Happy Tomatoes

Things are progressing very well in the greenhouse.

Earlier this week, we replaced the wooden stakes that the tomatoes were supported by with lines strung between eyehooks in the rafters and the raised bed sills. Dave ran across this idea from The Cottage Smallholder last May, and we both thought it would be a good thing to try. Last year, though, with the half wine barrels, it wasn't quite practical. This year, with the raised beds, everything lined up really well for this project. We use the Velcro ties from Lee Valley to support the tomatoes from the lines, and they're fantastic - reusable, super easy to implement, and very soft & delicate against the tomato stalks.

As you can see, everyone is really thriving - here are some images to compare to early May when we'd just transplanted all of these guys:

Plus the middle bed now has plants in it: watermelons and cucumbers, and basil in between.

We have our first tomato flowers, many even on the bigger tomatoes (not just the cherries):

Our eggplants and peppers are doing really well; both varieties of each have really caught up. The initial transplants had the Dusky eggplants and Red Ruffle peppers ahead of the Listada de Gandia eggplants and jalapeño peppers, respectively. Everyone is looking fantastic now, and all our pepper plants are putting on little tiny flowers, which should be ready within the next few weeks for pollinating.

The eggplants all look alike, but the growth pattern of the peppers are interestingly quite different; the Red Ruffle is the one on the left, the jalapeño on the right.

So, fingers crossed that our "bumbling" hand pollinating will work again this year as well as they did last year.

Greenhouse Planted

We started our Solanaceae plants a little later this year (I think around mid-March), hoping to catch just the right size for transplanting into the greenhouse. Seems like it worked really well; the timing, together with under-heat trays and grow lights with timers (thanks to the legacy of our friend Bob), the germination rate and success was magnificent this year, the best we've ever had. The peppers, when transplanted, this year have been the absolute best yet.

Heirloom Tomatoes


We purchased most of the seeds originally from Two Wings Farms in Victoria, I think the Black Cherry plants originally came from Dinter Nursery in Duncan. The text and images regarding these tomatoes are from Two Wings Farms website, except for the Black Cherry, which is from Trade Winds Fruit.

Variety	Image	Description
Canada Long		"I have grown Canada Long for many years, but never listed it until this year. It always produces well and they were so amazing this year I thought why not list them. A 4to5 inch long "pepper" shaped tomato that could be called a paste type, but it tastes wonderful fresh too. As with all elongated varieties, watch out for blossom end rot."
Black from Tula		"Large purple colour, Beautiful globe shape, mid/late season. Delicious, flavour. productive Indeterminate. Rare. Top 10."
Aurega		"A deep apricot orange sweet tomato, with a rosy interior. About 2" in size. Ripens fairly early. Very productive and reliable. Said to originate in Switzerland, I've seen it spelled "Auriga" too. I love this one. Indeterminate, Endangered. Top 10"
Apple of Novi Sad		"Another great Tomato from Serbia. These plants were started late, but still produced a wonderful large crop of beautiful Red Tomatoes. After growing in a different part of the field, they are quite a larger plant than I previously thought! and Once again, a very nice crop in a poor season!"
Green Grape Cherry		"Productive, very sweet, green/yellow cherry. Absolutely delicious, fruity tomato flavour. You'll be a fan after your first bite! Small sprawling plant works well in containers too. Determinate. Heirloom."
Black Cherry		"Round, true cherry tomato, one of the only having black skin. Color is a deep red, with blackish hues. Flavor is sweet, much like other cherry tomatoes, and very full-flavored. This variety is fairly rare."

Eggplants

Last year we tried a cultivar that is suited for our wet coast climate: Dusky. It grew really well in the greenhouse, and we ended up with plenty of lovely 3-5" long eggplants that had a very mild, wonderful flavour. So this year, I thought I'd try them from seed. Another variety that I got "just 'cause" was Listada de Gandia, as they're open pollinated and I could save the seeds for next year (if we like them). I found this variety through the Seeds of Diversity site. Descriptions and images as indicated.

