Tomato blog

I am so overdue on writing here! It's been a little crazy here, I've been delving into knitting and have decided I am going to make matching jackets for my mom and her two sisters for their Christmas gift, it's a free pattern and I've always wanted to knit something like this. Another part of why I haven't written is because I got behind on washing dishes (yes I have to hand wash EVERYTHING because a dish washer was never installed) and ALSO we hit a deer and we have been working on getting stuff sorted out with the insurance company and making decisions on which shop to take it to so it can be fixed... a bunch of stuff you're not here to read about. On to the food!

I posted this salad on my other page, recipes I found online. It is so simple and delicious, you would wonder how come you hadn't thought of it yourself!

Creamy Corn Salad

1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained 

1-1 1/2 medium tomato, seeded and diced 

2 tablespoons green onions, chopped 

1/3 cup mayonnaise 

1/2 teaspoon dried or fresh basil 

salt and pepper (optional)

Its sweet and a little crunchy and refreshing. 

I promised that ketchup recipe for you all, so here it is!

English Tomato Ketchup

2 lbs ripe tomatoes, cut into quarters        1 teaspoon salt

1 medium onion, cut into chunks              1 cup water

2 cloves garlic, cut into small chunks       1 stick of cinnamon

1/4 c packed brown sugar                          5 whole cloves

1/2 c white wine vinegar or distilled white vinegar

5 whole allspice       5 peppercorns

1. Place all the ingredients in a large pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer and cook until the tomatoes are very soft, about 30 minutes.

2. Remove the pot from the heat. Pour the contents into a large sieve set over a large bowl and push it through with a rubber spatula untill all the juice is extracted. Discard the remaining pulp, skin, seeds and spices.

3. Return the cooked tomato mixture to the pot and boil, uncovered, stirring occasionally until it is reduced and very thick, about 30 minutes.

Makes about 3/4 cup.

And the last one for you is easy and tasty AND it's from the recipe book that we got with our bowflex: Fried Tomatoes

Slice your tomato up, usually 3 slices is enough. Heat your skillet - DO NOT USE CAST IRON FOR THIS as the acid in tomatoes react with the iron and causes bad stuff to happen to your food! Drizzle a little olive oil in your pan and put the tomato in right afterward. If you wait for it to get hot and then put the slices in, the oil will pop up at you and you won't like that. Sprinkle dried basil and oregano over the tomatoes. These will cook up soft really fast so flip once one minute after sticking the tomatoes in the pan. The recipe next calls for the removal of the tomatoes, let it cool and then eat. The way we would eat them is to take a tortilla, lay it flat and put cheese down and then toast the cheese-less  side, then put tomatoes over the cheese and have a cheese and tomato quesadilla. Its yummy and its easy to make.

Enjoy