April is time for tomatoes...
Kitchen Porch April 2012 Newsletter
The first of the season: our own tomatoes!
Pictured is a delicious Tomato & Eggplant Tart. If you have too many tomatoes, here is a favorite simple recipe for Tomato Confit. This simple recipe allows you to preserve the best flavors of the season now to save for later by canning. It’s the height of the season and it is easy to make a large batch so you can enjoy them all year round. I love tomato confit on a lobster roll with bacon! You can also use them in Tomato Confit & Onion Tart.
And yes, these are photos taken last August when the abundance of tomatoes overflows and yes tomatoes are not in season (unless you are in Australia).
April Fools!
But Seriously Tomatoes are listed number 34 on the dirty dozen list for the EWG Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides which means caution!
I keep it simple. I don’t buy tomatoes unless they are from here, until recently that is. My son Oren insisted that we buy some tomatoes in February! We examined our choices and found some organic ones from Mexico and we found some little heirloom from Holland (I wasn’t buying!). And then we found these Backyard Farms tomatoes from Maine. That’s right from Maine - in February! We bought them and we liked them.
I looked them up on the internet. Here is clip of what’s going on in Maine:
These tomatoes are not organic, but they are grown close to home. Also, I know I am supporting a company that is keeping loads of folks employed. Backyard Tomatoes appears to be doing all the right things.
I did stop in at Morning Glory Farm this week and they have filled a green house full of tomato plants. The fans are on and blowing and the temperature is a constant balmy 70 degrees. The tomato plants are one foot tall and this is what Jim Athearn reported when I asked him about them:
Today Andrew did a beautiful job of hoeing out the extreme blush of weeds that had emerged since the tomatoes were planted. He finished with a flourish of raking smooth, straight lines through the entire house; an extra touch that shows he has graduated from laborer to farmer. We expect to pick tomatoes by Memorial Day. We took a soil test for that house, it is our "morganic" house and gets compost every year since 1999. The soil test was as close to perfect as I have ever seen.
Every year our family celebrates Passover and Easter, but it is a rare year to celebrate both on the same weekend. Passover or Easter - whole lamb or brisket - check below for a slew of delicious holiday recipes to get you through the tomato season… I mean April!
*RECIPES*
Passover:
Haroset Matzoh Ball Soup HorseradishTzimmes Spinach Souffle Macaroons