Roasted Tomatoes

This year I'm using a new method to preserve those extra tomatoes from the garden, which are plentiful this time of year. Since I no longer do canning, I had been just cutting up the tomatoes and freezing them in quart size bags. But since trying my first batch of roasted tomatoes, I am hooked on the intense flavors and the compact size of the finished product!

Here are the simple instructions.....

Put some Extra Virgin olive oil on the bottom of the pan, add sliced tomatoes in a single layer. Sprinkle with seasonings of your choice and more olive oil. I use oregano, basil, minced garlic and a little salt. (Dried herbs work well here, because they help absorb the juice from the tomatoes.) The recipe said to cook at 400 degrees, but since I used a glass pan I did them at 375 degrees. Cook for somewhere between 1 hr to 1 1/2 hrs. You will have to watch them towards the end, because when the juice cooks off they can burn easily, but you want them to caramelize and brown a bit.

This is one of my favorite black heirloom tomato, Nyagous, ready for roasting. They have a darkish red color with green shoulders....and the colors inside the tomato are even prettier! Since these are a fairly small tomato, I just quartered them. With larger tomatoes, I cut in chunks, and cherry tomatoes get halved. I'm always trying new tomato varieties, so this is a good way to use up those that don't quite live up to my taste standards, because even a mediocre tomato tastes great after it's been roasted.

Same tomatoes as above, after roasting. Can't you just smell that wonderful aroma? I did plenty of sampling as they came out of the oven. The intense, concentrated tomato flavor is comparable to those expensive sun dried tomatoes you can buy.

Two 11 x 16 pyrex pans yielded one quart of tasty product for the freezer. The roasted tomatoes can be used on pasta or meat, as a bread spread, salad dressing ingredient... or simply as a spoonful of fresh garden tomato taste in the dead of winter.

bon appétit!

First Tomato of the Season

Last week brought our first ripe tomato in the garden. I am so behind on this blog, it is already old news, since I have picked several more since then!

The first ripe tomato this year was the heirloom Nyagous. It is in the 'Black' tomato category, as you can see by the darker shoulders, which have a greenish tint to them. It really is a beautiful tomato, hails from Russia, and the taste is wonderful! It must be picked while the shoulders are still green for proper firmness.

Here it is on a salad plate. You can better see the richness of the colors in this photo. It is a perfect salad size tomato and grows in clusters on the plant. Since picking this, I have also picked several full sized ripe Goliaths.

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In an earlier post entitled Tomato Trials I stated that I was sticking with the 'tried and true' this year. Well, that was my true intention....until I checked out a book from my local library called The Heirloom Tomato by Amy Goldman. If you haven't seen this book, it is a great read! Even if you only gaze at the beautiful photos of all sorts of heirloom tomatoes, it is well worth your time. After reading Amy's description of each tomato included in the book, I ended up adding several new heirloom varieties to my tomato line up again this year. Hey, a girl can change her mind... right? :-)

Currently growing in my garden are: Paul Robison, Juane Flamme, Green Zebra, Aunt Ruby's German Green, Purple Russian, Speckled Roman and Black Brandywine. (I only chose ones rated as having excellent flavor). I'm also trying a few heirloom cherry tomatoes......Black Cherry, Aunt Ruby's German Green Cherry, and Matt's Wild Cherry. So, stay tuned for a report later on in the year!

Tomato Trials 2008

I'm always game for trying new vegetable varieties, especially when it comes to our garden favorite, the Tomato. In 2008 I trialed several heirlooms varieties. The real test, for me, is the comparison to Brandywine, which I have grown for many years. So far, nothing has come close to Brandywine's great taste!




This is Cherokee Purple in the not-quite-ripe-yet stage. You can see the darker shoulders, which have yet to turn color. I also grew Cherokee Chocolate and Black Krim, but found all of these varieties to be rather bland tasting, and also pretty soft texture wise. I prefer a firmer tomato. In years past, I have also tried Pruden's Purple, which didn't pass the test either.

