Q&A with Hook Mountain Growers

Miriam K asks: 

What can you recommend for growing in the winter? I work with little kids and the process of planting is meaningful and educational on so many levels. what would you recommend? Thanks!

 OUTDOORS

There are 2 considerations when growing in the fall and winter season.  Daylight length and temperature.  We're now in early October which obviously means the days are getting progressively shorter.  As the days get shorter, growing does continue but gets severely stunted. And as the days get colder, there are only certain vegetables that like the cooler temperatures.  Usually, the latest one can plant is mid October and the only vegetable you can do that with is spinach, at least in zone 6 (find your zone).  The issues with growing from seed at this time is that the plant needs to establish a certain amount of maturity so it can continue to produce for you all winter long.  If you plant too late, you'll have a tiny seedling that will sit there for months and growing will be severely stunted.  This situation I described can work in an outdoor "cold frame" which is like a micro greenhouse, or,  can also be simulated with a "low tunnel" which is a system of a short hoops and a thin fabric called a floating row cover that lets in light and rain while retaining heat. 

photo: Ruth LivelyThis creates a condition where temperatures can be kept about 20 degrees higher than the outside temperature and will protect the plants from excess moisture and wind, which are the other crop killers.  This system can also be used to extending the growing season for existing plants.  For example, we have a bed of bell peppers filled with green fruit waiting to turn yellow, red and chocolate but we're very close to the first frost date (zone 6).  By covering this bed, we enable the peppers to have a longer growing season than what is typical in this region.  Or we have lettuces and mustard greens that we planted in early September that can tolerate cold temperatures but not super low temperatures.  This gives them the protection to continue growing for us throughout the winter months.  With a cold frame system, 2 frames (about 4x8 ft) for each family member should provide fresh food all winter.  This, of course, assumes that you built and planned and planted a majority of things by the end of summer.

4 different baby mustard greens

INDOORS

Growing indoors during this time is more difficult given the lower light levels but it's not impossible.  For an educational activity for kids, I think is an amazing way to teach kids to nurture something and provide responsibility.  Beyond that, I think they come away with an appreciation of where their food comes from and hopefully will acquire a taste for vegetables!  Alice Waters, chef and local food advocate, does a lot of work establishing this system of growing food and cooking in progressive school systems. In terms of what you can grow under lights during the fall and winter, I think leaf lettuces would be the quickest and easiest choice.  They like cooler temperatures and you'll be able to cut off baby lettuces and then allow the plant to regrow providing you with fresh salad over the season.  We call these "cut and come again."

What you will need for this endeavor are some basic tools. 

1) A fluorescent growlight system can range anywhere from $45-100 depending on the size.

2) Wooden wine boxes.  I'd go to your local vintner and ask for any old wooden crates.  This may be harder to find as most things are shipped in cardboard.  I'd then drill a few holes on the bottom for water drainage.

3) Organic potting soil to fill the box.

4) Seeds.  There is a huge variety of lettuces which can be ordered through the mail.  I like Johnny's Seeds in Maine.  You can do a mixed variety or you can select ones that you like (arugula, frisee etc).

In the planting box, seed closely in moistened soil.  Ideally you want to have a bottle mister and not pour water directly into the box especially when plants are just emerging.  Keep the soil continually moist and watch for the first signs of growth.  At that point, put the box under the grow lights for at least 10-12 hours per day.  Depending on soil conditions, you may want to add diluted organic fertilizer (seaweed base) every few weeks for continued production. 

Hope this helps and happy growing!

 

