Trial and error
Aug. 22nd, 2010 02:11 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ksmithToday was a cooking day. I don't know why I thought I didn't have many tomatoes. Under the sink I have three lunch sacks filled with ripening greenies. That left about 6 pounds of Romas, Crims, and Purples that needed to be used as soon as possible.
Veggie chili was the first mess on the agenda. I tried this recipe because it looked tasty and promised some depth of flavor. Instead of the 28 oz can of tomatoes, I used 24 oz of diced fresh + 4 oz packaged veggie stock. I only had one can of kidney beans, so I substituted a can of pinto beans. Other than that, I followed the recipe.
I had some for supper with a flavored ciabbata roll and some shredded three cheese blend--asiago/romano/parmesan--on top. The verdict? Meh. The depth of flavor wasn't there. Maybe it was the tomatoes, which were a little watery. Maybe I should have let it cook down longer. I portioned it into half-liter containers for freezing. When I warm it up, I'll add stuff. Basil. Cheese. Chopped meat.
While I worked on the chili, I decanted the cold brewed coffee concentrate that I set up the night before. Made a cup according to the instructions: 1 part concentrate to 3 parts hot water. More meh, unfortunately. Damned weak. Could have been the coffee, which was a medium-dark roast. Could have been the way I ground it, although the directions stated a coarse French press grind, and I thought I may have ground it too fine. For breakfast, I'll try a 1:2 dilution, and see if that tastes better.
After that, it was on to the last adventure of the day, a new marinara recipe. I settled on this one from Giada De Laurentiis because it looked simple, yet contained a few ingredients I had never added before, namely the carrot and bay leaf. I chopped up 4 pounds of tomatoes, mixed everything up, let it cook down for an hour, and tasted it. Watery, dammit. Flat.
I added a cup of merlot. A couple of teaspoons of Penzey's herb blends. A sprinkle of red pepper flakes. A can of tomato paste. An additional teaspoon of salt and half a teaspoon of pepper. Penzey's dried French basil. At that point, I remembered Hey! Basil! and went out to the deck and snipped a few leaves. Diced them up and added them.
The final result ain't too bad. The paste really helped thicken things up, and gave the tomato flavor the boost it needed. The salt and herbs combined to give a little depth. The Crims and Purples just aren't great sauce tomatoes. I'll be interested to see if the Brandywines and Rutgers are any better. They're still a week or two from ripening, which will take them into September. One step closer to the cool nights that could trigger whatever blight may be lurking. I've been trimming leaves and spraying fungicide every few days--there is definitely something out there that's trying to take hold. I hope I get the chance to harvest more tomatoes before it hits.
Veggie chili was the first mess on the agenda. I tried this recipe because it looked tasty and promised some depth of flavor. Instead of the 28 oz can of tomatoes, I used 24 oz of diced fresh + 4 oz packaged veggie stock. I only had one can of kidney beans, so I substituted a can of pinto beans. Other than that, I followed the recipe.
I had some for supper with a flavored ciabbata roll and some shredded three cheese blend--asiago/romano/parmesan--on top. The verdict? Meh. The depth of flavor wasn't there. Maybe it was the tomatoes, which were a little watery. Maybe I should have let it cook down longer. I portioned it into half-liter containers for freezing. When I warm it up, I'll add stuff. Basil. Cheese. Chopped meat.
While I worked on the chili, I decanted the cold brewed coffee concentrate that I set up the night before. Made a cup according to the instructions: 1 part concentrate to 3 parts hot water. More meh, unfortunately. Damned weak. Could have been the coffee, which was a medium-dark roast. Could have been the way I ground it, although the directions stated a coarse French press grind, and I thought I may have ground it too fine. For breakfast, I'll try a 1:2 dilution, and see if that tastes better.
After that, it was on to the last adventure of the day, a new marinara recipe. I settled on this one from Giada De Laurentiis because it looked simple, yet contained a few ingredients I had never added before, namely the carrot and bay leaf. I chopped up 4 pounds of tomatoes, mixed everything up, let it cook down for an hour, and tasted it. Watery, dammit. Flat.
I added a cup of merlot. A couple of teaspoons of Penzey's herb blends. A sprinkle of red pepper flakes. A can of tomato paste. An additional teaspoon of salt and half a teaspoon of pepper. Penzey's dried French basil. At that point, I remembered Hey! Basil! and went out to the deck and snipped a few leaves. Diced them up and added them.
The final result ain't too bad. The paste really helped thicken things up, and gave the tomato flavor the boost it needed. The salt and herbs combined to give a little depth. The Crims and Purples just aren't great sauce tomatoes. I'll be interested to see if the Brandywines and Rutgers are any better. They're still a week or two from ripening, which will take them into September. One step closer to the cool nights that could trigger whatever blight may be lurking. I've been trimming leaves and spraying fungicide every few days--there is definitely something out there that's trying to take hold. I hope I get the chance to harvest more tomatoes before it hits.
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no subject
Date: 2010-08-22 07:52 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-08-22 12:55 pm (UTC)Someone on another blog noted that her tomatoes were behind last year's pace wrt ripening. Given the hotter/brighter summer I had here, you wouldn't think I would be in the same boat, but I've got about 3 weeks left of the season and a lot of green tomatoes.
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Date: 2010-08-23 06:09 pm (UTC)Yesterday I remembered the next step for our local tomatoes, and took the pruning sheers to the flowers and the excess greenery, thus leaving all the energy for ripening and growing what's already there. One of the Sweet Hundreds is already yellowing. I have my fingers crossed!
(Yes, I know about cutting the branch and hanging it inside to finish ripening, but I try not to do that until the season is definitely over. Which could be in two weeks around here, depending on when the weather shifts to fall.)
no subject
Date: 2010-08-22 03:55 pm (UTC)Good luck with your continued harvest!
no subject
Date: 2010-08-22 04:39 pm (UTC)I didn't de-skin the tomatoes I used yesterday. It didn't seem to matter much with the chili, but the little skin cigars were pretty easy to spot in the marinara. I spent a good deal of time picking them out.