*** Update: 3-24-09 ***I just read that Black Krim should be harvested before fully ripe, with shoulders still green and before it gets soft, for the best flavor..... so I might have to give it another chance. :-)





Another heirloom variety I tried was Arkansas Traveler, shown here with tiny yellow Signet marigolds. It would probably be in the pink category, as it doesn't get to be a true red. Nothing to get excited over here, taste-wise. One pink variety that I grew for several years that I did like is Caspian Pink, which has a very good taste, but doesn't produce many tomatoes.

Zapotec Pleated looks cool, but when you slice it open there are lots of empty spaces inside the folds, and I'm sorry to report....the taste leaves you pretty empty, too. I had tons of green ones left after frost, which ended up in the compost pile.

I received seed for this heirloom, Nyagous, as an extra in a seed trade. The tomatoes are a smaller size, firm, with black shoulders, and grow in clusters. And the taste is......wonderful! It is both sweet and tangy, with lots of rich flavor. It hails from Russia. I grew it in a 3 gallon container, because I ran out of space. I can't wait to see how it produces with a spot of honor in the garden this year.

I also grew an heirloom Cherry tomato called Ana Asa, looking for something to possibly replace my old standby, hybrid Super Sweet 100 Cherry , but there was no comparison, taste-wise. I seriously don't think there is a sweeter or better tasting cherry than Super Sweet 100, but I am open for suggestions. :-)

Brandy Boy is a new hybrid I tried for the first time last year. It is a cross between Better Boy and Brandywine and is supposed to produce more tomatoes on the plant, but still have that great Brandywine taste. I found it lived up to both of these criteria.


So...what are my Tomato selections for 2009?
Maybe next year I will do more trials, but this summer I intend to keep it simple and grow only the tried and true:

1. Hybrid Goliath, as my main crop tomato. I love everything about this tomato! The taste, the large number of tomatoes it produces and the firm, perfect, blemish free fruit. I have been growing this one for nearly 20 years now. I am not a purist when it comes to Hybrids vs. Heirlooms....nothing can beat some of the Hybrids for production and reliability. As long as the seeds are available, I will grow them. (I am still using seeds from a packet I bought in 1999!)

2. Brandywine - several plants, for the unbeatable taste!

3. Brandy Boy Hybrid - this time side by side with Brandywine to really compare fruit production.

3. Heirloom Pineapple - one plant, for dear husband who really likes this one. The tomatoes grow HUGE, the color a mottled red and yellow combination.

4. Super Sweet 100 Cherry - We eat these like candy....usually standing right there in the garden. These are a big hit with my now 3 year old granddaughter!

5. Nyagous - for the taste and nice salad size.

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“Home grown tomatoes, home grown tomatoes
What would life be like without homegrown tomatoes?
Only two things that money can't buy
That's true love and home grown tomatoes.”

John Denver, 'Home Grown Tomatoes'
(from a song written by Guy Clark)

Pineapple Tomato

Another of the heirloom tomatoes is ripe! This one is called 'Pineapple'.

It is quite a large tomato, with an irregular shape. This one is about 4 1/2 inches across. The color is kind of a streaked yellow and red....a very pretty tomato!

Here is a photo of the inside flesh. The taste is wonderful! Reminds me a little of Brandywine, but sweeter, yet just tangy enough for a delicious tomato taste. As with most heirloom tomatoes it is subject to splitting and is a bit on the soft side. I grow this one for Dear Husband, as it is one of his favorites. We like to slice and eat it with just a sprinkling of salt.... yummm!

Dandy Brandywine

The first Brandywine tomatoes of the season are ripe! Other tomatoes may look nicer and produce more fruit.... but none have better flavor (in my humble opinion) than these favorite heirloom tomatoes.

Pictured here on my best vintage tea towel, these 3 Brandywine tomatoes will soon become Salsa! I find they have just the right sweetness to compliment the heat of jalepenos, the spiciness of garlic, and the tang of lime......and are very juicy, as well!