Tomato!

They plant about 250 tomato plants each year.  Dianne and John.  Found each other later in life; deeply in love, adorable.  Inspiring.

The tomatoes are up the hill just behind their house.  They dry farm; they only water to get the plants started, then the plants are on their own.  They say they have a high water table - they're farmers and ranchers - they would know.

The tomatoes are as sweet as candy.  I'm planting my tomatoes next year where I can keep them dry - right now they're next to the lawn and insipid.

I picked a lot - to share with my neighbor who is teaching her kids the joy of preserving.  For my friend Gina who is working hard to hold body and soul - and family - together.  For a friend who works several jobs to make ends meet.  And some to make pomorolo with my friend Leslie.

They share with the Food Bank.  They share with their neighbors and friends.  And us.
Right after our ladies who were invited to pick last year left, John went into his workshop and made this sign:

And looking up from the house, it is.  Fanny Hill.  

The over-ripe tomatoes went to the cows (yes they were cows.  Not bulls, not steers.  I checked.  Ask me how I know).  They were in the field right next door to the tomatoes - the one that they lease to a cattleman who I am sure would think we are all batty - hand feeding cows?  really?  but it was great fun... 

After a few tomatoes were tossed over the fence to be sniffed and then snuffled up, they would eat out of your hand.  Gently.  Cow slobber sticks - took me three tries to get it off my hands,  And my iphone cover may never be the same. 

Notice how Alice and the cow have coordinated their outfits.  Wish I had known - I would have dressed differently.

His family has lived on this land and cared for it since about the Gold Rush.  She is the perfect hostess, and set a table with an abundance of flowers from her incredible garden...

Do you detect a theme here?

The soil must be incredible - I have never seen a sunflower so tall.  Or so happy. 

They grow figs and peaches, apricots and apples.  And flowers.  We were set loose in the flower garden and everyone left with a big bouquet - there were dahlias in all colors...

and amaranth as tall as I am and as bushy as a broom.

Eggplants small and large - Japanese long and Rosa Bianca, my favorite.  Peppers hot and sweet. Tomatoes cherry and beefsteak.  Yellow Brandywine and Sweet 100.  

The only one who wasn't impressed was Otis.  Yes that's a yawn.  It's what he does when he doesn't want to obey.  I'm gonna try it.

It took some doing, but we managed to fit almost all of it in the back of Sue's car...altho Cindy did have to hold a basket on her lap.

The joys of late summer, the gift of good friends.  The taste of a just picked tomato, so juicy it runs down your chin.  Maybe August isn't so bad after all.

New Year

It only took a couple of days after the first rain, and the world began to turn green. At first it was just a thin green shadow under the dried grass, and then suddenly one morning the world was glowing green, as if lit from within.

Even the vineyard is greening...

...the new year starting while the old one is still on the vine.

I count the new year not from the calendar, but from the first green shoots of grass. I have a friend who has had a horrid year, she says she can't wait for this one to be over. Ellen: the grass is growing, it's a New Year! 

I still have tomatoes

Huge and meaty they are from seeds Mike at Forli Restaurant in Alamo gave me. The seeds came from his brother in Greece. No idea what they're called, but they are Ginormous. I start them from seed on heat mats in winter. If you come for Christmas dinner you'll have to work around the seedlings. 

One year is beginning while another is winding down. Leaves coat the surface of the pool, acorns ping off the metal horse and wake us. Squirrels thump onto the roof and harrumph across to raid the apple tree. There is not enough net in the world. But the apples are almost over, the grapes will be in this week, and we're having the last of the tomatoes for dinner. 

Eating From the Garden

The New York Times had a wonderful article on the tastes of summer. And I have some new recipes to test-drive.

We have been eating from the garden. No peaches this year; the squirrels and rats get there first. But tons of basil and tomatoes, figs and mint, lemons and apples. We made Ina Garten's Baked Shrimp Scampi with garlic and lemons and basil from the garden.

An tabbouleh. Not the traditional Lebanese kind, with more parsley and mint than wheat, but a bastardized American version, an adaptable summer salad.

First bulgar wheat gets covered with plenty of hot water...

...and left to soak it up. A quick drain, the juice of one lemon and some salt...

Lots of mint, the best olive oil you have. Just before serving, and only on the tabbouleh you will be serving, add tomatoes. Cherry tomatoes if you have them. I also like feta, and I would have added some cucumber if I had any.

Tomatoes should never be refrigerated! But you knew that...that's why I put them only on the tabbouleh we're about to eat.

I'm not adding parsley at this time of year because it's old and tough. If it were young and soft I'd throw in a few big handfuls, but I like more mint than parsley.

