Notes from Debbie's Kitchen
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Since the theme of this weekend's Community Farm Day is "Totally Tomatoes", I thought I'd emphasize tomato-centric recipes. And although they're not 'tomatoes', I will stretch the theme to include tomatillos, which we are also receiving this week!  [I'm sorry my lead recipe last week - the one for radish leaf pesto - probably didn't work so well seeing as how, although the radishes themselves were big and juicy and crispy, the leaves weren't in tip-top shape ;-) Although I get the veggie list from Tom each week, I don't always know some of the finer details about what's coming. But the recipe's in the database now, so the next time your radish greens look too good to compost, you know where to find it!]

 - Debbie

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Let's start with this recipe sent to me by member Traci Townsend, who said, "I made this for breakfast yesterday morning and it was fast, easy and total yummage!"

Traci's Tomato, Chard and Garlic Frittata
serves 4 (or two hearty eaters!)

1 tbsp. olive oil
4 VERY LARGE chard leaves, stems removed, coarsely chopped
2 tomatoes, chopped or diced
2 (or more) cloves garlic, crushed
4 eggs, beaten
Kosher salt & fresh ground pepper to taste
1/2 C shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat your broiler.
2. In a 10-inch saute pan at medium high heat, heat the olive oil.
3. Add crushed garlic and stir or shake for 15-30 seconds.
4. Add tomatoes and saute until saucy.
5. Add chard and saute until wilted down but still bright deep green.
6. Reduce heat to medium or medium low and add eggs.
7. Let eggs cook until mostly set around the edges and towards the middle, and still gooey in the center.
8. Season to taste with salt and pepper and sprinkle cheese over the top.
9. Set pan under the broiler and cook until eggs are completely set and cheese is melted/browned.
10. Cut into 4 wedges and serve.


A good friend of mine gave me her favorite recipe for roasting tomatoes -- they are SO good this way! I made a batch last weekend. Yum!

Sue's Slow-Roasted Tomatoes

tomatoes, any kind (heirloom, dry-farmed, cherry)
olive oil
salt
thyme and oregano (fresh if you have it, but dried is okay too)

Cut tomatoes in half and lay cut-side up on a baking sheet [I slipped a piece of parchment paper under the tomatoes for easier cleanup]. Drizzle or baste cut sides of tomatoes with a little olive oil, then sprinkle with salt, pepper if you like, and herbs.

Roast in a slow oven (225 degrees) for a couple hours; the goal is to evaporate the liquid and caramelize the sugars. For all tomatoes, start by checking them after about 1 1/2 hours. Cherry tomatoes are usually done in this length of time, but bigger tomatoes can take 3 or 4, sometimes 5 hours or more if really large. Just check them every hour or so, and see how they're doing. They should poop out, lose a lot of their juiciness, and become a rich darker red, maybe browned a bit around the edges even.



The skins slip easily off the tomato pulp if you don't like the skins [I wouldn't bother with the cherry tomatoes though].

Roasted tomatoes freeze well, so this is a great recipe for storing your summer bounty of tomatoes for enjoying during the winter!

Use roasted tomatoes with green beans and feta, or as a pasta sauce, or to enhance other dishes/sauces. Got some big zucchinis in your garden? Try stuffing zucchini-halves with it: scoop out innards, saute them up with some onions, mix that together with some ground lamb (or bulghur, if you don't eat meat) some feta, and roasted tomatoes, stuff the zucchini halves with this mixture (mound it up), then bake until zucchini and meat are done. Cut into slices and serve.


No tomato-centric story can be complete without a gazpacho recipe! Here's one from two years ago, sent to me by member Ignacio "Nacho" Martin-Bragado:

Gazpacho Espaņol
Nacho says, "This is a version I copied from my grandmother, and I have changed it a little for my personal taste. As with most traditional recipes, it is complicated to know which one is the 'authentic' one. In any case, here it is, my personal version of Gazpacho from Andalusia, Spain." [I have added some suggestions, since we don't have all the ingredients in this week's boxes.]

5 big ripe tomatoes
1 or 2 red sweet peppers [the sweet green peppers work well too, the soup just won't be as 'red']
2 regular cucumbers or half an Armenian one [in a pinch, I'll use summer squash, but cucumbers are really best; or a combo of cukes and summer squash]
good quality Spanish olive oil
red wine vinegar
salt
half an onion
1 garlic clove
(optional bread)
(optional ice)
(optional lemon juice)

The recipe is very simple: All the raw ingredients have to be blended until a thick liquid is formed. Once blended, put it in the fridge for a while, since it is better to have it cold. Nevertheless some suggestions might be useful:
* It has to be red. If it is not, add more tomato.
* Garlic, vinegar and salt: add according to your particular taste. Same goes with lemon juice, however the vinegar adds a very interesting taste, so I feel it is almost indispensable. [I'm in agreement with Nacho: there's something about the red wine vinegar that makes the soup 'just right'. Don't leave it out.]
* Depending how thick you like it, you might want to add bread (thicker) or ice/water (lighter/thinner)
* Blending everything at once is not that easy because the peppers are difficult to blend. Usually it helps to blend the tomatoes and onions first along with some olive oil and vinegar. It should look very "liquid". After that, it is easy to add the rest of ingredients. [In my experience, cutting up the peppers into smallish, relatively uniformly-sized pieces helps.]
* If the gazpacho tastes too "pepper", add more cucumber.
* Once done, some people like to serve it with croutons and additional diced peppers and finely chopped onions.


