Homegrown Garlic and Herb Tomato Sauce

I have never been a big fan of summer, but growing and preserving food has given me a new perspective on the season.  An in-season fresh tomato does not compare to a store bought tomato, bred for transport, harvested green and ripened with ethylene gas.  I love putting in time over the summer to capture that freshness to enjoy later in the year.

This was my most successful garden attempt in Georgia, which is fitting since it is my last garden attempt in Georgia (we will be moving this autumn).  I started most everything from seed, transplanted the seedlings and direct sowed the rest.  I picked off pests by hand and fertilized with composted chicken manure and Neptune's Harvest.

Tomato Hornworm that got away from me 

Bigger than Colin!

The tomatoes, squash and green beans produced nicely, the cucumbers did alright and the peppers lagged behind, producing a few fruits.

Beauties

The tomatoes are my favorite part and I am so glad they did and are doing so well.  We have many tomato centered dinners these days or just have them on the side.  When it starts to seem that there are too many tomatoes, I know it's time to make sauce.  I keep this one simple with fresh herbs and garlic.  This batch was destined for lasagna, but it would go equally well on pasta or pizza.

Homegrown Garlic and Herb Tomato Sauce
Yield 1 Quart

5 pounds Plum or Paste* Tomatoes
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1 small Red Onion, 2 ounces, diced
4 cloves Garlic, minced
2 Tablespoons Red Wine Vinegar
1 sprig Rosemary
2 sprigs of Thyme
1 teaspoon Honey
12 fresh Basil Leaves, cut or sliced into thin strips
1/4 teaspoon Salt or more to taste
Pepper to taste

1. Wash, core and crush the tomatoes into a dutch oven or large stock pot set over medium heat.

2. Once all the tomatoes are in the pot, increase the heat to high and bring the tomatoes to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium low and simmer the tomatoes for 15 minutes.  Remove from heat.

Ready to puree

3. Run the tomatoes through a food mill to remove the seeds and skins or process in a food processor and press through a fine mesh strainer.  Collect the puree in a large measuring cup or bowl.

Ready to get saucy

4. Heat the oil in your now empty pot over medium heat until shimmering.  Add the diced onion and cook until translucent and starting to brown, about 7 minutes.  Add the minced garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
5. Add the vinegar to loosen up any brown bits, scrape those up with your spoon or spatula.  Return the tomato puree to the pot along with the rosemary and thyme.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium low.

Cooking down

6. After 30 minutes, remove the rosemary.  Continue to cook until sauce is thickened, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.  Remove any thyme twigs left in the sauce, add the honey, basil, salt and pepper.  Taste and adjust seasonings.  Enjoy!

Fresh sauce for lasagna

*If you want to make this recipe but you only have slicing tomatoes, go for it!  The yield may be less but the sauce will still be delicious.

Shared at Clever Chicks Blog Hop and Eating Inside the Box.

Sweet Potato Apple Chili

In this neck of the woods, we had pretty much figured that spring had sprung.  We have lovely blooms on Tulip Magnolias and Bradford Pears and some early spring flowers are proudly displaying their colors, yellow and white daffodils, pink and purple hyacinth.  Warm days (80's!) combined with daylight savings time made winter seem like a distant memory.  Then the wind blew in more chilly weather and at least one more overnight freeze.

This recipe for Sweet Potato Apple Chili is full of warm fall flavors that should help you through the last cold snap before spring is here to stay.  Apple cider, sweet potatoes and apples lend a sweet component to this slightly spicy chili, which should please little palates.

Seconds after taking this picture, my daughter stole and ate the cactus cornbread.  

I prefer using dried beans over canned because they are way cheaper and you can control the ingredients, cooking medium and process for the beans.  For instance, a long soak in a salty brine before cooking will make beans much more tender and easier to digest (a great tip from Cooks Illustrated).  Most beans triple in size during soaking and cooking, so 1/2 cup dried beans will yield 1 1/2 cups cooked beans.  If you use canned beans, drain and rinse them well.

