Oops, I did it again! Oven Cured Tomatoes

I have a confession. Again. Oh yes, my peeps, we’ve been down this road before. Here goes ...

(Insert a deep breathe here) I made an entire oven tray’s worth of Oven Cured Tomatoes and I .... I ... ate them. Right. Off. The. Tray. I've done this before. Oh super, I'm a serial cured tomato stealer.

Why do I do this? Why? I’m a responsible person. I strive for good manners, healthy living, exercising good judgement, etc. So what is it about these blasted oven cured tomatoes that causes me to completely loose control.

Well, *sigh*, it’s simple. They are heavenly. Way, way, WAY better than store bought sun dried tomatoes. Someday, I vow, in my lifetime, I will make these and not devour them straight from the oven.

For those of you who have mastered your self control far better than I, let me assure you that these are super easy to make. One caution, though. They take hours to cure. Some folks like to put them in the oven before going to bed at night, but I’m not fly with the idea of having something cooking, albeit at a low temp, in the oven whilst I sleep. I just pop them in the oven first thing in the morning, and let them do their thing for about 7 hours.

Ideally, these should be made with roma tomatoes. Romas are a meaty variety, and dehydrate to a lovely, chewy, tangy texture. Today, I wanted to use up the last of my tomato garden bounty which was just regular ole toms.I sliced them up into medium thin wedges, slathered them with high quality extra virgin olive oil, sprinkled them with sea salt, onion powder, garlic salt, and black pepper. I don’t add herbs to mine so that I can use them in various recipes. Use them, that is, if they could ever make it to the storage jar.Spread the oiled up ruby gems on a rimmed baking sheet and pop them into a preheated 400 degree oven. Immediately, turn the oven down to 200 degrees and leave them alone for 6-8 hours. Today’s batch took 7 hours.

One side note, let’s say you want to make these but about half way through the curing process, your aunt mabel calls to remind you that you promised to bring her dinner tonight. No worries. Just pull these babies out of the oven, combine with some pasta and herbs, top with grated cheese and you're good to go.Here’s what they look like at the half way mark. Lovely. Come to mama. Even half way done, they would make an awesome, awesome roasted tomato sauce.

That said, if aunt mabel does not call, let them cure the full amount and you will have the most delectable, addictive cured tomatoes ever. EVER. Oh, and obviously, these are gluten free.Just look at this perfection. Here, here ... just try one. You’ll be hooked. Forever. I wonder if this was how it was for Adam with Eve in the Garden. Perhaps it wasn't an apple afterall ... perhaps it was a cured tomato. They are both red, you know. And lots of stuff gets lost in translation. *sigh* I'm in big trouble now.

On a different and less blasphemous note, here are some pics of my boy. He has no trouble refraining from eating the oven cured toms. In fact, he won’t touch them. He grew this big on meat and potatoes, baby. And corn. The boy loves his corn.

Anyway ... my young fella played in a soccer tournament this past weekend. It was a soccer extravaganza on Saturday and Sunday. Our weather was gorgeous both days; in fact, we are all a little sun kissed after being out and about at the games.Can you see the outline of magnificent Mt. Hood in the background? I just had to throw in this shot so you all could take in the spendor of mother nature's Mt. Hood and the adorableness of my mountain of a boy. It seems really strange to not see snow on the mountain. Every summer, there is less and less. However, the rainy season is supposed to return this week which means rain here in the valley and snow up at the mountain. With luck, this time next week, Mt. Hood will be covered with snow.Whew, it was hot that afternoon. Lordy, when did this kid grow up? Isn’t he my little fella that used to fall asleep on my shoulder? Those days are long gone, but fresh in my memory. This is game 2 on Saturday. A real nail biter, it ended in a tie. By the way, Saturday marked my 47th birthday! Happy birthday to me!

Garden Tuesday 06/30/09 - Tomato Suckers and More!

Gouda Garden Greetings! While taking time out to sip some “nettles” tea (supposed to help allergies ... I’ll let you know if it works), I realized it’s time to share what’s going on in the Gouda Garden. I know, I know ... you need a container for your joy! Still (ahem), I’ve got to admit that I’m simply enamored with my tiny garden plots. Especially now that the sun is gracing us with daily appearances, the garden is really starting to take off. In fact, summer is supposed to hit tomorrow with temperatures in the 90’s (it was in the 40’s last night!).

So, let take step outside the patio door and see what’s happenin’!

Tomato Tutorial: See Ya Round, Suckers!