Members Jennifer Black and Oscar Ortiz sent this next recipe; Jennifer says it is traditional, from her mother-in-law:

 Traditional Salsa Verde
 
 1/2 pound tomatillos, rinsed and husked
 1/4 pound whole jalapenos, stems removed
 1/4 of a small-medium white or yellow onion
 1 clove garlic, peeled
 Salt to taste
 
 In a pot of water, boil the tomatillos and jalapenos about 10 minutes or until they have just turned from bright to dull green.  Scoop them out of the cooking water and blend with onion, garlic, and salt.  Add some cooking water if needed to thin salsa.


You can also make a marvelous Tomatillo salsa fresca with cilantro - tomatillos and cilantro... a match made in heaven!

Tomatillo Salsa Fresca
makes about 1 cup

8 - 10 tomatillos
1 jalapeno, seeded and de-stemmed
1 small handful cilantro
1/2 small white onion
1/4 tsp. salt, or to taste

Remove papery skins from tomatillos (discard skins). Wash tomatillos under warm water to remove stickiness, then quarter them. Combine with rest of ingredients in a food processor and process almost to a puree (it helps to coarsely chop everything before adding). Serve with plenty of tortilla chips -- it'll go fast!

More things to try with tomatillos:

Mexican rice with tomatillos
Process 6 tomatillos with half a bunch of cilantro, 1 white onion, 3 garlic cloves, and 1 jalapeno. Fry 1 cup of white rice in olive oil until golden. Add tomatillo puree and 1 1/2 cups chicken broth. Cover and simmer until rice is tender.

Grilled or roasted tomatillo salsa
Grill or roast your tomatillos before making into salsa. To roast, place on a rimmed baking sheet in a 375 degree oven until they're soft and have dark areas on their skin, about 25 minutes.

Tomatillos are also fabulous in Mark and Mary's Paprika Roasted Veggies, a very versatile recipe in the database. (Scroll down on the page, it is the second recipe.)


Next is a recipe from our 'coop-etition', Julia Wiley, of Mariquita Farm (one of the farms in the Two Small Farms CSA). We poach from each other's recipe databases occasionally, with shared permission ;-)

Julia's tabouleh (when I'm too lazy to open a cookbook)

Cook up some cracked wheat or couscous (couscous is not traditional, but this recipe isn't either!) Dress the cooled, cooked grain with olive oil and lemon juice. Stir in chopped tomatoes, finely chopped onion or green onions, and piles of washed, chopped parsley. I like my tabouleh to be vibrant green. Throw in some chopped fresh mint if available. Season with salt and pepper.


Lastly, here's a recipe I've run before (and made before), and it is really delicious - it's one that's good to run when we truly are getting lots of tomatoes. It is from my same friend as the one who gave me the slow roasted tomatoes recipe (she has a large, beautiful garden and so is always giving me these great ideas):

Homemade Tomato Juice
from the book "You Say Tomato"
Makes 6 cups

Recipe intro: "There's nothing like a glass of ice-cold, freshly made tomato juice, far better than anything you'd ever buy in a bottle or can. And it just takes a big batch of the most flavorful tomatoes available and a little effort. Use it for Bloody Marys or add a squeeze of lemon to each glass and serve with cucumber and tomato sandwiches for a late summer lunch. This can also be made with yellow tomatoes." [I'm sure it could be made with any combination of tomatoes from the farm!]

5 lbs. ripe tomatoes, cored and quartered
1 small red onion
1 stalk celery, with leaves
Sugar
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper

Place the tomatoes, onion, and celery in a large pot set over medium heat. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the toma-toes are soft, about 30 minutes. Let cool. Remove the onion and celery and discard.

Pass the tomatoes through a food mill fitted with the fine blade or a fine sieve. Discard the solids. Measure the juice and return it to the cleaned pot. For each 4 cups tomato juice, add 1 teaspoon sugar, 1 teaspoon salt, and pepper to taste. Stir the tomato juice over medium heat to dissolve the sugar and salt. As soon as they are dissolved, remove the juice from the heat and cool.

Taste and season with salt. Chill, and serve within 3 days.

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