprinkle fresh pepper on both sides.  Put on grill with skin side down first.  Grill it a few minutes on each side, until done, & serve.