There are two types of tomato growers: those who remove suckers and those who do not. I belong in the former category. What’s a sucker, you ask? They are branches that grow out of the joints on the tomato plants. Suckers don’t hurt your plants, but there is some evidence that they do “rob” your plant of fruit production energy. Since my garden is so small, I pinch off the suckers to keep the plant focused on growing fruit, not leaves. Suckers do NOT bear any fruit themselves, they just produce leaves.Look for suckers growing at the plant joints. In the photo above, my pointer finger is touching the new sucker on this plant.Grab hold of the sucker (sounds like a move scrip ... “Hey, you, grab hold of that sucker!”) at the base.Simply snap it off! See ya, sucker! (That's probably the only time I'll say that. It's just so out of character for me. If you knew me, you'd understand. Even if I did mouth the words, you'd shake your head and tell me that it just doesn't work coming from me. *sigh* My friends would bust out laughing, and then they, too, would tell me to give it up and stick with "blast and darn it".)Suckers grow fast!

The Case of the Fascinating and the Curious: Things that make me go “hmmm”!

Here are a couple tidbits in the garden that fascinate me.

This is the first time I’ve grown cherry tomatoes. This plant doesn’t have a center stalk!It is growing in a V formation. Do all cherry tomato plants grow this way?

Someone’s been eating my porridge ... uh, make that beans. Some little creature decided to chow down on this leaf. No others, just this one. Don’t you just love the vein structure on the underside shown here in this leaf? I feel a homeschool lesson coming on! Hey kids, come look at this!
Isn’t this a hoot? It’s called “salad mix” which is basically a bunch of different types of lettuce! Ha!


I just love the delightfully delicate yet Samson strong qualities of pea tendrils! Plus, aren't the two-toned pea leaves darling? (I like the word darling. I use it often.)

I just love the fuzzy quality of these Potato Flowers! Do you like fuzzy things? You know, like small critters, and, uh, potato flowers!

What’s new in your garden this week? Anything fuzzy?

Garden Tuesday - Coffee in the Garden ... As fertilizer that is!

(Parlsey going to seed on purpose, I want the seeds of this particular variety.)
I had shared in a prior post that I was quite concerned about one of my tomato plants. The leaves were turning yellow, and despite my great soil, I feared that I would lose the struggling little plant. Now, I know that some folks won’t sweat the loss of a plant here or there, but I, uh, get attached to my little photosynthesis beings, and really wanted to do all I could to save it. Besides, it’s my only “Early Girl” variety in the garden, and I had already envisioned lots of sammies graced with red, sweet slices of its fruit. To borrow a phrase from my friend, I had not only counted my chickens before they hatched, but I also put them in suits and named them!

Anywhoooo ... a friend wanted to see my garbage can potatoes so she could do it as a garden project with her kids, and while she was here, I shared with her my woe about the tomato plant.(Garbage can potatoes are doing awesome!)
She told me that years ago when she and her husband used to have a huge garden, every morning her husband would dilute his leftover coffee and coffee grounds and then water the plants in the garden. She enlightened me that the nitrogen in the coffee cured the “anemic” looking plants. As soon as she said that, I remembered my grandma always watering her plants with leftover coffee.

My grandma was a gardener extraordinaire. Her 100% organic garden(and this was before the “natural” movement”) was absolutely bountiful. My mom’s garden was always gorgeous as well and, again, completely organic. Since both women are now enjoying their Heavenly reward, I turned to the internet for guidance.

It turns out that coffee grounds are a great addition to both compost piles as well as directly into the garden! Only one problem. I don’t drink coffee. I don’t even have a coffee pot, or maker, or French presss, or whatever. I could always go to one of the bazillion Starbucks within 10 minutes of my house, but the thought of hauling heavy, wet, used grounds didn’t thrill me. (Although the seed thought of composting has been planted in my brain, and if I follow up on it, I’d haul said bags in a heartbeat.)

To solve my dilemma, I thought why not just go buy a can of ground coffee and use it? Soooo, on my next trip to the store, I stood in amazement in the coffee isle. Who knew there were so many coffee choices available? Okay, okay you coffee drinkers, be gentle with me. I mean there are a zillion different brands, blends, strengths, “flavors”, grinds, etc. You can buy it buy the bag, carton, can, or even concoct your own blend from bulk bins. Prices raged from under $5 to over $20. I opted for the cheapy store brand of ground French Roast, Medium Dark.

Since all the info on the net refer to USED grounds and I read that un-used grounds could burn the roots, I thought I’d better boil it up first. Using a large 3 quart pot, I dumped about ¾ cup of grounds into the pot and added about a quart of water. Next, the mixture was brought it to a boil. I then filled the pot the rest of the way with cold water and let it sit until the entire pot was room temperature. I gave it a good stir make sure the grounds were swirling in the water, and set out to water the tomato plants.(Coffee grounds on top of soil!) The coffee grounds end up on top of the soil, and I just leave them there.