The Celebrity Carnivore "Meats" Hook Mountain Growers in the Hudson Valley

Scenic Hudson River and the Bear Mountain BridgeWhat a whirlwind of events this past weekend.  Because of a meeting arranged by best HMG friend Anne H. with her nephew Michael from South Dakota, we were asked to partake in a lower Hudson Valley local food gathering with Anthony Bourdain, host of the reality food show No Reservations.  And because of an interesting set of connections, Michael and his brother-in-law Cody, visiting from Alaska, both gifted in skinning and grilling wild game and other animal meats, were asked to prepare local goat and venison for Anthony Bourdain as he made his way up the Hudson Valley on a boat.  We were asked to join the festivities and bring along some local Hudson Valley vegetables along with Camp Hill Farm.  Hook Mountain Growers not only brought a beautiful bounty of vegetables to show, but prepared the night's side-dishes from our homestead to feed 20 people including Anthony and the show's staff, the boat's crew, and the few others involved in assembling this laid-back but momentous night.  The two of us had less than 48 hours to prepare, squeeze fours hours of seeing patients in our medical offices that morning, and fly home to harvest and prep the vegetables and cook the meal and transport it 30 minutes north of our kitchen.  Somewhere in between, we had to water and care for the farm which is not an inconsequential chore.  May seem like a lot of time considering cooks on Top Chef are able to produce a first course meal from 3 ingredients in 40 minutes.  Remember, we're medical doctors by day, farmers by night and food fanatics during all hours.

I first became aquainted with Anthony Bourdain after reading his first tell-all book, Kitchen Confidential (2000) followed by A Cook's Tour (2001).  Bourdain's sarcastic humor and cocky insouciance made me a fan from the start.  The rare times we do watch television, we usually like to view programs about food, culture and cooking (OK, and Heroes too) and Bourdain's show No Reservations tops our list.  As Bourdain explores almost every corner of the world he quickly becomes part of the local scene whether it be in Laos or in the home of a Hindu family in Queens, New York.  His ability to listen to and easily bond with people enables them to open up to him and his devil's advocate questioning always bring intelligent conversation to the table.  When we met Bourdain, he was the man you see on screen; there was no offCody and Charlie with local goat-screen persona or ego.  You get what you see, which is a New Yorker's charm.

On the food end, Cody and Michael procured the goat the night before, slaughtered and disemboweled the goat that afternoon and hung it on a tree in preparation for the skinning.  A large grill pit was started with washed up pieces of oak from the shores of the Hudson River. The Bear Mountain Bridge was in the background and combined with the crisp sunny weather set the stage for an incredible evening.  It's hard to imagine that such a well put together show, one that won an emmy for cinematography, was so quickly and almost haphazardly put together. Whatever my concerns, the evening turned out to be a laid-back scenic event that made you feel like you were at a friend's BBQ on the beach.  Pam and Michael at the grill with film crew

Pam, Anthony and JoanieWhile the goat was being prepped, the only thing to munch on was the green and purple roasted tomatillo salsa I made and watching Bourdain go back again and again to sample more made me feel like an Italian grandmother watching her family heartily eat and enjoy her cooking.  At one point, after repeating dippings into the salsa, Bourdain called it "irresitible." 

As serving time came along, I was ready to start grilling the Adirondack blue and Nicola white Potatoes I pre-roasted at home.  The idea is to make the potatoes crispy as I had done in the past with the recipe.  This grill pit was a bit challenging.  It was a rectangular area of cinderblocks with what looked like a subway grate on top and wood slowly burning and smoking underneath.  The result wasn't crispy as I had hoped but instead, it became deliciously smoky.  Once done, I added it to a pan with red currant and sungold cherry tomatoes,  blanched green beans and tossed with a basil-garlic vinaigrette. Is there anything more beautiful? Yes, my new French Bulldog pup, Henry Hudson

The other dish we served was a braised rainbow swiss chard with garlic, anchovies and parmesean all made by my sous chef farmer Charlie before leaving home.  It was simply heated on top of the grill and served right out of the pot.  Bourdain was seen tearing off bread we brought from Amy's Bread in Chelsea Market, dipping in the chard and throwing his head back in delight.

When we finally sat down, as Bourdain often does with a local family at the end of each episode, we were asked to join his table.  While everyone was getting settled and the goat meat gathered, one of the boat crew members injured his eye when a top flew off unexpectly from some locally-brewed beer lacerating his conjunctiva and causing some mild blood loss.  Luckily they had us, 2 docs on the scene for a medical evaluation.  Thankfully, there was nothing serious. 

Closest I could get to professional culinary instructiSo in addition to providing the only non-meat items on the menu, we were pretty handy medically as well!  As the cameras tried to remain as inconspicuous as possible while filming our conversations, Bourdain made the comment down the table to me that usually he doesn't really get excited about vegetables but he was sure digging ours.  Ahh, maybe this is the start of my culinary second career...