I don't have a sunny flat spot for a normal vegetable garden, I tuck tomatoes in sunny spots by the front steps. I plant figs and lemons and apples instead of normal street trees. The neighbors can't decide if I'm crazy (probably) or brilliant (did you ever doubt?) but there are more vegetable gardens springing up nearby, and the neighborhood kids are enthusiastic lemon and tomato pickers. 

My Bad

Down to the forties at night. Barely breaking sixty during the day. Rain. Drizzle. A spectacular sunset, then more rain. Come on, you say, this is May.  In California.  What's going on?

It's my fault. Remember the 90 degree days a week and a half ago? My fault too.

I planted tomatoes and melons - both require heat. That's why it's cold and wet. Mother Nature is messing with me. You're just an innocent bystander - this is personal. And that heat wave? Just after I planted the tomatoes and melons from little tiny plugs (I grew the seeds on a heat mat) I went away for a week. (Hawaii. Took my mom for Mother's Day and yes we did have a good time thank you so much for asking).

I was not here to water. The seedlings should have dried up and died in that heat, but I had given them a good soaking and a 4 inch layer of mulch, so they were snug and happy, and just beginning to grow...

And that's when Mother Nature decided to teach me a lesson. In patience (wait for the soil to warm up), in the true nature of gardening (nothing ever turns out as you had planned and isn't that true in life too?) and so things got cold. Very cold. Happy snails and slugs (except when they come across the Sluggo, the pet-safe snail killer - take that! Mother Nature). But the tomatoes are unhappy. Very unhappy. As are the melons.

If I have to I will replant the melons; I saved some seed (see, M.N., I have been paying attention). and I will hope there is enough summer left for them to grow and set fruit. Last cold summer I got one distorted pumpkin and only a few full size tomatoes, altho the cherry tomatoes must have felt sorry for me, for they outdid themselves and gave me baskets full of sweet tasty fruit. Another good reason to plant cherry tomatoes - they need less heat.

But for now, I'm going inside to wait for the rain to stop. It's too cold out here. I will wait to plant beans until the soil is warmer (and the air) and hope it doesn't go from drippy cold (In May! In California!) to blasting heat. And if it does? I suppose there is a lesson in that too...when does this school of hard knocks get out?

Tomato, tomahto

I made oven dried tomatoes and Liz loved them - so Liz, this is for you. Before you start a warning - this can be an all-day project so start early, and don't start this when you have a hair appointment or a dinner date. Unless it's dinner at your house. Then you can invite me!

San Marzano tomatoes are the best (more about that later) but any roma tomato will do. Split them in half:

and put them cut side up on a rimmed baking sheet. Fill the sheet - they should be cheek-by-jowl. They can even be touching. Pour about a cup of extra-virgin olive oil over them. I use Bertolli for cooking, I think it's the best. (I use McEvoy for dipping, pouring, but not for cooking. Too precious.)

Put the tomatoes in the oven at 300 and watch them - when they begin to brown move the brown ones into the center of the pan, and put the not-so-brown ones on the outside. This usually takes about an hour to an hour and a half, but depending on the moisture content of the tomatoes it can take longer. 

Turn the oven down to 250 or even 225 and check on them every half hour or so. This is the place to confess I turned the oven down to 225 and went off to take an hour nap. 

When most of the tomatoes beginning to darken, turn them over. When most of the tomatoes are half way to looking like sun-dried tomatoes in oil, begin taking them off the baking sheet. I find they do not all get done at the same time, so I end up putting half a sheet back in the oven for another 15 minutes or so. The entire process takes hours - these took about 5 hours. If I'd left the oven at 250 or 275 and watched them, it would have been quicker, but oh did I need that nap!

To serve the tomatoes as an appetizer, stack them in a dish, pour over some of the oil, and serve with baguette for sopping up the oil.

Any left overs can be put into a jar - I use a wide mouth half-pint jar

Tamp down the tomatoes, then...

pour that yummy olive oil from the baking sheet over the tomatoes. Use enough of the oil to cover the tomatoes. These keep in the refrigerator for months. Put any left-over oil in a jar and use it over pasta -
(there are a few tomatoes in here too - they would not all fit in one wide mouth jar)

I love it over spaghetti with torn-up fresh basil and parsley. Just warm the oil and pour it over the drained spaghetti, throw in the basil and parsley, sprinkle with hot pepper flakes if you dare, toss and eat. If there are any stray oven dried tomatoes they can go in too. I prefer this dish without Parmigiano - I think the cheese overpowers the flavors. And believe it or not, I don't think everything needs cheese.

And yes I know the last three photos are sideways. I'm working on it, I'm working on it. Or maybe I'll go take another nap. (I fixed it! now I'm going to nap. I've earned it.)