Week 9: Tomato Season Begins

The weather has cooled off dramatically the last couple days.  There has been a cool breeze at night.  The sun doesn't seem to be quite as high.  And I am starting to get Packer updates on my phone.  I hate to say it but I can feel the "F" word coming....Fall.  I absolutely love summer.  I am addicted to heat, sun and being hot.  But I will have to say that the Fall season is always a welcome change.  I love cuddling up in a hooded sweatshirt and drinking hot apple cider.  BUT I am not ready for it yet.  It is still mid-August!  That means we all need to savor every last bit of summer we can.  For me, the epitome of summer is the taste of a homegrown heirloom tomato.  The taste is unlike any tomato you will ever buy in a grocery store.  Rich, juicy, sweet but still enough acid to make a wonderful balance. And then the color!  They can range from orange and yellow striped to a deep purple that almost looks black.  They are all amazing and I will slowly enjoy every last bite.  Last week we received about 3 1/2 lbs of tomatoes in the CSA.  This week we probably have double that. Obviously, I can't eat that many tomatoes in a week!  So its time to find ways to freeze the taste of Summer so I can thaw it out during a snowy cold night in January and reminisce of the days filled with sun and humidity.  Sometimes that the only way to get through those horribly cold days....hope!  I think everyone's mission in the next couple weeks is to figure out what food screams Summer for them and make sure to enjoy it!  It will be squash, apple and pumpkin season before you know it!


Big Tomatoes: 
This was the week of salsa for us.  I made both a fresh pico de gallo salsa and a cooked salsa to freeze for the colder months.  The things I liked most about making these salsas is that all of the ingredients were local and  in my fridge besides the lime.  Onion, garlic, tomatoes, peppers all from last week's CSA.  Cilantro that I froze a few weeks back from the CSA.  Jalapenos and Hot peppers from my own plants.  I just think it is so amazing when I can do this.  All local, all fresh.  I wondering if I can start growing limes...

Freezer Salsa

http://www.food.com/recipe/diners-freezer-salsa-12275

Fresh Tomato Salsa

http://www.marthastewart.com/339894/fresh-tomato-salsa

Preparing the tomatoes to be peeled.  Pretty colors!

For the tomatoes, you have to peel them.  Here is instructions on how to do it.  Though an annoying step, it is quite easy and quick.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes-and-cooking/how-to-peel-tomatoes/index.html

All the flavor ready to go in!

Finished product.  Salsa cooks down for 3 hours!

Fresh Pico de Gallo -- Love using different colored tomatoes

Cherry Tomatoes:

As with most weeks, I made Caprese Salad and just ate the tomatoes as a snack.  I also made a very filling and refreshing salad of Tomatoes, Avocado, Fresh Mozzarella and Basil that had a lemon vinaigrette.  I think it was a little too much dressing for the ingredients so you may want to reduce or pour over each serving to your taste.

http://ashleyscookingadventures.blogspot.com/2011/05/meatless-mondays-mozzarella-tomato-and.html

Tomato, Avocado, Mozza Salad

Red Fryer Peppers:

I ended up using these peppers in a lot of everyday meals.  I made scramblers on Sunday morning and a Cheese Quesadilla for a quick dinner.  Always great to add a little crunch. Probably the biggest thing I used the peppers in was the Freezer Salsa. 

Corn:

Super simple and pretty obvious.  We ate the corn on the cob after throwing it on the grill.  We have tried corn-on-the-cob several ways -- Boiled, Soaked in the husks and thrown on the grill and husked and put on the grill.  Right now we are liking the char you get from putting the corn right on the grill.  This is best if you have a really sweet corn.  If the corn isn't quite a sweet, then I would boil it because you can add sugar to the water to sweeten it up.  Whatever way it is cooked, corn is always good.

Red Onion:

Again, used this in EVERYTHING this week.  Both salsas, quesadilla, salads, scrambler, brat topper...the list goes on.

Garlic:

Great to have around since I needed it for the salsas and the Tomato Avocado salad. 

Purple Beans:

This week I cooked up the beans for an easy side.  Just steamed them and topped them off with coarse salt and a drizzle of olive oil.  Can't really go wrong with that. 

Basil:

Just using the basil to top off everything!  It was in the Tomato Avocado salad.  I also had some with cut tomatoes, on top of a scrambler and added to a pasta dish.  I love having fresh herbs around.  They add an element of freshness to every dish!

Zucchini:

We have finally eaten enough zucchini that I have needed to start hiding them in baked goods.  We still roasted a few last night and topped with basil and goat cheese.  But we can only do that so many more times until we are really sick of it.  This week I made DELICIOUS Double Chocolate Zucchini Muffins.  In this recipe the zucchini is in there more to keep the muffin soft and moist and not for the flavor.  Most people probably wouldn't even notice the zucchini in them.  The chocolate in these muffins so intense, they are almost like a brownie.  I will definitely be making them again.  NUM!

http://www.simplylifeblog.com/2012/07/double-chocolate-zucchini-muffins-from-whats-baking-in-the-barbershop/

Roasted Zucchini with Basil



Double Chocolate Zucchini Muffins



Week 10!  Can you believe I have been doing this for 10 weeks!?  Another huge week of food.  I will need to make a game plan, once again.

Summer Squash, Broccoli, Butter Lettuce, Globe Eggplant, Corn, Green Beans, Red Fryer Peppers, Yellow Bell Pepper, Cucumber and A LOT of Tomatoes.



Week 10


Have a great weekend and find that food that defines Summer for you....before its too late!