Anthony Bourdain unable to resist the salsa verde; Anne sitting

 Grilled New Potatoes with Summer Beans and Tomatoes

As the conversation got underway, Bourdain played his usual devil's advocate stance, teasing out the issues at hand and making the topics much more complex and interesting.  The talk that night was about Hudson Valley food and eating locally and what it all means.  Alexandra Spadea of Camp Hill Farm and one of the founders of the Rockland Farm Alliance spoke of the importance of preserving farmland -- RFA's mission.  Bourdain asked, what is local Hudson Valley food?  I think the term "local" no longer implies the particular area's known crop like Idaho is potatoes and Ohio is corn nor is it a set of specific foods that make up a particular cuisine, like Mediteranean fare which is fish, olive oil, tomatoes etc.  I think it's whatever it is that you can grow in the particular climate or zone.  For example, the lower Hudson Valley of New York is at the same latitude as southern Italy, so in terms of sunlight strength, we have similar growing conditions.  At HMG, we grow whatever we like to eat (except sub/tropical veggies and fruits).  To me, growing Hudson Valley food means the usual varietals of tomatoes, bell peppers, beans etc and their unusual heirloom varieties but the more esoteric vegetables as well: Chinese bitter melon (see earlier blog entry), Vietnamese fava beans, puntarelle, and lemongrass.  Bourdain also broached the topic of accessibility and palatability of local fresh fare to people who were raised on cheap meat and include iceberg lettuce as their entire day's vegetables intake.  I think it's a really valid point.  In my last journal entry on eating local pasture-raised beef and the evils of the factory farm, I advocated a few things like paying more for quality meat from small farms and eating less of it to compensate the expense of doing so.  Sounds like good advice especially if it creates less disease and illness saving untold millions in health care costs.  Bourdain brought up a legitimate point: How do you convince the person who has eaten cheap meat all their life to suddenly change their eating routine.  Or, how do you asking the working mother or father to come home after a long day of work and a possible long commute and cook up a meal when fast food options are so quick, cheap and easy.  I agree that this is a hard sell but it starts with education and creating an awareness of actions and consequences.  This is something that we see time and time again in our medical practices.  How do you help someone who is obese, comes from a long family history of diabetes and heart disease, to finally make choices that are not easy.  To lose weight.  To stop drinking soda.  The family unit has changed so dramatically over the last few decades.  Where we used to rely on our extended family for help, we are more and more isolated thus making tasks like cooking a low priority.  I grew up with a grandmother who lived at home with us while both of my parents worked full time jobs.  She cared for my brother and I and shopped, grew and prepared all of the food for our family.  But my brother and I were crucial in the household as well; there were chores.  I helped peel vegetables.  My brother fertilized the garden (See blog entry "Origins").  The household today doesn't have a grandma typically so closely involved in the daily cooking and children's activities consist of internet browsing and computer games, 5 different afterschool activities and TV.  Families may have to look to the past to be able to make the necessary changes we desperately need.  I'm glad Bourdain brought these points up because these are the questions that will need to be answered before we are able to become a healthier, more responsible nation.

RECIPE: SWISS CHARD with ANCHOVIES, GARLIC and PARMESEAN

Serves 2-3

1 bunch Swiss Chard
2 garlic cloves, sliced
3-4 anchovy fillets
1-2 tsp lemon juice
1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated
olive oil
salt and pepper to taste.

Prepare chard by removing the stems or ribs from the leaves and cutting them into 2” ribbons.  Chop stems to 1/2-3/4” size and reserve.  
Heat olive oil in pan and saute garlic in oil for 30-45 seconds, do not brown.  Remove garlic with a slotted spoon and set aside.
Add anchovies to hot oil and stir until they break down.  Add chard stems and cook for about 5 minutes, then add leaves and cook until tender (about 5-8 minutes).
Remove from heat and add in garlic, lemon juice and parmesan.  Stir to combine and serve warm.

Adapted from Gourmet July 2009

Meat in a Petri Dish: The Next Logical Step to the Factory Farm?

