Heirloom Tomatoes Grown in a Past Summer

I’ve written a lot about tomatoes in the past, grown a lot of tomatoes, and certainly cooked and eaten a lot of tomatoes. Tomatoes are a summer reward to all. In the past, I’ve picked up my favorite tomato seedlings such as Celebrity, Early Girl, Sungold, Black Krim, and Cherokee Purple. I planted them in my prepared garden in April, and lovingly maintained them from spring into summer harvest. At some point, these tomato plants grow and grow and become unruly. The ripe tomatoes are wonderful, yet the garden seems to have gotten out of hand.

This year I decided to intentionally contain my tomatoes and grew them in a different way, mainly in containers. The various seed catalogs have tomato selections for everyone’s taste, literally.

Please remember determinate tomatoes reach their full maturity quickly and set all of their fruit at one time. Most tomato plants suitable for containers are determinate. Indeterminate tomato plants are vining, need pruning at times, have an extended length of growing season, and continue to produce fruit throughout the season.

New Tomato Varieties I Am Growing This Year:

1) Shady Lady. This is a determinate hybrid tomato that needs no staking. I really like that idea. It is deep red in color, with heavy foliage, and great flavor. It is known in California as a top performer in tomato fields. I first heard about this Shady Lady tomato from Georgeanne Brennan, when I took her weekend Provence class at her home and garden outside of Davis, California. I don’t think she is hosting her cooking class anymore. She raved about this tomato, how many plants she grew, and how she shared them exclusively with her chef friend for his kitchen. This is the year to try Shady Lady. Readily available online.

2) Tasmanian Chocolate. Renee’s Garden Seeds. Heirloom container tomatoes with short vines that offer abundant mahogany-red tomatoes with rich, delicious, well-balanced flavor.

3) Cherry Falls. John Scheepers Kitchen Garden Seeds. Beautiful tomato plant with oodles of cascading cherry tomatoes.

4) Husky Cherry Red. Home Depot. I picked this up on whim because it is very suitable for containers.

Starting Seeds Indoors

I started these seeds in a seed tray and with seed starting mix from Grangetto’s I have had for a couple of years stored away. The seed warming mat really works and helps seeds germinate quickly. You can find all kinds of seed warming mats online. I poked a small indention into each soil-filled cell with a chopstick. Seeds are tiny. Keeping your soil moist with a spray water bottle is critical. I placed my sowed seeds and mat on top of my dryer in my laundry room where there is a skylight and under the counter lighting, also critical for germinating your precious seeds.

I am experimenting and starting more seeds other than tomatoes, such as different basils, heirloom Italian eggplant, different lettuces, kale, and more. Another honorable mention is Fino Verde Little-Leaved Basil offered at John Scheepers Kitchen Garden Seeds, that is applauded by chefs, for the tiny size of leaf, depth of flavor, and rich color.

Please share if you are growing flowers and vegetables from seed for your garden and potager! I would love to hear about your seed adventures!

Related Past Tomato Blog Posts

Bon Appétit et Bon Weekend….Bonnie

Home-Grown Tomatoes

There are lots of wonderful recipes for your home-grown tomatoes, like bruschetta, tomato tart, caprese salad, or just an awesome BLT sandwich. I remembered reading recently the Roasted Tomato Soup recipe from Miss Maggie’s Kitchen cookbook, and wanted to try it. So simple, so seasonal, so divine.

Steamy Roasted and Charred Soup Ingredients

Roasted Tomato Soup

Lovingly Adapted from Miss Maggie’s Kitchen Cookbook

Ingredients:

2-1/4 pounds assorted tomatoes

2 red onion quartered

4 cloves garlic, unpeeled

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

2 teaspoons sugar

Leaves of three sprigs of fresh thyme

Leaves of 3 sprigs fresh basil

1-1/2 cups warm vegetable broth

salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions:

1) Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

2) Rinse the tomatoes, cut them in half, and set on a rimmed parchment-lined baking sheet with the cut side up.

3) Place the onions on the baking sheet, then crush the garlic cloves with the flat side of a chef’s knife and scatter them around the tomatoes and onions.