Oh. My. Gosh. The tomatoes LOVE their coffee. My little anemic plant is fully recovered.(First Early Girl tomato!)
I decided to branch out and try this with the spinach, who were really struggling. Well, they struggle no more.Their growth has exploded! I was so pleased that I “served” coffee to the peppers, cilantro, new parsley, and squash. They are absolutely thriving. I mix up this concoction once per week.
(Italia Sweet Pepper, long variety.)
So, what have I learned? Besides the fact that little cuppa Joe goes a long way in helping the garden, I’ve surmised that despite having terrific organic, rich soil, you sometimes need to provide a little extra to help keep your plants healthy and thriving. The yellowing leaves of my tomato (and then spinach) plants told me that they needed more nitrogen. My other plants were doing great, but now they sport a glorious, deep green color. The marigolds are blooming like crazy. I also notice less critters crawling in the garden. I don’t know if coffee grounds are a bug deterrent, but it’s workin’ for me. Plus, it keeps my garden “chemical” free.

So, do you think your garden would like a cup of coffee?

Eggcellent Egg Salad Sammies with Tomato Orange Soup!

Ah, eggs. How do I love thee, let me count the ways. Fried, scrambled, boiled, poached, baked, stuffed, and .... made into salad. Egg salad, that is. Plain old, no frills, nummy-yummy egg salad.

Do you like egg salad? There are a multitude of ways to make this creamy goodness. Besides mayo, you could add any combo of onions, capers, olives, celery, mustard, cheese, bacon, dill, vinegar, salt and pepper, white pepper, peppers, hot peppers, pimentos, or even pickles. Man, that’s a lot of ‘P’s”! Me? Well, surprisingly I prefer it on the plain side. Just egg and mayo and a smidgeon of season salt. Plus, there are subtle differences on how to actually chop the eggs. You could mince them with a knife, slice with a gadget slicer, mash with a fork, or pulse in a food processor, to name just a few. Let’s address, too, the vast array of ways to serve the eggsellent spread. There’s the obvious choice to spread it on bread or toast, but there’s also folks who like to stuff tomatoes with it or serve it alongside crackers. To make me really dreamy eyed, serve the egg salad unadorned on toast (preferably rye). Throw in a bowl of tomato orange soup and I’m a happy gal. *Insert blissful expression here*

From what I can tell, there are no true regional or cultural recipes for egg salad. Mostly, folks just kind of make it the way their mothers’ did, occasionally trying something new, but reverting back to what their roots crave. That’s how it is with me. Egg salad in my house is simple fare, nothing fancy, but really tasty nonetheless. I don't dislike the other additions, rather I simply prefer it just like this. Let’s make Eggcellent Egg Salad, shall we?

Ingredients:
4 hard boiled eggs, peeled*
2 heaping Tablespoons good quality mayo
Smidge of Seasoned Salt
Rye Bread – toasted

In a medium sized bowl, chop the eggs into a very fine dice.I usually rough chop/slice it with a knife,and then mash it with the tines of a fork. I’ve used a grated potato masher, and that works well, too. I just don’t like to wash it, so I stick with a fork! Stir in the mayo.
Fold in the season salt. Serve immediately or chill in the fridge until cold. Tastes great both ways. Spread egg salad on rye toast slices. It’s your choice as to how thick you want to layer on the egg salad. I prefer a medium thickness, and naked. Meaning, ahem, lettuce or tomato can sit this one out. Egg salad sandwiches go great with fruit, soup, or even chips. Just look at how creamy this is!Not goopy, not dry, just right! I served mine with a yummy, tangy tomato orange soup.YUM!Now that we have our sandwich, let’s make some soup. I make soup every week, cuz, well, I’m souper girl. We souper girls love to have soup for lunch. This tomato orange soup is THE BEST tomato soup EVER! Well, um, at least I thought it was pretty darn tasty. Even with the heavy cream, it’s very light and that citrus flavor really brightens it up. It’s ridiculously easy to make. Seriously. It takes less than 10 minutes, but tastes like something from a fancy café. I found this recipe on the internet. As fate would have it, it’s from Elephant’s Deli in Portland. You won’t believe how good this is!

