It's tomato madness in the kitchen this weekend! Picked 20 pounds of ripe tomatoes, so made some spaghetti sauce  - recipe here: https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/homemade-canned-spaghetti-sauce/

it seems like a lot of work but it made 4 x 2 pint jars
Will need to make a second batch or salsa with the remaining 10 pounds!

Tomato Time!!

 cherry tomato vine made it to the top of the porch!

tomato forest
going to make salsa fresca!!

Green Tabouli

from the garden : broccoli, mint, tomatoes, chard, and a few precious goji berries mixed in with quinoa, pumpkin seeds and garnished with feta & olives - just needed a little lemon juice, olive oil and salt and pepper.

Harira

This is a vegetarian version of Harira, a lentil and chickpea Moroccan soup usually made to break the fast at Ramadan. I made this soup in order to use up some stewed, frozen tomatoes I'd made at the end of the Summer. The recipe is from "Bountiful Vegan: Soups and Stews for Every Time of the Year" by Nava Atlas: 2 T. olive oil 1 large onion, finely chopped 3 celery stalks, diced 2 cloves garlic, minced 3/4 cup dried brown lentils 1 tsp turmeric 1 tsp cumin 1 tsp freshly grated ginger 1/2 tsp cinnamon 6 cups of water or veg broth 2 cups tomatoes one 16 oz. can chickpeas rinsed and drained juice of 1/2 lemon(slice remainder for garnish) 1/4 cup chopped parsley or more to taste salt and pepper heat the oil and sautee the onions 5 minutes, then add celery and garlic to saute until the onions are golden. Add lentils, spices and water. Bring to a rapid simmer, then lower the heat to simmer gently until the lentils are just tender, about 30 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes and chickpeas. Adjust the consistency with more water if needed, and adjust the spices to taste. Simmer for 15 mins longer over very low heat. Stir in the lemon juice and parsley, season with salt and pepper. garnish with lemon slices. So put on your Berber dress and enjoy your soup!

last of the jalapenos

I made some vegan black bean and tempeh chili today with the last of the jalapenos from the greenhouse - and cornbread using the recipe from New Recipes from Moosewood cookbook. I also added some tomatoes that I'd stewed and frozen, and some fresh oregano. Just sautee some onions and garlic with the tempeh, add chili powder, cayenne, oregano, and a spoonful of chipotle puree (kept in the freezer and chipped off as needed). Throw in some beans, corn, tomatoes, tomato sauce, and the peppers and simmer for about an hour.

Rainy day comfort food

It's a gray, rainy day - perfect for making soup! I have a couple of tomatoes, Thai Dragon peppers, fresh thyme and oregano and some coriander seeds from the garden, plus the last 2, precious bulbs of Sooke grown garlic to use - I'm making a roasted garlic and squash soup with tomato and pepper salsa. Here's the recipe: Roasted garlic and squash soup with roasted tomato and chili salsa: 2 garlic bulbs, outer papery bits removed 5 Tb. olive oil lots of fresh thyme if you have any, otherwise 1 tsp dried 1 large butternut squash, halved and seeded... Read more 2 onions chopped 1 tsp ground coriander seeds 5 cups veg. stock 3 T. fresh oregano and marjoram, or 2 tsp dried salt and pepper for the salsa: 4 large tomatoes halved and seeded 1 red bell pepper "" "" 1 large fresh red chili "" "" 3 T. olive oil 1 Tb. balsamic vinegar preheat oven to 425, place garlic bulbs on foil, pour over 1/2 oil add thyme and wrap in the foil , brush squash with 1 T. oil and place on a baking sheet with the tomato, pepper, and chili. Roast 25 mins then remove the tomato, pepper and chili, continue roasting squash and garlic 25 mins longer until the squash is tender. In a soup pot, heat remaining oil and saute onion and coriander. Skin the pepper and chili and process in a blender with tomatoes, add 2 T. oil, blend, stir in vinegar and s & p to taste. Squeeze garlic into the cooked onions. Scoop squash out and add to the pan. Add stock, salt and pepper, bring to a boil, simmer 10 minutes. Stir in 1/2 fresh oregano, then cool the soup, blend it, reheat (don't boil) top with salsa and fresh oregano. yummmy ♥ freezes well, too :-)

October salad

We are making salad every chance we get, knowing the day is coming when salad greens will seem like a dream. On the plate we have chard leaves, beet greens, Little Gem and Brunia lettuces, curly endive, water cress,parsley, oregano, one of the few remaining zucchinis, spinach, nasturtium flowers, and the third-to-last tomato. A nice dressing, which I usually put on roasted yams, is this maple-chipotle vinaigrette from the Rebar Cookbook: 2 garlic cloves, minced 2 Tb. balsamic vinegar 1 Tb. maple syrup 3/4 tsp Dijon mustard 2 tsp. chipotle puree ( you can buy it in a small can, just blend it and keep in the freezer) 1/2 tsp. salt 1/4 tsp. black pepper 1/2 cup olive oil whisk all except oil together, slowly drip in the oil until thickened. If you don't have a copy of the Rebar Cookbook, it is great! Some of the recipes have some exotic, not your usual in-stock ingredients, but are well-worth the effort to track down:http://www.rebarmodernfood.com/cookbook.html

