I haven’t been posting on this site lately. Been more active on OGD’s and Christien’s site now that they are both in full gear….they live far more interesting lives than me. Plus, keeping up with them leaves me no time (nor the want of it) for taking notes and observations of the world. I will do a 20 Words in the next week to wrap up the summer. Of importance to know is that my golf game has mysteriously deteriorated over the last month. But on the plus side….I’m leading my baseball pool.
Anyway, this year’s garden harvest has been of mixed result. The zucchini dominated the garden and yielded an army’s worth. The beans, after replanting them due to rabbit infestation, also did well. The onions and leeks are monstrous. The peppers….average. Still hoping to get more scotch bonnets than I see out there today. The tomatoes, the prize of the garden, have fared poorly. I think due to a mixture of my failing to rotate them to the other side of the garden, not enough nutrient replenishment this spring, and having the potatoes and zucchini nearby. Stole all the nutrients that were there.
However, I did get ‘some’ tomatoes. And there’s still plenty more…just not enough to can, which is always my goal. Enough to get through to the next year. The farmer’s market can take care of that though. Won’t be the same, but I’ll get over it.
The tomatoes I have picked so far have been used to make sauces. And the new trick I’ve discovered is that roasting them before adding to the sauce results in an amazing complexity to any tomato based sauce. Combine that with roasted red peppers and you’ve got something god-like. Two experiments so far: black bean soup and lasagna.
Black bean soup (this is a rough recipe as I’ve never gotten to working out exact measurements):
– Chicken broth (about 1 L)
– 16 oz Black beans
– 2-3 roasted red peppers
– 8-10 roasted tomatoes
– cumin, coriander, salt, pepper
– lime juice
To roast the peppers and tomatoes I toss them in olive oil and a little salt. Throw them onto a hot bbq. For added love, the bbq could already be smoking with mesquite or hickory.
After the skins are crispy and falling off, take them off and put in a bowl or bags that are sealable. Place in fridge as long as possible. Preferrably until they’ve cooled. Take them out and pull off the skins.
Combine the broth, beans tomatoes, peppers and spices into a soup pot. Bring to a boil. Simmer for as long as you want (me: 1 1/2 to 2hrs). The longer you simmer the thicker the texture and deeper the flavour. When ready, take a hand blender to the soup to give it an even texture. Then add salt and lime juice to taste. I dollop sour cream when serving.
For the tomato sauce for pasta dishes, I roast the peppers and tomatoes as mentioned above. Add to pot. If you happen to have some open red wine around, add to taste. Use fresh basil, like a handful of it. And some (not a lot) of oregano. Salt and pepper. Then, to thicken, I add steamed zucchini and brocolli. Serves 3 purposes: thickener, sweetener and a kick of vitamins.
Make your lasagna with this base. Add ground beef to the sauce if that’s your thing.