4 tablespoons butter
½ onion diced fine
2 cans diced tomatoes
¼ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon thyme
½ teaspoon fresh ground pepper
1 cup fresh orange juice (I used Tropicana)
½ cup heavy cream

In a sauce pot, melt butter over medium heat. Add diced onions, and cook over medium heat until onion is soft but NOT brown. Lower heat if necessary to just soften them. I stirred the onions often, and they were soft in about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes and bring to a boil. Add baking soda, thyme and pepper. Puree the soup with an immersion blender, or ladle into a food processor or traditional blender. I left a bit of texture in mine. Add the orange juice. Stir in the heavy cream just before serving.Mmmmm. See how pretty it is with just a tad of texture. Sample a bite and make yummy noises! Oh, and the soup is gluten free, all the way, baby!

*How To Make Hard Boiled Eggs

4-6 eggs (older eggs are easier to peel, but gee whiz, how often do you have old eggs?)
Large pot
Lid
½ teaspoon salt (if desired)

Place eggs in large pot and cover with COLD water. Water should be about 1 ½ inches above the eggs. Add salt if desired. Bring to a gentle boil, cover with lid, and remove from burner. Let sit for 12 minutes. Drain immediately, and cover with ice water for at least 10 minutes. Crack shells and peel. If your shells are really stubborn, peel them in a bowl of cool water. Watch your times closely so your yolks will stay a lovely yellow shade!

How do you like your egg salad? Do you like to add any of the items listed above to your mixture of eggy goodness? What about tomato soup? Do you wanna try some tom orange soup and join me in a blissful sigh?

That'll Cure What Ails You ... Oven Cure That Is!

Aaaah, oven cured tomatoes. Close your eyes for a moment and take one deep, lung filling breath, and slowly let it out. Now imagine your senses filled with the wonderful aroma of seasoned tomatoes tossed with olive oil slowing curing in a warm, toasty oven. As the tomatoes cure ever so slowly, the scent of roasting garlic tickles your nose, and yes there's the tiniest whiff of sweet onion, basil, and oregano, too. Your kitchen transforms into that of one found in an Italian villa, and you can just imagine looking out your window and seeing the Mediterranean Sea. Or, as in my case, the backyard that needs weeding. Oh well, nothing like a little reality to bump aside a little daydream!

Actually, the first half was reality! My garden roma tomatoes have come into their bounty, and I was faced with figuring out what to do with mounds of the red beauties. I could make a sauce (yawn), I could slice them up into a nice tom salad (ehh), or I could slice and season them, and cure them in my oven (ding, ding, ding!!!). It would only take about 4 hours or so, and I was going to be home anyway. Oh, the wonderful things I could make with them! Risotto with oven cured tomatoes, chicken with cured tomato cream sauce, cured tomato laced frittata, savory tomato and artichoke tapenade, and loads more recipes, too!

Curing roma tomatoes is the easiest thing ever, and they taste loads better than the store bought sun dried tomatoes. I don't even bother to peel them. I simply wash and dry them, slice in half, scoop out the seeds (I'm not meticulous about it), season with olive oil, garlic salt, onion powder, a tiny bit of basil and oregano, and place cut side UP (do not crowd them) on a foil lined baking sheet, and pop into a 250 degree oven. Bake SLOW for 4 hours (cooking times vary, could take 3 hours or 5 hours). Here they are at the half way mark! Let cool on the baking sheet, and store drizzled with olive oil in a glass container in the fridge.
See how rich and chewy and gorgeous they are? They are irresistible!

Um. Well. Uh. Here's the thing. Here's where things went off plan. I sliced, seasoned, and oven cured them to perfection. Two large trays, in fact. But, um, then I did something that changed the course of all of my plans. I TASTED one. Big mistake.Oh the flavor was supreme ... sweet, savory, and 100% delicious. I proceeded to snag one here, one there. I couldn't help myself. It would seem that I have a THING for these, too! *sigh* Then hubbyman came home and he ate some off the tray, and then one of my kids discovered them, and well, let's just say that I managed to capture the last *6* halves and put them in the fridge. There would be no risotto, polenta, frittata, tapenade, or other culinary goodies. My head is hung in shame. *heavy sigh*

To distract you from my folly, I do have a question on a totally unrelated subject. I rarely watch TV. Not because I'm against it, but more because I don't have time to. The other night, I decided to rest my tootsies and collapse in my recliner for a night of my favorite English comedies and mysteries. It wasn't meant to be ... it's pledge week. So, I switched to other channels, those with commercials, and kind of coasted in and out of watching it. Here's where the weird thing happened, I kept seeing variations of "high fructose corn syrup" commercials. At first, I thought it was a Saturday Night Live episode or something. But nope, these were real commercials. There were two people, one who's commenting on not eating a popsicle or drinking juice because it contains high fructose corn syrup, and then the other person talking about how it's from CORN so it's ok, blah, blah. Yeah, that's right. Their message is that it's okay to ingest high fructose corn syrup ... in moderation.