4) Drizzle with the olive oil and balsamic vinegar, sprinkle with the sugar and thyme leaves, and season with salt and pepper. Roast for 50 minutes, then turn on the broiler and cook for an additional 5-10 minutes, until the tomatoes and onions are lightly charred and caramelized.

5) Remove the skin from the garlic cloves and place in a blender with the tomatoes, onions, any pan juices, and the basil. Process until smooth, adding the warm broth in two or three stages, until the soup reaches your preferred consistency. Serve warm or cold. Makes 5-6 servings.

Recipe Note: Like most soups, this soup is even more delicious the next day. I used “Fresh Basil” Temecula Olive Oil with my Early Girl and Celebrity Tomatoes.

Soup is On After Blending

This soup was delicious the day I made it. However, the next day I couldn’t resist enjoying it with an extra aged cheddar melted cheese sandwich with a touch of peperoncini on rustic country bread. Yum!

Good to the Last Spoonful

Related Linked Posts:

Miss Maggie’s Kitchen, Relaxed French Entertaining

Bon Appétit et Bon Weekend….Bonnie

Garden Sorrel in My Potager

Sandwiched between my sage plant on the left and flourishing fava beans on the right is my bright green perennial sorrel plant in my potager. Sorrel is an herb that adds lemony flavor to salads, soups, and sauces. There are two types of sorrel: garden sorrel, Rumex acetosa, which I grow, and French sorrel, Rumex scutatus (or buckler sorrel). The two types are very different in appearance, but similar in flavor. Garden sorrel has large sword-like leaves and French sorrel has leaves almost shaped like that of an oak leaf and only reaches about 6'“ in height. If you have the room, try growing a patch in your garden. You can find sorrel in some specialty grocery stores and markets in the spring, but if you grow it in your garden in Southern California, it will thrive year-round.

Patricia Wells 1996 Cookbook with Sorrel Soup Recipe

Sorrel is such a sensational flavor, but there are two things to be aware of. When you cook, steam, or sauté sorrel leaves, it is like spinach, in that a huge amount of fresh leaves becomes a small wilted amount—so you need to use more initially than you might realize. Sorrel leaves when fresh are a bright happy green color, but can turn a sort of muddy green darker color when heated.

Patricia Wells has a great sorrel soup recipe below, where she shares a secret for retaining bright green sorrel color, from her friend, Chef Dieter Müller. Blend your pureed sorrel with room temperature butter first, and add it to the soup at the end of your cooking time. The soup retains its desirable green color. This elegant soup can be served hot or cold, and can be made with fresh watercress leaves as a nice substitute.

Amazing Sorrel Soup

Lovingly Adapted from Patricia Wells at Home in Provence

Ingredients:

3 ounces (90 grams) fresh sorrel leaves, stemmed, thoroughly washed, and dried

3 Tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 small onion, peeled and sliced into thin rounds

6 ounces (180 grams) starchy potatoes, peeled and diced

1 quart homemade Chicken or Vegetable Stock, or store bought

1 cup heavy cream

Sea salt and freshly ground white pepper to taste.

Directions:

1) In a food processor, puree the sorrel, pulsing on and off for 30 to 45 seconds. Add the butter and puree. Transfer to a small bowl, cover, and set aside in a cool area of the kitchen. Do not refrigerate, or the sorrel butter is likely to be too cold to add to the soup at the end.

2) In a large saucepan, heat the oil until it is hot but not smoking. Add the onion and sweat them over low heat until soft, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the potatoes and cook over low heat until golden, 10 to 15 minutes. Remember not to cook over too high a heat, or they will burn instead of coloring a beautiful golden brown.

3) Add the stock and simmer for about 20 minutes or until the potatoes are fully cooked. Stir in the heavy cream. Using an immersion mixer, puree the soup directly in the stock pot. A food processor can also be used. Return the soup to the stockpot if using a food processor. The potatoes will give thickness and body to the soup without detracting from the sorrel. Taste for seasoning. Just before serving, whisk the sorrel butter into the hot soup, taking care to mix thoroughly and quickly. Makes 4-6 servings.

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