Grazing Cattle in Field. Photo from Hemlock Hill FarmSince the 1960’s, our penchant for consuming animal meats has risen 50%.  With this demand, factory farms have become the standard for producing large quantities of cheap meat, but at what cost?  There is a human health cost, an unsustainable environmental burden, and an ethical cost to the animal itself.  For humans, there are clear associations between diets heavily laden with animal meats and fat and the presence of chronic disease.  Additionally, with farm animals consuming over 70% of the antibiotics used in this country, antibiotic resistance has been developing rapidly and is a major concern for the treatment of infections in humans. Furthermore, the tremendous amounts of waste products from factory farms affects ecosystems downstream, creates contaminated bacteria-laden drinking water, destroys aquatic life and affects nearby air quality.  As an environmental burden, factory farms are an outright disaster generating enormous amounts of greenhouse gases to the tune of 18% of total emissions.  Paul Hawken, environmentalist and social activist, estimates that we need to decrease the population of the 3.5 billion farm animals we eat and milk for the health of our planet.  And as for the issue of animal cruelty, if we care to look at the journey that a piece of animal meat has made from factory farm to table, I’d bet most of us would drop our meat consumption dramatically.  (Easier to read Eric Schlosser’s Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal (2001), than to gain access to a factory farm).  One of my favorite animated commentaries on factory farms, now certainly a classic, is The Meatrix (2003) .  Moopheus, a trench coat-wearing cow, instructs Leo, a factory pig, on the true realities and illusions of the seemingly picture-perfect farm.   Though small family farms are beginning to gain consciousness in the public, thanks to the local food movement and the slew of food contamination stories and food recalls that continue to persist in the news, factory farms have held on.  What’s an ethical omnivore to do?  Most recently, New Scientist (Sept 5-11, 2009) reported on the very real possibility that animals can be genetically engineered not to feel pain, making it a guilt-free experience for us; the factory farm can then become morally acceptable for some.   “If factory farming must exist, then surely we have a moral duty to limit the distress it inflicts.” And this makes moral sense, the author argues,  “only in a world that has already devalued animal lives to the point where factory farming is acceptable.”  What’s even more disturbing is that research is being done on producing meat in a petri dish (gasp!).  Animal muscle cells are grown in vitro and live off chemical nutrients, growth factors, proteins and hormones.  There is even an organization called the "In Vitro Meat Consortium" to promote this new science!  Hopefully, as awareness takes hold of all of us, will we find factory farming no longer acceptable.  Perhaps it’s a pipe dream especially since the world population is increasing at the rate of 74 million people per year.  Feeding new arrivals will become more and more difficult.  I suppose this is the modern day equivalent to Soylent Green, Charleton Heston’s futurist sci-fi cult flick about over-population and the problem of how to feed them.   

Personally, I am not a vegetarian though I do eat meat sparingly and try to comprise most of my diet from vegetables, grains and fish and I do advocate this diet for others as well.  However, our country’s attachment to low cost meat will only continue to sustain the factory farm.  Only when we treat meat as a condiment and luxury, will we become free, not only from these unsustainable and inhumane practices, but from the chronic diseases like cancer and heart disease that are so often linked to diets largely comprised of meat.   I first became aware of this situation when I read Michael Pollan’s pivotal piece in the NYT “Power Steer” (2002) about the meat industry.  It made me start thinking about how food, any type of food, gets on my plate.  It will take a similar consciousness, I think, for others to start making global, ethical and health-related decisions with what they decide to eat.

What am I advocating exactly?

1. Reduced consumption of meat and an increase in vegetables, fruits and whole grains.  This is a no brainer reinforced by observations made in other cultures who consume less meat and who not only live longer but have less cancer and heart disease  -- the 2 biggest killers in our country.

2. When eating meat, buy meat from a family farm where cows are pasture-raised (grassfed).  This changes the actual quality of the meat: there’s more omega 3 fatty acids and conjugated linoleic acid compared to their conventional grain-fed animals (see documentary film King Corn) and there is an ethical satisfaction knowing that these animals led a life with much less suffering.

