No Tomatoes this Year!

a look back at what we issued this year....took a year off!

Heirloom Tomato Review

THE SANDWICH

these are beefsteak - tomato sandwiches that can't be beat!

I prefer Pantano Romanesco above all other slicing tomatoes, than I opt for any pink variety - they both have less seeds and more thick flesh for a rich slice...see the list below for varieties I planted that I would plant again!

THE PICKLED GREEN TOMATO

any tomato will do that is a beefsteak variety - smaller - like the Cour di Bue or the Pantano - the recipe calls for salting the tomato slices, doing a vinegar bath, placing in jars/no lid with oil, garlic, oregano, dried hot red pepper

TOMATO SAUCE

any tomato will do, if cooked properly, roasted paste tomatoes are the best, but any tomato, cooked, and drained in the refrigerator overnight, will equal a paste consistency.  we freeze lots of tomatoes for a frozen product I developed in 2005 - farmers market frozen foods!

MARKET TOMATOES

.............................................................our farm stand does sells few tomatoes locally - no one pays what it's worth to grow them - yet, I do it for the love of growing them.  Next year - we are taking a year off from tomatoes - after 25 years.  Here, I am selling them for only 50 cents each - less than $1 per pound.  

This is a list of varieties we planted this year and the ones that I would plant again - my favorites on this list are Pantano Romanesco, Pineapple, Cour di Bue

TOMATO VARIETIES - plant again - YES/NO
Pearly Pink - cherry YES
Pineapple - beefsteak YES
Amish Paste - paste YES
Pincipe Borghese - cherry YES
Martino's Roma - plum YES
Gezahnte - paste NO - pretty fluted look but not special taste
Cour di Bue - beefsteak YES
Pink Brandywine - beefsteak YES
Pink Ponderosa - beefsteak
Plum Tigris - plum NO - pretty stripes but tough skin
Pantano Romanesco - my favorite YES YES
Black Elephant - got seeds, no plants ?
Rio Grande - beefsteak YES
Beefsteak NO - more seeds and pulp than other varieties

The Love Apple

The Tomato is the Love Apple, pomme d'amour, in Italian.  2015 Harvest is beginning.  $2.50/bag

Plantings 2015

For the last 25 plus years, only non Gmo - heirloom, organic and sustainable practices have been used on this farm.  I have not certified organic due to the initial cash outlay, and annual paperwork involved.  Just another "racket".  we would use that term to mean sham.

New stakes for the tomatoes - Gene made from locust trees knocked down by the storm last year.  250 plants

...........................................the garlic looks good too!

TOMATO VARIETIES
Pearly Pink - cherry
Pineapple - beefsteak
Amish Paste - paste
Pincipe Borghese - cherry
Martino's Roma - plum
Gezahnte - paste
Cour di Bue
Pink Brandywine - beefsteak
Pink Ponderosa - beefsteak
Plum Tigris - plum
Pantano Romanesco  - my favorite
Black Elephant - got seeds, no plants
Rio Grande - beefsteak
Beefsteak

In addition, there are yukon gold, and blue potatoes, silver queen corn, kale, lettuce, herbs,winter squash.

still to go in are cucumbers and zucchini!

Foodie Year in Review: 2014

this is the pineapple heirloom - a great slicing tomato!

My favorite food consumption this year included oysters at a local restaurant.  Cleaned and served chilled with fresh lemon and hot sauce is one of the truly simple and delectable treats.  I found these purveyors posted on the Martha blog.  I have not tried them yet, but intend to in the future for parties!

These are reasonable prices, especially if you are having guests and need 100 oysters!
http://coppsislandoysters.com/shop/

for smoked salmon, you may try russ and daughters:

http://shop.russanddaughters.com/store/product/233/Gaspe-Nova-Smoked-Salmon/

My all time favorite food - is the fresh heirloom tomato plucked from our farm gardens and sliced on Italian bread topped with mayo.  Nothing else screams summer to me, except the beach!  Purely delectable...

here is a sandwich with tomatoes, my cousins great fried hot peppers, and chunks of provolone cheese.

Tomatoes Year in Review

a mix of Pantano Romanesco and Pineapple - heirloom varieties that do well here in the North.
these are ready for roasting, blending, straining, and freezing.

Pineapple grew really large.

Once frozen I will slip them out of these containers. heat seal them in plastic so they maintain a block shape, and compact them nicely into the freezer.