The Heat is On

As much as I look forward to summer vegetable growing, there is also that element of dread as I envisage the long hot days playing havoc with my plants. The last two weeks have been particularly bad with lettuce going to seed 'overnight' and tomatoes ripening too quickly for us to eat them all. 

This is the first year we have grown Costoluto Genovese

For the  last two years, I have made Green Tomato Chutney from my larger varieties such as Beefsteak and Grosse Lisse, while they were still green. However, I mixed some seeds up that I had kept and instead of planting plenty of large varieties this season, I have many small fruiting bushes such as Tommy Toe and Sweet Bite.  What to do, what to do….? 

One morning's pick

Sometimes my creative instincts take over!

Once again, I turned to the Internet to solve the problem of an abundance of tomatoes (even with 24 people here on Christmas Day, there are only so many tomatoes each individual can eat). As we consume plenty of pasta and the girls are quite partial to pizza, I decided to make  the most basic of pasta sauces/puree. Small tomato varieties are perfect for this as the fruit doesn’t need peeling and as long as the tomatoes have a nice taste, this recipe is fabulous! Frozen, the sauce can be thawed when needed and you can then add fresh herbs, garlic,mushrooms, olives etc and tailor it to what you need the sauce for. Last night when making pizzas, we ran out of commercial paste and as I had just cooked a batch of sauce, we used some of that.  I was told it was the best ‘paste’ they had ever used and how did I make it? I was stunned. I did nothing but grow, wash, zap in the Thermomix for a few seconds and simmer till the quantity was reduced by half. Looks like we will no longer be buying tomato paste! Check out the simple recipe 'Tomato Paste/Puree' below.

Tomato Paste/Puree

 Step 1

Place washed, diced tomatoes into a food processor making sure the 

stem area has been cut out. Blend until liquidised.

 Step 2

Place in a heavy based pan and bring to the boil.

 Step 3

Turn the heat down and simmer until the liquid is reduced by roughly half.

 

Step 4

Allow to cool and place in containers. Once they are cool, place lid on, label and store in freezer. According to notes on the Internet, they should be fine for up to 12 months. Once defrosted for use, add whatever herbs, spices, garlic, vegetables you desire.

On a brighter note, summer is fantastic for growing basil which loves being near tomatoes when growing and on the plate! To see my Basil Pesto recipe, click here. 

Unemployment is capitalism's way of getting you to plant a garden.  ~Orson Scott Card