The Juiciest Tomatoes

Today I harvested 15 pounds of ripe tomatoes! Some were so plump and tender that their sides burst just transporting them from the garden to the kitchen. I cut the split tomatoes into chunks and put them in a bowl figuring I'd decide what to do with them later.

In just minutes, the bowl was a super juicy mix. Like really juicy. All I could think about was sopping up that juice. and the hungry lightbulb above my head lit on a Panzanella salad, a delicious rustic bread and tomato salad from Tuscany. The key to a good Panzanella is really ripe tomatoes, which really can only come from someone's back yard. Store-bought tomatoes just aren't juicy enough. Also important: quality olive oil and vinegar, oh and hearth-baked "boutique" bread, because remember-- we are talking about a bread and tomato salad--only top notch, albeit humble, ingredients will make this salad some much more than the sum of it's parts. 

To the tomatoes in my bowl; I added olive oil, vinegar, garlic, seasalt, then bread, then cucumbers,  onion, arugula and lots of basil and it was AMAZING. Here is a recipe for you from my book "kitchen garden." It's a little more complex, so simplify it if you like.

Panzanella Salad

 Any firm textured bread with a good crust such as pain rustique or ciabatta bread will work. Serve the salad for lunch or Italian cold cuts for casual summer supper.

Country Bread, 8 ounces (half of a 1-pound loaf), thickly sliced very lightly toasted

garlic, 1 large clove

heirloom tomatoes, 2 pounds assorted, cut into thin wedges

cucumbers, 2 small unwaxed such a pickling or Persian cucumbers, cut in half lengthwise and thinly sliced

red onion, ½  very thinly sliced

Extra virgin olive oil, 6 tablespoons

red wine vinegar, 2 tablespoons

wild capers, 2 tablespoons

kosher salt, ½ teaspoon

arugula leaves, 1 ½ cups baby or larger arugula leaves, torn into pieces

basil, 3 tablespoons leaves, torn into pieces

oregano leaves, 2 tablespoons

Parmesan Shavings, 2 ounces

Rub the bread slices with the garlic clove, using the entire clove. Combine the tomatoes with the next 6 ingredients in a large bowl. Tear the bread into 1-inch pieces and add to the tomatoes in the bowl. Stir to combine and let stand until the bread is soft and soaked with tomato juices, about 10 minutes. Add arugula, basil and oregano to the salad and toss to combine. Divide the salad among plates.  Season the salads with freshly cracked pepper and garnish with the Parmesan cheese shavings and serve.

Serves 6

GUEST POST- Theresa Kelley's CSA Adventures

Don't get me wrong, I love Southern California and our year-round sunshine and growing season, but I also have deep interest and appreciation for locally-sourced edibles in climates that experience true winter, spring and summer. My younger daughter, Theresa, is living and working in the Finger Lakes region of New York and will occasionally be sharing her CSA adventures with us. I love experiencing food and cooking through young, eager and well-meaning eyes and I'm sure you will too. 

When I moved to Geneva, NY, there were a few things that I was worried about. 1) Living in a pretty rural town without a car. 2) Living in pretty rural town without a car or a job. 3) Furnishing (and paying for) an apartment without a car or a job. Ok, ok it’s not quite as tragic as it sounds!

Quick back story-- My boyfriend of 3 ½+ years lives in Geneva, NY. He makes wine at an incredible winery, Hermann J. Wiemer Vineyard where I have just recently started working as well (cross off no job). He has a car (cross of one half of a car-- and not because it is a mini cooper). His parents also have a lake house about 15 minutes away from our apartment that they frequent and have magically appeared every weekend since we moved in with A LOT of furnishings. We’re talking couch, dining table, dressers, book shelf, rugs, etc. (cross off basic furnishings). So one might think that my big worries are quashed! NBD! Easy peasy cross country move.