3. Eating meat this way is expensive.  Eat less of it and increase your vegetable intake.


Hemlock Hill Farm

Finding local grassfed meat was difficult, until recently.  My local butcher store in Rockland County, NY raised their eyebrows when I asked for it, Whole Foods only had it periodically and it was rarely local leaving me to buy it on occasion in Manhattan usually at the Union Square Green Market.  Then I found Hemlock Hill Farm in Westchester county less than an hour from Manhattan.  This family farm has 120 acres and has been in the De Maria family for 70 years.  In addition to Black Angus cattle, which they raise grass-fed but grain-finished, they also offer lamb, pig, goat, chicken, rabbit, geese, duck, and turkey.  German Shepard, Honey, fierce hunter of woodchucksWhat is most astonishing about this place is that you can just walk around and visit the grounds freely.  There is nothing to hide.  Animals are treated well and it’s all there for you to inspect yourself.  More importantly, Hemlock Hill Farm slaughters its own animals.  This is a crucial difference from other small farms which often lack the capability and space to slaughter their own animals. John De Maria Oftentimes when small farms bring their animals to large scale slaughterhouses, they can’t always be sure that they are getting back the same animal that they so lovingly raised and cared for.  When we attended the Young Farmers’ Conference at Stone Barns Center for Agriculture in December 2008,  we heard stories from some farmers who would bring a cattle to a slaughter facility and got back a cattle slaughtered and containing five legs!   Hemlock Hill Farms has always slaughtered their own meat. John De Maria, a soft-spoken affable farmer and military veteran, brought us into the slaughter area where a large pig was being processed and a showed us a freshly skinned venison in the freezer. I buy much of my meat and poultry here and stock it in a large freezer at home.  It is some of the best tasting meat I’ve ever bought. Also important is that since there is not multiple "middle men" between the farmer and the consumer, the price of the meat is reasonable and the farmer is able to make more of a profit.

Want to find meat, poultry, dairy and eggs raised sustainably on small, family farms? Visit the Eat Well Guide for a listing of farms, stores, and restaurants in your area. (US and Canada).

Update on Saturday, December 19, 2009 at 2:42PM by Pam

Atlantic Monthly reports on how petri dish pork is one step closer...

End of the Summer Nightshade Fest

It's still August in New York but today's weather forecast calls for a high of 69 degrees.  It already feels like a premature fall and thoughts of getting my cold weather crops out now feel more of a priority than basking in the glory of my few surviving tomato plants.  The garden is now filled with expectant nightshade fruits: Tuscan and Japanese eggplant, Adirondack Blue and Nicola potatoes, purple, chocolate, orange and red bell peppers, green and purple jalapenos, thai red chili peppers and green and purple tomatillos.  It's amazing how much of the summer diet is comprised of this family of vegetables also known as Solanaceae.  The ominous sounding nightshades also include many poisonous plants such as nicotine (yes, I'd classify that one as a slow poison), belladonna, and jimson weed.  The danger comes from the alkaloid content of these plants which can cause effects on the nervous system. 

Belladonna

When I was a first year in medical school, one of the toxidromes commonly used to remember the side  effects of the class of drugs called anti-cholinergics was "hot as a hare, dry as a bone, red as a beet, mad as a hatter, blind as a bat."  These common drugs, all from belladonna, are used in small quantities: atropine (as eye drops used to dilate the pupils), scopolamine (for motion sickness), and Donnatal (gastointestinal spasms).  The toxidrome translated to the classic overdose symptoms of this alkaloid - fever, urinary retention, flushing, delirium/hallucinations, and dilated pupils.  Interestingly, the name belladonna means "beautiful lady" because it was historically and cosmetically used to dilate the pupils in women; apparently an attractive attribute at the time.  I can imagine these women, "blind as a bat," suffering with their atropine-induced dilated pupils all in the name of beauty.  Women have been subjected to some type of physical harm for beauty throughout the ages: bound feet in China, suffocating corsets a few centuries ago, and now the contemporary issue of eating disorders.  Yes, I digress, back to food....