last of the ripe tomatoes

There are only 6 vine-ripened,tomatoes left~ so I've decided to make Orzo Pesto pasta salad with them - with some Swiss Chard thrown in for good measure. (I'm throwing Swiss Chard into everything these days - even smoothies). This salad is inspired by Sooke Harbour House's salad that was brought to a recent Slow Food event. Their salad was topped with gorgeous heirloom variety tomatoes of all shapes and colours, fresh sprigs of oregano, thyme and basil - and it was amazing. This is when those frozen cubes of basil pesto come in handy - I take them out about an hour or so before I need them, and stir them into the pasta while it is still hot. This combo of pasta with pesto, tomatoes and chard is wonderful - especially with a few shavings of Parmigiano Reggiano for the top. Here is another recipe to use chard that I found today on the Moss Street Market site (in the recipes section! who knew?)http://www.mossstreetmarket.com/recipes.htm TUNISIAN STYLE CHARD 2 lbs swiss chard, chopped roughly 5 large cloves garlic, pressed 1 tbsp. tomato paste 1 tsp. ground coriander ½ tsp. salt ¼ tsp. dried red chili flakes 2 tbsp. olive oil 1 cup minced onion 2-14 oz. cans garbanzo beans, with liquid lemon wedges (optional) Steam chard until tender. In bowl, combine garlic, tomato paste, coriander, salt, and chili flakes. Heat oil in a saucepan, and sauté onion. Add the tomato paste mixture. Add chard and garbanzo beans, with liquid. Stir and cook until heated through, about 10 minutes. Makes 8 servings. I am going to make this tomorrow with my own fresh coriander seeds and Thai Dragon chilies.

Salsa Time!

I ran out to the garden in the rain this morning to pick all of the ripe tomatoes before the rain got to them - ripe tomatoes will split in the rain, and rot sets in very quickly. I dug out my old salsa recipe, canning stuff, and set to work! I don't use a food processor, so I don't make a huge amount at one time. 6 large jars today, and probably 6 more tomorrow. I will chop and freeze the remaining tomatoes for later use in soups, chili, etc. here is the recipe I like, as it doesn't produce vast amounts at once: 8 cups tomatoes, finely chopped-unpeeled 1 1/2 cups onions, coarsely chopped 1/2 green pepper, coarsely chopped 1/2 cup red pepper, coarsely chopped 2 - 3 jalapeno peppers, finely chopped, seeds removed 7-8 cloves garlic, finely chopped 1/4 cup cilantro leaves, finely chopped 2/3 cup red wine vinegar 1 small can tomato paste (optional) I use this as I like a thicker texture 1 Tablespoon salt 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper optional: a couple tablespoons chipotle puree (which I use,too for spiciness) *this recipe makes 6, 500 ml. jars I sterilize the washed jars in the oven @175 for 25 minutes, and boil the lids and rims for 15 minutes. The filled jars are placed in a hot water bath for 10 minutes. here's a good guideline that lists equipment needed, and step by step method for hot water bath: http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art2816.asp Now I'm listening to the very satisfying 'ping' of the lids!

tomatoes for tomorrow: seed saving

Tomato seeds are surrounded by a gelatinous coating that prevents the seeds from germinating inside the tomato, and must be removed before the seeds can be dried. Step 1: harvest your best and biggest tomatoes from your garden. Choose only the strongest plants that produce the greatest yield. Plants that withstood drought and disease are best. Slightly overripe tomatoes work best. Step 2: remove the seeds by gently squeezing out the seeds, including the gelatinous sac, into a jar. Step 3: ferment the seeds for approximately one week. This separates the seeds from the gel, and will destroy many seed-borne bacterial diseases. Place a paper towel, or other breathable cover over the jar and keep in an out-of-the-way place. Step 4: remove the mold with a spoon~add a little more water and stir vigourously to remove any traces of mold that might remain. Ladle out any stray pulp or debris. Step 5: the viable seeds will settle to the bottom of the jar. Spoon off any seeds that rise to the top. Sieve the mixture through a fine strainer or cheesecloth to collect the seeds.. If debris remains on the seeds, put them back in the jar, add a little more water to rinse and strain until only clean seeds remain. Step 6: dry the seeds by sprinkling the viable seeds into a bowl and allow them to air-dry. Over the next few days, stir them with your finger on occasion to ensure they dry completely. Store in an envelope and keep them in a cook, dry place until ready to plant next year. The tomatoes I am using are Early Girl from West Coast Seed Co. which are a hybrid tomato. It will be an interesting experiment to see if the plants produce normally i.e. "come true." (a good reason to use Heirloom varieties next time!) A farmer friend told me his tomatoes improve year to year by planting them in the same spot. The tomatoes come to "know" the soil they grow in, and improve in flavour and robustness over time.

Slow Food Great Tomato Brunch at Halliburton Farm

Today my foodie friend and I rode our bikes out to Halliburton organic farm to a Slow Food Event: the Great Tomato Brunch, hosted by Dayle Cosway from Terralicious: http://www.terralicious.ca/ What a beautiful farm, and the weather was perfect. We brought tomatoes from our gardens, I brought my Early Girls - and had a taste test. Some very interesting varieties such as Pink Thai, Green Zebra, Lemony, and lots of heritage varieties with gorgeous colours ranging from almost black to orange. Then we had a fabulous pot luck lunch~ I brought a quinoa tabouli, but there was an orzo heirloom tomato salad from Sooke Harbour House that was fanatastic! Then we had a tour/history of the farm - it is a community farm, situated around a natural water source that is protected by the CRD. It is a wonderfully lush and well-heated area. We visited the greenhouses, chickens, ducks, compost pile, wheat field, seed plant garden. My favourite was the flower garden full of sweet peas, amaranth, sunflowers, and gorgeous colour. My friend won the draw prize of a basket of preserves! Find more Info about Slow Food Vancouver Island here: http://www.slowfood.ca/convivia_view.php?id=29 The next event is a screening of Food Inc. at Uvic's Cinecenta on Sept. 22 7 pm. Here are some photos from our day: