It'll be a long time before we eat Tomatoes like these again.
My good friend and neighbour, José, has come up trumps again with his wonderful Tomatoes. As usual he has given me a free hand, helping myself to a few every so often. They are simply delicious.
OK, they're a bit marked and split, but the flavour is so good. There really is nothing to compare with a good 'Marmande' type Tomato, grown outdoors in the sunshine.
In fact José grows several different varieties; I would guess about 6 different types. The two above, on the plate are Marmande, and the one by their side is (I think) a Coeur de Boeuf. He and his daughter make plenty of preserves, then the rest are either eaten, given away, or left to rot. He always grows far too many.
Preserving my crops was always one of my greatest pleasures; other than actually growing them. To have various cupboards filled with bottles of fruit and veg was so satisfying (above). All was the very best quality, and all was delicious. N.B. When bottling, one only ever uses perfect fruits or vegs.
So, a big thank you to José and his daughter Laurence; without you our summers would be far less gastronomic! I'm just sorry that we won't be here to fill our pockets with Chestnuts. They should start falling quite soon.
19 comments:
At least you have your own Brighton tomatoes to look forward to.
There should be lots of small 'Roma' Tomatoes, but only about 4 of the bigger ones. Even so, it'll be good to have grown our own again.
Growing tomatoes as kids was my first introduction to gardening. And when they turned almost red we would pick them and place them on a warm sunny window sill. And sure enough they would then mature, turning them into a darker red and ready for eating.
We may have to do that with our small crop when we return to Blighty. They soon ripen.
p.s. I would say that Charlotte 'breathed' her songs rather than 'sang' them, but the French do love that. My wife was at school with Jane!
Yes, I think both Jane and Charlotte breathed their song vocals.
So your wife was at School with Jane and you once shared a flat with Syd Barret. Phew! You must have thought about publishing your own biography.
Having lived in central London in the late 60's, I met a huge amount of interesting people, from Bardot to Stravinsky. I shall say no more.
Do look at my posting entitled 'A tiny autobiography'; I do mention one or two others.
Oh I must look that up.
Sounds like you will be tootling back to Brighton pretty soon. It has been another fine summer for you and Miss Sweden 1970.
It's been a very special year. Wonderful weather, great guests, and no bovver! Weather turned a bit autumnal now, but that was only to be expected.
Go José!! Our neighbour who was growing tomatoes and passing them over the fence has no plants this year. It's wonderful to eat a tomato that smells and tastes like a tomato.
We bought some at the local market last from a little odl grandma. The skins were tough and not much flavour. I imagine she piles on the fertiliser to make them grow and make money.
You pantry is great. I'm making more tomato sauce today
My son made a delicious pasta sauce from our small Roma Tomatoes. He said it was perfect.
I have just eaten some of our home grown tomatoes for lunch. Little explosions of deliciousness.
That's how they should be! I feel sorry for people who've never eaten decent Tomatoes. If they base their ideas on shop-bought ones, they must be very disappointed.
It is better to have too many tomatoes, than not enough, and in a warm sunny summer they will fill the baskets to overflowing with goodness.
Any excess can always be bottled. At the end of every year I used to make Ratatouille. It used-up all the Aubergines, peppers, and toms.
You are so right, there is nothing better than fresh homegrown tomatoes.
It looks like another very successful year for preserving. Your shelves are nicely populated with jars.
Unfortunately the cupboard picture was from a few years ago. These days we make jam but not much else. We're not here to grow vegs any more, and I really miss it. It used to be my favourite activity of the year.
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