The Tyranny of Tomatoes Besides the proximity to family, there are few things I miss about living in Minnesota, except summer vegetable and fruit gardens.  I just went home for a visit and had the immense pleasure of eating all the cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, and herbs I wanted, straight from the back yard.  (To my chagrin, raspberries are, for the most part, already out of season.)As much as I love tomatoes, home-grown especially, they can become downright tyrannical.  They produce and produce and produce and before you know it, every available kitchen counter space is covered with them, and there are still more falling off the vine.Last year, we met the little red bastards head-on.  We had a “Tomato Bee” at my family’s local community garden, inviting others to share their harvest and make a communal pot of ketchup.  This year, I’m going to suggest my dad try Mark Bittman’s recipe for Tomato Jam.  Maybe this weekend I’ll go buy a couple pounds of tomatoes and make the jam myself.  Though for a Minnesota girl, paying for tomatoes in the middle of August is a cruel injustice. xx Nora
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The Tyranny of Tomatoes

Besides the proximity to family, there are few things I miss about living in Minnesota, except summer vegetable and fruit gardens.  I just went home for a visit and had the immense pleasure of eating all the cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, and herbs I wanted, straight from the back yard.  (To my chagrin, raspberries are, for the most part, already out of season.)

As much as I love tomatoes, home-grown especially, they can become downright tyrannical.  They produce and produce and produce and before you know it, every available kitchen counter space is covered with them, and there are still more falling off the vine.

Last year, we met the little red bastards head-on.  We had a “Tomato Bee” at my family’s local community garden, inviting others to share their harvest and make a communal pot of ketchup. 

This year, I’m going to suggest my dad try Mark Bittman’s recipe for Tomato Jam.  Maybe this weekend I’ll go buy a couple pounds of tomatoes and make the jam myself.  Though for a Minnesota girl, paying for tomatoes in the middle of August is a cruel injustice.

xx Nora