One of Hermann J. Wiemer's Vineyards

But let’s be honest-- my biggest concern of all time-- how do I survive 3,000 miles away from my parent’s kitchen and garden??? Every time I went back to college I would shed tears saying goodbye to the state of the art appliances, the never-ending plethora of ingredients always available, including an overflowing basket of backyard chicken eggs, and the lush and bountiful garden and raised beds teeming with greens and veggies coaxing me “yes! pick me! I am healthy and green and wonderful!” (what? Your garden doesn’t talk to you?). Oh yeah, and I also cry when I say bye to my mom and dad! After all, they are the creators and caretakers of this wonderful lifestyle.

The "goods" from Fellenz Family Farm

So what do you do when all of the sudden you are resigned to the “spring mix family pack box” from the local supermarket? You buy a share in a CSA from a local farm! And that is what we ended up doing! Fellenz Family Farm is a local organic operation located in Phelps, NY. We pick up a box of produce every Wednesday across the street from our apartment. I didn’t think it was possible, but the greens are huge (almost as big and delightful as the arugula and spinach that we grow at home!). They also have a variety of other vegetables including komatsuna (aka Japanese mustard spinach), hakurei turnips, sorrel, mizuna, asparagus, lettuce, rhubarb, and I am sure much more to come as the summer gets going! So basically I moved to Geneva, NY a month ago with a list of worries and a knot in my stomach. Over the past few weeks this knot has loosened and unraveled slowly but surely owing to the fun and excitement that goes into making a little home with the one you love, the generosity of others (thank you Buckley’s!), and the wise parents that raised me to know that the bigger and more peppery the arugula, the happier you will be! I miss you and love you M, D and C. (That’s mom, dad and sister Celeste- BTW.)

Theresa's new digs

Now if only our landlord would take this ridiculous red, white and blue bunting down from our front porch, Memorial Day is over and the 4th is still a ways away!! 

It's Kumquat Season!

It’s full-on kumquat season. My tree is drooping with ripe, orange-gold. I eat the sweet-tart fruit like grapes, popping them into my mouth to savor the exotic taste of sour with a floral-sweet follow-up.

I love kumquats—the tree is so pretty with a perfect canopy of dark green leaves evenly ornamented with small golden orange ovoid fruit. It grows well in pots (in citrus appropriate climates, that is) and is a big producer. When kumquat season hits, it hits. And it’s surprising that people don’t know what to do with kumquats. Not only do I have an abundance from my own homestead in early spring, but my friends must too as bags of the citrus mysteriously appear at my gate. Bring ‘em on! I’ll slice them into pretty wheels to scatter on salads, I’ll muddle them into cocktails, bake them into cakes, and the family and I will brew pounds of smashed kumquats into a heavenly homebrew. When that’s all done, I’ll make intensely flavored marmalade to enjoy after the season is long gone. 

Kumquat Marmalade (in about an hour! Really! Seven jars in one hour!)

The most time-consuming part of this recipe is removing the seeds from the kumquats. In this recipe I detail the easiest way I’ve figured out how to do this—I still one or two but it doesn’t diminish the flavor of this amazing jam one bit.

Makes about seven 8-ounce jars

3 cups kumquats, halved and seeded

5 cups sugar

3 whole star anise, optional

Set a strainer over a bowl. Cut the kumquats in half and squeeze the halves into the strainer. The bowl will catch the juice and the strainer will catch the seeds. Once squeezed, put the kumquat halves into the food processor. (Reserve the juice.) Using on/off turns, coarsely chop the kumquats. Bring the kumquats and the juice to a boil in a heavy large saucepan set over medium heat. Add the sugar and star anise if using and boil, stirring frequently (almost constantly. You don’t want the jam to scorch—but you leave it just long enough to do some tidying up) until the kumquat skins are tender and translucent (which happens to be when the marmalade is at the perfect “jelly” stage), about 12 minutes. Ladle the marmalade into jars. Cool, seal, can or refrigerate.