Makes about 8 cups or 4 pints to serve 8 or more

1 1/2 cups cooked or canned Red Beans

1 1/2 cup cooked or canned White Beans

1 1/2 cup cooked or canned Pinto Beans
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
1 large Onion, peeled and diced fine
2 cloves Garlic, peeled and minced
3 Tablespoons Tomato Paste
1 Tablespoon Chili Powder
1 Tablespoon ground Cumin
1 Tablespoon ground Coriander
1 large Sweet Potato (about 12 ounces) peeled and diced into 1 inch pieces
1 large Granny Smith Apple (about 8 ounces) peeled, cored and diced into 1 inch pieces
1 28 ounce can of crushed or diced Tomatoes (for this batch, I used diced, but I prefer crushed)
2 cups Water
1 cup Apple Cider
Salt and Pepper to taste


1. Heat the oil in a 10 inch skillet over medium heat.  Add the onion, cover and cook until onion has softened and is starting to brown.

2. Add the garlic, tomato paste and spices and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.  Quickly remove from heat and add to the crock of your slow cooker.

3. Add the diced sweet potato, apple, tomatoes and liquid to the crock and mix well.



























4. Cover and cook on low for eight hours or up to nine hours.

Serve with corn bread, tortilla chips or spice cake muffins.


Shared at the Clever Chicks Blog Hop and Meal Planning Monday Recipe Link-Up.

Italian Seasoning

For those times when you want something to taste more italian, try this spice mix.

2 tablespoons dried basil 

2 tablespoons dried oregano 

2 tablespoons dried rosemary 

2 tablespoons dried marjoram 

2 tablespoons cilantro seeds

2 tablespoons dried thyme 

1 tablespoon red pepper flakes

1. Whirl together in a spice blender or coffee grinder.  Store in an airtight container.  

Adapted from Allrecipes.com

Baby Loves Baba Ganoush

My daughter has been Particularly Picky about eating lately.  She won't eat food she used to love, won't touch anything that looks like it may have onions in it and will only accept berries or cherry tomatoes so that she may, "Put it in the bucket," a skill she learned from various berry picking adventures this summer.  

Did I mention she turned down pizza the other day?  She turned down pizza the other day!

So, you can imagine my excitement when she Did Not throw her dinner on the floor tonight.  She even asked for seconds!  Just when I thought she would never eat again.  What was this miraculous dinner that even my picky daughter loved?  Baba Ganoush of course!  A lovely pureed dip made from roasted eggplant, tahini, lemon juice and olive oil.  

This is a special recipe for me.  I used to sell little jars of this while working at the farmers market my first summer in Georgia.  I had to come up with a good recipe for the massive amounts of eggplant we were harvesting at the farm.  This is such a good way to use large amounts of eggplant and a good recipe to try if you are turned off by the texture of eggplant.  

We ate it with whole wheat pita bread, fresh sweet peppers, carrots, cherry tomatoes and lima beans from the garden.  I was so excited, I was almost able to drown out the memory of the Alton Brown episode where I learned that eggplant is a nutritionally neutral vegetable, by no means bad for you, but not especially good for you either.  Oh well, at least she tried something new and hey, it's all about baby steps, or bites.      

1lb eggplant, any variety

¼ cup lemon juice

¼ cup tahini

2 cloves garlic, roasted or raw, your preference

1 ½ tablespoons olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

1.Preheat oven to 400°F (If the eggplant are small enough, you can use a toaster oven to keep the kitchen from heating up from the big oven).  

2. Place eggplant on lightly oiled baking sheet and poke holes in the skin with a fork to let steam escape while roasting. 

3. Roast eggplant for 40 minutes or until soft, turning occasionally to prevent over browning. 

4. Remove the eggplant from oven and blanch in a large bowl of ice water.  Cool until able to handle. 

5. Drain eggplant, remove calyx (stem end) and peel off skin using your fingers. (If you are using a thin skinned variety of eggplant, such as Japanese, you can skip the peeling.  For the large purple globe eggplant, it is best to peel). 

6. Place eggplant, lemon juice, tahini and garlic in a food processor.  Pulse until a smooth puree forms, scraping sides of the bowl down as needed.  

7. With food processor running, slowly drizzle olive oil into the mixture.  Continue to process until oil is well incorporated.  

8. Transfer puree to a serving bowl and season with salt and pepper to taste.  Refrigerate for 3 hours before serving for best flavor and texture.

Enjoy with mixed veggies, pita bread, crackers, over pasta, or eat straight with a spoon like my toddler did.