We are all waiting for the beginning of the yearly flood of tomatoes-for sauces, salads, even jams and jellies. It won't be long now, we are near the peak of August.
We plant in late May-early June. Then we wait and water --- aiming for the taste of the year, that luscious moment.
Tomatoes are the most popular vegetable grown ( but--isn’t it a fruit? Yes, but U.S. courts ruled it as a vegetable , for commercial reasons.) Click on the links below and see the story behind each tomato variety. I assembled a lot of different sites, each offering you a special knowledge about tomatoes.
Rutgers University has been confirming the favorites by holding Tomato
Tasting Festivals in August for the last few years, inspired by the re-introduction of the Ramapo Tomato.
The most popular Heirloom Tomatoes were in three categories. The Largest favorites were
Cherokee Purple, Mortgage Lifter, Hawaiian Pineapple, and Prudent’s Purple.
Medium-sized favorites were Eva Purple Ball, Arkansas Traveler, Box Car Willie, Lemon Boy, Costoluto, Ramapo, Brandywine Red, and Green Zebra. And the Cherry Size Small Heirloom Favorites were Snow White, Isis Candy, and Yellow Pear.
Do you have any of them in your garden? Bring them to Tomato Fest---we can all try them.
Do you have any of them in your garden? Bring them to Tomato Fest---we can all try them.
As the growing season continues, you might want to check this site You will find a major collection of articles on the tomato, including members of the Agricultural School’s considered opinion on growing the tomatoes upside down. There are pluses(no weeds!) and minuses (gravity) that should be considered---find out! It might lead to the Best Taste of the Season.
Easy Italian sauce.
Ingredients
2 cans of plum tomatoes, with sauce, chopped.
Olive oil, 1/2 cup
1 Onion. Bermuda, minced finely
cloves of garlic, peeled, minced
3 ice cubes of basil and oregano mix (or 1 tbsp of each herb, minced, if fresh; 1 tsp of each herb, if dried.)
1 tspn. Sugar
Preparation
1.Warm the olive oil in a Dutch oven
2.Add the onion, and sauté until translucent, Add garlic, mix with onion, and cook until alliums are translucent (alliums=onion and garlic)
3.Add tomatoes, stir. Let simmer, not boil, covered, 1/2 hour.
4. Add sugar, then Basil-Oregano cubes, and continue to simmer for 15 minutes.
If you do not have cubes (it is the middle of the winter, for instance), use
1 tsp of each herb. If you want a more "herby" taste, increase the proportion to 1 1/2 tspn of each.
5.Serve over piping hot pasta.
A variant on this recipe that does change an Italian sauce into a French one:
- Add one tsp TARRAGON (dried, or 2 tsp (fresh) when you add the herbs.
Another variant from Jekka's cookbook, an English sauce:
- Saute the onions and garlic in BUTTER. Do not use oil.
---Pat LIngredients
2 cans of plum tomatoes, with sauce, chopped.
Olive oil, 1/2 cup
1 Onion. Bermuda, minced finely
cloves of garlic, peeled, minced
3 ice cubes of basil and oregano mix (or 1 tbsp of each herb, minced, if fresh; 1 tsp of each herb, if dried.)
1 tspn. Sugar
Preparation
1.Warm the olive oil in a Dutch oven
2.Add the onion, and sauté until translucent, Add garlic, mix with onion, and cook until alliums are translucent (alliums=onion and garlic)
3.Add tomatoes, stir. Let simmer, not boil, covered, 1/2 hour.
4. Add sugar, then Basil-Oregano cubes, and continue to simmer for 15 minutes.
If you do not have cubes (it is the middle of the winter, for instance), use
1 tsp of each herb. If you want a more "herby" taste, increase the proportion to 1 1/2 tspn of each.
5.Serve over piping hot pasta.
A variant on this recipe that does change an Italian sauce into a French one:
- Add one tsp TARRAGON (dried, or 2 tsp (fresh) when you add the herbs.
Another variant from Jekka's cookbook, an English sauce:
- Saute the onions and garlic in BUTTER. Do not use oil.
