Harvest Time
- This topic has 16 replies, 14 voices, and was last updated Oct 13, 2008 at 2:48 pm by
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Hey guys –
A bit of an off topic post, but the stinging in my eyes from putting in my contacts this morning reminded me that I made a vat of fresh salsa last night. Lauren and I planted four tomato plants in large planters this year and tended them carefully. We got a bunch of nice tomatoes. However, one of our breeds only came in the six-pack flats, so rather than throw the other five seedlings out, Lauren insisted I plant them in our landscaping area next to the deck.
Lo and behold, those tomatoes put on copious amounts of fruit. Added to that, we also planted five pepper plants (which ridiculously outperformed our needs, except for the bell peppers, which we have yet to harvest). Finally, we grew herbs in pots around the deck, and had a volunteer watermelon vine pop up from where we were spitting seeds last year.
Finding myself with an entire basket of tomatoes likely to go bad before I used them, I decided to get rid of as many as possible at one time.
Through trial and error, I’ve learned that blenders make great restaurant-style salsa. They’re also faster than making pico de gallo, for which you have to slice every tomato.
Last night I made probably a gallon and a half of salsa, following this recipe:
Blender Salsa
Ingredients:
1 gallon fresh vine-grown tomatoes of any type
1 whole clove garlic
1 white onion
1 head cilantro
1 handful fresh basil
1 handful fresh thyme
1 handful fresh parsley
1 hank fresh chives
1 dash rosemary
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 oz. ground black pepper
1-2 teaspoons salt to taste
2 hot baby bell peppers
1 habanero pepper
Handful dried coriander (cilantro fruit)
Lime juicePreparation:
Skin and quarter onion, drop in blender. Using flat side of knife, crush and remove paper from every section of the clove of garlic, drop in blender. Quarter all large tomatoes, drop in blender. Drop in all roma or cherry tomatoes (this is a great way to use up all those extra baby tomatoes at the end of the season).
Strip oregano and thyme from stems, drop in blender. Remove basil from stems, drop in blender. Dice chives, drop in blender (important – chives don’t blend well). Cut away heads of cilantro from stems, drop in blender. Grind coriander seeds in pepper mill if you have them, add. Carefully halve and remove all seeds from all peppers, then drop the peppers in blender (good idea to use latex gloves here so you can avoid the eye stinging I had today – those seeds are wicked hot). Finally, add all remaining ingredients and hit frappe.
When the salsa first comes out, it will be full of air bubbles and look like a fruit smoothie. The texture at this point I find unpleasant, but taste to ensure you haven’t forgotten anything.
Place under cover in refrigerator and let settle overnight before ladling for consumption.
We are going to split this enormous amount of salsa up into small containers and freeze them for use in the cold months. I’ll let you know then if it turns out well.
Zach
My recipe is much simpler than that:
Some tomatoes, chopped
Some onions, chopped
Some fresh cilantro, chopped
Some jalapenio peppers, chopped
Some garlic, chopped
Some olive oil
Some red wine vinigar
Some salt and pepperIt looks a little unorganized, but it always turns out good.
Looks tasty Zach.
Married to a 1st generation Italian (her parents landed in the 60s) it’s harvest time from June through to Nov at our place. My wifes mom has sort of taken over our property. It starts in June with two Cherry trees, runs into July and Aug with Peaches, Mulberries, Grapes, Tomatoes, Zuchinni, Onions and leeks garlic Thyme, rosemary. Herbs like Thyme and Rosemary were just harvested a couple weeks ago and are now hanging in the cold cellar drying. Somewhere in there we get a few varieties of peppers, Figs and hazel nuts. <
Our first year in our house my father in law grafted..you read that right…grafted…branches from Apple and Peach trees onto a crab apple tree the builders didnt plow under.Today we call it the Frankenstein tree. It yields both Apples and Peaches and still to this day the odd crab apple.
Its a lost art.
My wife and I are trying to learn all we can from her parents but soooo much is going to be lost forever someday.The wine making ( why bother just buy it at the store)
Tomatoe sauce with your own grown Tomotoes…(why bother just buy Ragu)
Sausage…Why bother just buy it
Perscuito (sp?), Cappicola, Genoa
Gardening.
and sooo much more.Kind of sad really.
/edit.
Tomatoes are probably one of the easier and more versatile things you can grow on your own. From Sauce and Salsa’s to Tomato and potato salads…Nothing beats a fresh tomato out of your own garden..So much sweeter..Anyways.
If your just prepping 1 or 2 for that nights dinner blenders work well.
If your doing volume in Aug/Sept to make enough sauce to last through the winter get a meat grinder. Theres an attachment you add that separates the pulp from the skin and seeds when you run the Tomatoes through. So pulp goes into a bucket, seeds and skin get left behind (run through a second time).Into mason jars, add a chile pepper or two, boil upside down (helps with sealing), store for use through winter/spring.
2 nights ago I picked 2 bags worth of tomatoes and filled up another bag with basil just in time for it to get down into the 20’s. This week I’ll be putting together a large batch of pesto for the freezer. After that I’ve got several pounds of tomatoes to get ripened so that I can make sun dried tomatoes (also destined for the freezer) in my oven.
I’ve never actually done it, but I’ve had friends tell me you can put them in the oven for 10-20 hours at as low as your oven will go. The trick is to make sure that they don’t burn or brown on you. Turn them often if necessary, rotate them out of hotspots, etc. I figured this year I’d try it since I have so many left over.
When it’s still hot out a lot of people will do them in their cars. Just lay them out on the dashboard or in the back window. Make sure to put them on a tray and put cheesecloth or something over the top of them and they’ll be ready in no time.
Or I could just go find a cheap dehydrator, but what’s the fun in that? 🙂
Yeah and that burning in your eyes will translate into other body parts really easily too, so wash your hands before you take a whizzer.
Looks tasty Zach.
Married to a 1st generation Italian (her parents landed in the 60s) it’s harvest time from June through to Nov at our place. My wifes mom has sort of taken over our property. It starts in June with two Cherry trees, runs into July and Aug with Peaches, Mulberries, Grapes, Tomatoes, Zuchinni, Onions and leeks garlic Thyme, rosemary. Herbs like Thyme and Rosemary were just harvested a couple weeks ago and are now hanging in the cold cellar drying. Somewhere in there we get a few varieties of peppers, Figs and hazel nuts. <
Our first year in our house my father in law grafted..you read that right…grafted…branches from Apple and Peach trees onto a crab apple tree the builders didnt plow under.Today we call it the Frankenstein tree. It yields both Apples and Peaches and still to this day the odd crab apple.
Its a lost art.
My wife and I are trying to learn all we can from her parents but soooo much is going to be lost forever someday.The wine making ( why bother just buy it at the store)
Tomatoe sauce with your own grown Tomotoes…(why bother just buy Ragu)
Sausage…Why bother just buy it
Perscuito (sp?), Cappicola, Genoa
Gardening.
and sooo much more.Kind of sad really.
/edit.
Tomatoes are probably one of the easier and more versatile things you can grow on your own. From Sauce and Salsa’s to Tomato and potato salads…Nothing beats a fresh tomato out of your own garden..So much sweeter..Anyways.
If your just prepping 1 or 2 for that nights dinner blenders work well.
If your doing volume in Aug/Sept to make enough sauce to last through the winter get a meat grinder. Theres an attachment you add that separates the pulp from the skin and seeds when you run the Tomatoes through. So pulp goes into a bucket, seeds and skin get left behind (run through a second time).Into mason jars, add a chile pepper or two, boil upside down (helps with sealing), store for use through winter/spring.
Wow…and I thought you had the life before this post.
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