Edible Nightshades

Although the alkaloid content found in the food nightshades are very minimal, there are the susceptible few that can react to the compound even with just faint traces of the substance.  Though there are few studies that examine the relationship between nightshades and inflammation, there have been many anecdotal reports that the elimination of these foods can significantly improve inflammatory conditions, most notably arthritis.  In my work with patients, a large component addresses nutritional and dietary aspects and their contribution to health and illness.  I view food as the medicine that you put in your body 3-5 times per day and your symptoms may have a huge connection to what you may be feeling.  There are few people who are willing to initially do this and would rather take pharmaceuticals to address symtomatology, but most people seeking my care have either failed that approach and are desperate or they are more interested in root causes for their symptoms and are extremely proactive in their health.  One of things that I look for are an abundance of a specific type of food in the diet, or in this case, a family of foods.  Anecdotally, I can say that there have been a few people who have reacted positively to the elimination of nighshades (much to their dismay).  These specific patients had a significant and sometimes complete resolution of their arthritic symptoms and though one can argue that there is very little scientific data to support this theory connecting nightshades and inflammation, these happy patients are not complaining.  It is also of interest to note that the compound found in chili peppers, also a nightshade, called capsaicin can be used topically for symptoms of arthritis.  The mechanism seems to be related to capsaicin's affects on pain receptors and it is likely that there is very little, if any, significant absorption of this compound.

I am in no way advocating that one should eliminate the beautiful and tasty vegetables, I wholeheartedly endorse their use as they contain so many other beneficial compounds essential for good health.  I leave you with 3 extremely tasty recipes using potatoes, tomatoes and eggplant.

Recipe 1 of 3: Tomato, Eggplant and Mint Salsa 

1/2 cup olive oil plus 2 Tbs

4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

1 cup onion, finely diced

2 tsp minced garlic

1 1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

4 cups medium-diced eggplant (leave skin on)

4 lbs tomatoes, peeled, seeded and diced

2 tsp smoked paprika or aleppo pepper

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

1/2 cup finely chopped mint

1. Make garlic oil: combine 1/2 cup of olive oil with chopped garlic and gently warm in saute pan until the oil just starts to rupple.  Turn off heat and allow garlic to infuse the oil - aout an hour.  Remove garlic.

2. Warm 2 Tbs olive oil in saute pan add onions and cook until tender and slightly carmelized.  Add the minced garlic and cook until fragrant.  Season with 1/2 tsp salt and the pepper.

Most people are unaware of the vast varieties of garlic. Homegrown Spanish Roja was used here.

3. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Toss eggplant with remaining 1/4 cup of olive oil (or more) and 1 tsp salt.  Spread onto a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet in a single layer and place in the oven.  Gently and occasionally turn the eggplant with a spatula.  Roast until tender, about 20 minutes.

4. Combine onions eggplant, tomatoes, paprika/aleppo pepper, vinegar and mint in a large bowl.  Taste with salt and pepper, if desired.

5. Can be served with pita chips (brush slices of pita wedges with remaining garlic oil and bake at 350 for 10 minutes), tortilla chips or spooned over some warm rice and topped with feta cheese.

Adapted from Amy Goldman's 'The Heirloom Tomato: From Garden to Table"

Recipe 2 of 3:  Spicy Eggplant Spread with Thai Basil

Eggplant is notorious for requiring huge amounts of oil to cook with.  This healthy version roasts japanese eggplant in the oven and combines it with the other ingredient thus eliminating the need for excess oil.

1 lb japanese eggplant

1 1/2 Tbs light brown sugar

2 Tbs rice wine vinegar

1 Tbs soy sauce

2-3 jalapeno peppers, finely minced

3 Tbs toasted peanut oil

3 galric cloves

3 Tbs chopped basil (can be a Thai, Holy and/or Cinnamon basil)

Salt

2 Tbs black sesame seeds, toasted

optional: fish sauce ( 2 tsp)

Roast eggplant by preheating oven to 425.  Poke eggplant with a fork in several places and bake until the point of collapse.  Let cool and peel off skin and coarsely chop flesh.  

Mix the sugar, vinegar, soy and chilis together (and fish sauce if desired).  Heat a wok or skillet over high heat and add oil.  When it begins to haze, add garlic and stir fry for 30 seconds. Add eggplant and stir fry for about  minutes then add sauce and fry for 1 minute more.  Remove from heat and stir in the chopped basil. 

Mound eggplant in a bowl and garnish with extra basil leaves and sesame seeds.  Or spread on croutons or crackers and garnish each individually.

Adapted from Deborah Madison "Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone"

Recipe 3 of 3: Roasted Potatoes with Garlic and Rosemary

2 lbs new potatoes (I used Adirondack Blues and Russian Fingerlings in this picture) - 3/4" pieces

1 Sprig Rosemary, leaves roughly chopped

Olive oil, enough to just coat potatoes (approx 2-3 Tbs)

2-3 cloves of garlic, chopped

Salt to taste

This recipe couldn't be more simple.  Heat oven to 375 degrees.  Mix all ingredients and bake for 20 minutes turning it occasionally while roasting.  Voila!

