| |
| |
I learned the
difference between determinate and
indeterminate tomatoes before choosing a
seedling. Since I
have a small garden
area, I chose the Roma tomato, a
determinate variety, which will reach
4 to 5 feet tall
with a compact, almost
mound like growing habit. The
indeterminate varieties can reach
heights from 6 to 10
feet. But who can
remember which term applies to which
type? Confusing stuff for a new gardener
like me.
Before taking down the
garden for winter, I collected those
tomatoes that were still green and
wrapped them
loosely in newspaper. Stored them in a
dark, cool area for about a week or so
until they got ripened enough
for cooking. Although they were not as
red as those ripened on the vine, but
still pretty good. |
|
 |
Growing tomatoes can be
super rewarding, they
are easy to
grow and produce abundant fruits.
My Roma tomato plant did quite well,
produced
more tomatoes than I needed.
However, they are
lacking the rich,
sweet tomato flavor. I will have
to try
another variety next year. In the
meantime,
what am I supposed to do with
the extra tomatoes?
Instead of growing the
well known sweet bell
peppers, this year
I planted a Hungarian pepper,
which is referred to as white peppers. They are
smaller, pointed, and
almost always pale yellow.
If you leave
the Hungarian peppers on the plant
long
enough to watch them change color from
light yellow to soft
red, you
will be surprised at
how good
they taste. We had a few of those. |
 |
| |
Roasting Tomatoes
After trying all the possible ways to enjoy the
fresh,
juicy
tomatoes, sooner or later you'll have to deal
with a table full of tomatoes staring at you. Canning
is
definitely
not for me. Luckily I came across
this
recipe in a local magazine called
Relish.
Roasting
(oven drying) concentrates tomatoes
natural sugars
and flavors. And it is simple and easy.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
To roast, cut the tomatoes into slices
or wedges,
remove seeds and cores. (Keep
small cherry
tomatoes whole.) Toss them
with a good amount
of olive oil, crushed
garlic, chopped fresh basil,
salt and
black pepper, and place them on a tin
foil
or parchment paper-lined baking
sheet. Make sure
they’re not on top of
each other. Bake 60 - 70
minutes, until
juices have evaporated. When done
and
cooled, remove them with a spatula and
place
in a zip-lock plastic freezer bag and
put in the
freezer. Now you can
have garden vegetables
even
in the
winter time.
|
|
-------------------------------------------------------
|
|
|
Tomato Sausage Stew with Pepper
Recipe by Leslie, 2010
|
Ingredients
2 pounds fresh tomatoes,
cut into bite size
1 pound smoked sausage, thinly sliced
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons chopped fresh ginger
1 green pepper, sliced into bite size
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup water
Olive oil, salt and black pepper
Directions
Warm up 1 tablespoon oil in a skillet,
add sausage,
cook until turning brown on
both sides. Remove and
put aside. Add 1
tablespoon oil in the same skillet,
saute onion, ginger, garlic and pepper.
Add tomato,
season with salt and black
pepper, cook 10 minutes.
Add brown
sugar, cook until melt and coated
veggie.
Return sausage and juice, add water as
needed. Cover
the skillet, cook 15-20 minutes until
juice thicken, on
medium
low heat. Check once and stir. |
|
|
| |
True to the Skin
A tomato a day, keeps the
wrinkles away. Tomatoes contain powerful lycopene,
an antioxidant which
fights the free radicals that can
potentially lead to cancer, heart
disease and premature aging. Tomatoes
are also high in vitamin C and contain
good amounts of potassium, iron,
phosphorus, vitamins A and B.
One medium tomato has fiber that equals
to one slice of whole wheat bread with
only 35 calories.
So
be good to yourself and reach for a
tomato today. |
|
|
|
|
|
