Tuesday 18 August 2009

Summer Fest - Tomatoes!

I'm so thrilled - although it's the last of this year's Summer Fest posts, this is actually the first of the Summer Fest posts where I've had my OWN VEGGIES to show off!!! Yes, that's right, our tomatoes have ripened. I really didn't think that we were going to have much success with the tomatoes - I've never grown them before and they weren't something that my parents grew when I was growing up so I guess I just figured that without a greenhouse, we wouldn't have much luck. But look at them all!! The ones above are a currant tomato and boy, they're so sweet. Little intense explosions of tomatoeyness (yep, that's a word). The ones below are a hanging basket cherry tomato. They hang just next to our patio furniture so great for sitting out on a sunny evening with a glass of wine and nibbling on home grown tomatoes... That's what growing your own is all about!
We really didn't think they were going to make it as they've been transplanted about a million times and then were knocked over about another hundred times. It was only a month ago that they were planted into hanging baskets (or hanging pots really). But wow, they've certainly come up trumps. They're all weighed down like this one with lots of beautiful fruits. YUM!!!

Alas, there aren't quite enough ripe ones for cooking with yet. But I grabbed these lovelies and whipped up a light, summery tomato sauce to go with home grown beans and home grown courgettes and baked salmon. Just perfect - can you tell I'm proud of our growing achievements??!

There's not really a recipe - all I did was chop up a red onion, fry in a little oil until nice and jammy, throw in a chopped red pepper (only because I had a questionable looking one in the bottom of the fridge). Then add a couple of cloves of garlic, sliced, and deglaze with a slosh of balsamic vinegar. I then added a teaspoon of brown sugar (I always add a tsp of sugar to tomatoes - really helps the depth of flavour). The tomatoes were peeled and chopped (you can use a can if you don't want to bother with peeling tomatoes) and added with a tablespoon of tomato puree and a good season before letting it bubble away gently. Simply boil for longer for a richer sauce but I was after a fresh, light sauce to go with the salmon.

We're having the left over sauce with pasta for a super quick supper dish tonight!

Rosy x

7 comments:

  1. Hi Rosy!

    My name is Joy, and I am also a member of SMS. I came across your site when scanning the blogroll, and I thought I'd stop by and introduce myself!

    Your tomatoes are absolutely BEAUTIFUL, and I'm so jealous of your abundant garden! I have an array of herbs growing on my porch, but unfortunately that's where my "garden" ends. It must be so satisfying to create a dinner that highlights your very own home grown vegetables, and your salmon dish sounds simply delicious! You've got quite the green thumb!

    Well, I'm super excited to be hosting SMS this week, and I really hope you will bake along with me. If you have a chance, I'd love for you to stop by my site "Hot Oven, Warm Heart," and feel free to say hello in the comments. It would be great to hear from you. Hope you're doing well, and I look forward to talking to you again soon. Have a great rest of your week :)

    -Joy of Hot Oven, Warm Heart
    http://hotovenwarmheart.wordpress.com/

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  2. Congratulations on your lovely, homegrown tomatoes. I can't grow anything (well, herbs, but have never been able to get tomatoes that the birds didn't get first).

    I lazily used store bought puff pastry and farmers market heirloom tomatoes for easy summer meal:

    http://penandfork.wordpress.com

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  3. it is such a great feeling to grow your own veggies, but there is definitely something special about the home grown tomato. congratulations! when you have a few, make one of these:

    http://thecosmiccowgirl.wordpress.com/2009/08/18/provencal-tomato-tart/

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  4. WOW - now that's a good lookin' crop! Congrats on your very own tomatoes!

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  5. Great job on your tomatoes. I LOVE the recipe, it is perfectly simple and delicious.

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  6. you're a first-time tomato grower too! mine are on their way - picked my first three cherry toms two days ago and took photos, so will have a blog update soon! xx

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  7. Lovely photos of your tomatoes. Congrats on your early success!

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