WIAW 179 – And It’s Tomato Season!
Every year, right about this time, we abruptly go from “I wish we had more tomatoes” to “Where did all these tomatoes come from?!” Well, that’s part of being with a CSA – we get what we get when it ripens… Being at one with the rhythm of Nature and all that.
So yes, the other day I wrote up a post about using a quart of tomatoes in a sauce with every shortcut possible. I’ll be making another couple of quarts of that this afternoon… and yes, it does freeze. In fact, I’m going to go all adventurous and make Tomato Sorbet! (Not my recipe… but intriguing!)
Of course, it isn’t just tomatoes. I have a massive bunch of leeks that I will saute and freeze (as well as featuring some alone, of course!) and enough dense curly kale for an army. We usually get that later – I suspect it’s one sign of the cool summer we had. It’s harvest season!
But you want to see what I am eating now, not what I plan to eat in a few months.
Well, I took some of that tomato sauce and cooked my eggs in it. Added a bit more seasoning first – cumin and chilies – then poached the eggs, and melted cheese over the top. Then I took the picture while it was still in the cute little pan, having learned my lesson – none of these dishes look as good once you turn them out onto the plate! (Actually, I turned it out onto tortillas…) I make this with canned tomatoes most of the year, but the fresh really does make a difference!
I was immersed in something all day, broke away just enough to throw lunch together and eat it, and totally forgot pictures. But it was a salad, and you’ve seen plenty of them… Lettuce, cucumbers, radishes, black beans, cheese, and – I know this will be a surprise – tomatoes! Cherry tomatoes, here… they’re easy. And then rice cakes, one with a little peanut butter.
We have some gorgeous yellow plum tomatoes, so at dinner I cooked the pork chops with a few of them. Browned the chops first, and partially cooked them, then diced the tomatoes and covered the pan to hold in moisture. The tomatoes ended up barely cooked, but still gave flavor to the meat. And I served it with potatoes and some red cabbage I cooked the other day. (I don’t believe it is possible to get an attractive picture of red cabbage sharing a plate with other food. By itself, maybe, but with other things? The color is just too dark and… weird… Tastes good, though! )
Now if you’ll pardon me, I need to go and slice tomatoes…
But first I need to pop into the WIAW party over at Sprint 2 the Table. All fancy restaurants this week! Cool!