Weekly Musings: And the Winner is.... Grilled Tomato and Basil Sauce

Enough about tomatoes and blight. I’m tired about hearing and talking about it at this point. Though we had quite a disaster, roughly 15 of our 109 plants continue to stand and though most of them are stripped down and won’t be able to continue producing much more, what we did harvest early starting in mid July, has fully ripened. I remember canning and freezing my tomatoes last year at the end of September but it is the 2nd week of August and I am nearly done with all the tomato jams and variations on marinara leaving us with enough tomatoes, sauces and jams to last us well through the winter. What I found extremely useful for my winter cooking is to use whole frozen tomatoes. This can be done with currant, cherry and medium sized tomatoes and come in quite handy when you need to cook with them. Don’t count on using them raw but if they are going into a sauce, stew or soup these are the next best thing to fresh.

Follow these simple steps:

Place tomatoes in a single layer on a baking tray. Place them in the freezer for 1-3 hours (depending on their size).
Remove tomatoes when they are quite solid, place them all in a freezer bag or container and store away.
To thaw: just remove the tomatoes you need, keep them out in room temperture for 10 minutes and use accordingly. To remove the skin, just run them under some warm water and they slip right off.

Dr. Whyches Yellow, Giant Belgium, Church and Brandywine Tomatoes
For sauces, I have tried a variety of different methods with different tomatoes. Usually, most recipes call for plum tomatoes since they have less water and seeds than regular tomatoes. I’ve played around with a few. Most of them require either peeling/seeding or a run through a food mill.

Simple Heirloom Tomato Basil Marinara
First try was a simple heirloom tomato marinara with basil which was coarsely chopped and simply cooked down for about an hour, run through the food mill, then simmered on the stove for a few hours leaving me with just a quart of sauce. I played around with the addition of different herbs, onions and garlic. Very nice and simple but definitely time consuming.

Second trial used roasted plum tomatoes. We grew the famed San Marzanos which grew beautifully and showed some blight resistance. I added the sweet Walla Walla onions we grew (1 medium, sliced) and added a few sprigs of thyme and marjoram, a drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper. I baked these gorgeous guys at 375F for 45-60 minutes. After cooling, they were blended in the food processor. This was definitely easier (no peeling, seeding or food milling) and the result was very tasty.

The winner, however, turned out the be a grilled tomato sauce with basil and garlic. This was a winner in taste and in ease. Plus, I didn’t have to generate any heat in the house as we are trying to conserve energy as much as possible without torturing ourselves. I used all the Black from Tula Russian heirlooms to make this sauce but any variety should do.  By the way, black tomatoes aren't really black, they are a beautiful light port color.

 Black from Tula Russian Heirloom tomatoes on the grill

Recipe: Grilled Tomato and Basil Sauce

Makes 2 quarts

• 4-5 lbs of market fresh tomatoes
• 11 Tbs olive oil
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 2 cups of loosely packed basil
• 4 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
  
• Salt, Pepper (and sugar if necessary)
• Balsamic vinegar to taste

1. Grill tomatoes gradually turning them so the entire skin blisters and chars slightly.  Pull of any pieces that have blackened but leave everything else.
2. Roughly puree in a blender or food processor leaving some texture.
3. Heat 3 Tbs olive oil in pot and gently cook onion until it's soft and translucent.
4. Add tomatoes and cook over medium heat until thickened.  About 20-30 minutes.
5. Taste and season with salt.  If tomatoes are tart, add a pinch or two of sugar to correct the acidity.
6. Meanwhile in a food processor or blender, add 8 Tbs of olive oil (less is OK if you want to reduce the fat content) add half the basil until it is well blended and gradually add the rest along with the garlic until it is fairly smooth but still with some texture. Add this to the tomatoes.  Cook for 5 minutes.
7. Stir in 1 tsp of sea salt and season to taste with freshly ground pepper and vinegar.  

Adapted from The Greens Cook Book by Deborah Madison

Farmer Pam, MD