A few weeks ago I bought a case of second tomatoes for $9 at the Jasper, Alabama, farmers’ market. Seconds are the ones that aren’t pretty enough to display and sell. Now, I would like to say, in complete honesty, that their tomatoes were not nearly as good as those I’ve bought at our Hitching Lot Farmers’ Market. It was an impulse buy when Terry and I stopped to see what they had.
So, there I was with a case of tomatoes. From that $9 load I made close to 20 quarts of gazpacho, 4 pints of salsa and 3 pints of tomato jam. Most of the gazpacho was to raise funds for the Golden Triangle Regional Homeless Coalition, so it all went to good use. I chose the salsa because I had never canned it before and wanted to learn how, and I’ve heard of tomato jam and just wanted to try it out.
The salsa was OK, not fabulous. Terry seemed to like it. I thought it was watery. So I’ll work on that recipe. The tomato jam was really, really good. Lovely deep red color and tomato flavor with hints of clove and cinnamon. Again, because the tomatoes were not the best I had to cook it down for longer than the recipe indicated to get it to the jammy stage. Most recipes call for roma tomatoes which I have seen at the Hitching Lot. But I think any good ripe red tomato will work. I added red pepper flakes to give it a kick. We had it that night with a bit of sharp cheddar cheese on a cracker with a glass of wine. I also had it on a cracker with a creamy brie. It was delicious both ways. The next night I smeared a little bit on Chicken Milanese and then topped it with arugula and local cherry tomato salad. The jam added the right amount of pizazz to the dish. I also plan to have it on top of scrambled eggs and think it would send a grilled cheese sandwich over the top. Please note that the recipe below does not include canning steps.
Let’s see, what else has been cooking? For a Homeless Coalition bake sale I made more strawberry bread (see the Feb. 10, 2016, Dispatch for recipe) from my stash of pureed frozen berries; some blueberry-blackberry syrup (which I used for a dessert of toasted strawberry bread, sliced peaches and vanilla ice cream); morning glory coffee cake and a recipe from my days as a shop owner in Athens (Georgia), blueberry buckle.
I may have mentioned that one of my favorite kitchen gadgets is a vacuum sealer. I can buy loads of blueberries and other summer produce and freeze them airtight in small or large batches. I’m almost at the end of the blueberries, but the market has more! The buckle is similar to a coffee cake. It’s described as a dessert combining fresh fruit, a rich cake batter and a streusel topping.
Here are some fun summer recipes to try. The jam is perfect for canning; the syrup will freeze, and so will the buckle. So, stop by the Hitching Lot this Saturday and stock up!
TOMATO JAM
Makes about 1 pint
1 1/2 pounds good ripe tomatoes (Roma are best), cored and coarsely chopped
1 cup sugar (or less)
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
1 tablespoon fresh grated or minced ginger
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon salt
1 jalapeno or other peppers, stemmed, seeded and minced, or red pepper flakes or cayenne to taste
(Recipe by Mark Bittman)
BLUEBERRY BUCKLE
For the cake:
Nonstick cooking spray
9 ounces cake flour, approximately 2 cups
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
2 ounces unsalted butter, room temperature
5 1/4 ounces sugar, approximately 3/4 cup
1 large egg
1/2 cup whole milk
15 ounces fresh whole blueberries, approximately 3 cups
For the topping:
3 1/2 ounces sugar, approximately 1/2 cup
1 1/2 ounces cake flour, approximately 1/3 cup
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
2 ounces unsalted butter, chilled and cubed
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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