Has anyone else seen these commericials? Does anyone else find this kind of, well, creepy? Am I over sensitive to avoiding foods that are, you know, chemically changed or altered or over processed? Of course, seeing these commercials did come on the heels of hearing another mom I know praise the glories of those pre-packaged lunchable meals. Blech. And, yes, I could eat better than I do, after all, remember all the tomatoes I ate, but I really do try to create a healthy grazing field for my family, and insinuating it's okay to feed kids juice with high fructose corn syrup instead of, you know, 100% juice, kind of crosses a line with me. And, fyi, I grew up in corn growing country with corn growing relatives and still find this icky. Anyone else kind of feel icky about these commercials?

Tater's and Ta'mater's

I've been a bit nostalgic lately. Joining the blogsphere has rekindled all things ancestor related. It's been a joy remembering traditions and dishes lovingly prepared for me years ago by my mom or grandma. Those Southern Italian roots have sprouted again, and I've enjoyed retelling the stories and preparing the recipes that were part of my everyday life.

Whenever I would visit my relatives, the first thing always asked was "have you eaten?". Of course, no answer was expected ... because food was already prepared and waiting no matter what the time of day. Steaming bowls of pastina soup with made with big pieces of chicken, homemade bread with that crisp crust and soft interior, and those lovely anise flavored pizzella cookies. Even if an answer was expected, it would never have come from me because 1) I was a shy little thing, and 2) I was recovering from the onslaught of double kisses on each cheek from the line, yes line, of relatives waiting for our car to pull up. The minute we exited the car, the language changed from English to Italian, and although I couldn't speak it fluently, I could understand and follow the conversation when I was little. We visited my grandparents in West Virginia every summer for two weeks at a time, and we were always greeted as if we'd been apart for decades. Words can't even begin to describe the scene when it was time to head back to Indiana. Let's just say that my grandma alone was responsible for Kleenex tissue stock skyrocketing during that time. We Italians are a passionate people!

Preparing and sharing food is a big deal in an Italian household, and meals were always eaten together ... no matter how many of us there were. There was no "kids" table ... everyone always sat together at tables where leaf after leaf was inserted until all were accommodated. The food and wine flowed freely as did the conversation. It was loud and fun and some of the best times of my youth.

And so, spurred onward by all the great food circulated on the web, my Calabrian ancestry has come alive in my household. Oh, it was always there in my life, but now has taken a front seat in everyday life for my kids, too. My mom, who has been enjoying her Heavenly reward since I was a teenager, lives on in my memories and in the great traditions that I can now pass on to my own brood.

This potato salad is something that I ate regularly every summer of my youth. I remember my mom making it, as well as seeing it on my grandma's table, my Aunt's table, and my Godmother's table. Once when I was very little, about 4 or 5 years old, I remember watching my Grandfather, who we called Pap Pap, eat this salad. I saw him put a slice of tomato in his mouth -- seeds and all -- and became very distressed. I sought refuge with my mom and explained that I was worried that a tomato was going to grow in Pap Pap's stomach. My mom, God bless her, did not laugh at my dismay and in a way that only a mother could, assured me that no tomatoes would grow in his tummy. Being the mom-trusting mite that I was, I instantly believed her and from that point forward ate the salad with gusto along with everyone else.

Back to the potato salad ... It is surprisingly light and goes with everything. Pair it with burgers, seafood, fried chicken, sandwiches, steak, and even pasta. It holds up great on picnics, and tastes better the longer it sits ... which is never very long because it's so good!

Calabrian Potato Salad

About 4 large potatoes, boiled in their jackets, peeled, and then sliced (not diced) about 1/4 in thick
About 3 ripe tomatoes, sliced 1/4 in thick (you don't have to seed them, although I tend to remove about 1/2 of the seeds).
1/4 of an onion - sliced 1/8 in thick and left in 1/4 ring size pieces
5 large basil leaves - rough chopped
3 oregano leaves - chopped
Lots of freshly ground black pepper
Sea Salt to taste
Olive oil and vinegar in 2 to 1 proportions

In a very large bowl, combined the potatoes, tomatoes, onion, and the oil and vinegar. Toss gently. Add the remaining ingredients and toss again. The potatoes really soak up the oil and vinegar, so add more according to your own taste. You can also add some thinly sliced celery (I didn't have any.)

This can be served cold or at room temperature, but store it in the fridge. It's really good if you can hold off eating it for a day. When allowed to sit, the tomatoes give up a lot of juice, and add much flavor to the oil and vinegar. It's yummy!