The air conditioner has been turned off, and we have thrown open every window we can throw open. It’s lovely and cool, a bit damp because of the rain, perhaps, but such a pleasant change from the oppressive and dangerous high heat and humidity. Plus it’s quieter. The humidity will be back tomorrow, so I’m appreciating this as much as I can today before we have to close everything up and turn the machine back on.
More tomato melts this morning for brunch, made with ai731‘s lovely and delicious garden tomatoes. We have a scattering of green tomatoes in our own garden that we’re waiting for, plus darling little cucumbers and alarmingly large squash for their age, for which we’ve constructed little frames so they won’t rot on the ground before they even ripen as they did last year. The leaves are over a foot and a half in diameter already. The onions seem to be doing quite well, too. Now, if the wave petunias in the front planters would just, well, wave properly, I think we’d be almost one hundred percent satisfied with this year’s garden.
Perhaps if you waved at the petunias more often they might get the hang of it easier?
I have so many tomatoes left from our garden baskets (and another coming today! Oi!) that I’m thinking of trying my hand at actual-factual tomato sauce that doesn’t come from a can. You ever tried doing this? I’d love pointers.
Ah. No horrible heat wave up there. I’m glad of it, though I’d like some of your weather!
Oh, no, there’s a horrible heat wave up here too. We just had a brief cold front drive through last night creating dreadful storms and havoc across three provinces, which lowered the temperature just enough to provide a brief respite from the choking sauna called the outdoors. The temperature’s climbing back up now, and by tonight we’ll be miserable all over again.
Ceri: Purists will tell you to peel the tomatoes by sliding them whole into boiling water for a few seconds, then into ice water, where they theoretically split their skins allowing you to peel them with ease. It’s still a lot of work and I’ve never had any large amount of success with it. I just dice them and stir-fry them in olive oil, and as I do I crush them with a wooden spoon. As the tomato breaks down, I pull out the bits of skin with the spoon. And if there are bits left when I toss my pasta in the freshly stir-fried tomato goo (cooked with minced garlic and sauteed onion and snips of fresh basil), well, no one’s ever complained at me, so it can’t be all that bad. I’ve never frozen it; I just make lots of fresh-to-eat-now batches through the summer.
If the clouds outside are any indication, we might have temperature-lowering thunderstorms tonight as well. It’s hot out, but not nearly as bad as yesterday.
My friend Rose, who is pure Italian, taught me to make her tomato pasta sauce this way as well. I’ve never actually tried it, but watched her do it this way. One day, I will. I have tomatoes planted and some new yellow flowers budding, so they be blooming soon. I planted them late, so it’s my fault for the late bloom. My neighbor already has toms and cukes. I’m so jealous!
Arin — I just wanted to note that I just tried the peeling tomatoes the “traditional” way. Immerse them in the hot water until the skin splits, then in the ice water until they cool enough to peel. Worked like a charm for me, though perhaps it was beginner’s luck. Or that the tomatoes were cooled in the fridge. Or that they were quite ripe and soft. Dunno.