Variety	Image	Description
Dusky		"Big, deep-purple, 20cm (8-9") oval fruits mature early on 60cm (24-30") disease-resistant bushes. Dusky will yield even in a poor summer and heavily in a hot summer." - West Coast Seeds
Listada de Gandia		"An old Italian heirloom that is decorative as well as tasty. The bushy plants produce beautiful 6-8” purple eggplants with many white stripes. Mild white flesh without bitterness. This variety is beautiful on the patio as well as the garden. Start early indoors. (85-90 days maturity)" - Heritage Harvest Seeds

Peppers

Back to Two Wings Farms again for our seeds (and the descriptions & photos). We've enjoyed growing jalapeño peppers, although not hot according to our Mexican friends, certainly hot enough for us. This year we thought we'd try a sweet one, too.

Variety	Image	Description
Jalapeño		"Traditional flavourful hot chiles for fresh use. I still love to add this one to fresh salsa for that great clean crisp spicy flavour. Lots of folks like to pickle these too, or dry and smoke them to make Chipotle a real treat."
Red Ruffle		"Red Ruffle also was a heroic producer out in the field with no protection. We were amazed by how strong and productive it was. Beautiful dark red pleated heirloom. Wonderful, complex, sweet flavour. A sweet paprika type with thick walls. My very favourite pepper. Absolutely delicious!"

Physalis

If you've never had a tomatillo or a ground cherry/cape gooseberry, you're definitely missing out. Tomatillos are spectacular producers in our climate, and do not need to be put under any cover. They are a magnificent staple for salsas (fresh and canned), and I use them in any recipe that calls for green tomatoes (check out some of these recipes for ideas). Tomatillos can be eaten green or fully ripe, and have very different flavours depending on the ripeness. This year, along with our staple greens, we figured we'd try a new purple variety, because it intrigued me.


The ground cherries, while they don't have to go under cover, definitely produce better in the warmer climate of the greenhouse. They're a sweet fruit with a tang, and are beautiful to eat just as is; however, I do know people use them in preserves, or as pie filling. I couldn't hold off eating them long enough to turn them into anything other than fresh-into-the-mouth-poppers! Both of these fruit have a great shelf life, especially if their papery husks are intact and not dirty.

I originally got our cape gooseberry seeds from Stellar Seeds, but have since been saving our own for a few years. I don't remember now where the original green tomatillos came from, but they've been starting themselves in our garden and I've been saving seeds from year to year. Descriptions and images as indicated.

Variety	Image	Description
Toma Verde Tomatillo		"An earlier maturing green tomatillo that is indispensable for Mexican cooking. The large green fruit have good quality flesh and excellent keeping qualities. Highly recommended. Start indoors 4-5 weeks before transplanting out. (65 days from transplant)" - Heritage Harvest Seeds
Purple Tomatillo		"A rare tomatillo that turns purple when ripe. The purple types are sweeter than green tomatillos. The small tomato like fruit are enclosed in a papery husk that is easy to remove prior to cooking. The purple fruit store very well after harvest. Used in traditional Mexican salsas. Delicious. Start indoors 4-5 weeks before transplanting out. (70 days from transplant) EXTREMELY RARE." - Heritage Harvest Seeds
Ground Cherry		"These upright, branching plants grow 80cm tall and 50cm around. Hanging from the branches are small husked fruits with an incredibly sweet yet tangy flavour that is much sought after in food circles. Fruits grow 2-3cm in diameter and are ready when husks have dried down and fruits turn bright orange in colour. (~3000 seeds). Certified Organic." - Stellar Seeds

Now we just have to look after everyone 'til harvest time, and "bumble" the flowers (hand pollinate) so we actually get something!!

Making Discoveries

I was trying to figure out whether I really wanted to follow a Chickpea Eggplant Rollup recipe verbatim or modify it to the Eggplant Casserole that I'd done earlier this winter. It was more work than I felt like. I ended up deciding against it and going into creativity mode. This was the result, and our favourite part was the chickpea crust: I've since used it on a squirrel cacciatore to make into a pot-pie*, and while we enjoy normal pie crust, this chickpea crust really lends fabulous flavour & texture.

*If you're going to use it for pot pie, make a double batch of the chickpea crust.

Eggplant Salsa Pie

Chickpea Crust
1 cup dry chickpeas, cooked & drained
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp tamari or soy sauce
3 to 6 tbsp olive oil **

**unfortunately, I didn't measure, so I'm not sure!! it's mostly about texture; you want the chickpea mixture to be dough-like and not crumbly, but also not so liquid as the oil will squish out between your fingers if you took a ball & squeezed

Use food processor to blender the chickpeas and liquids until dough-like consistency. This takes a good 3 to 5 minutes of processing.
Press the ball of dough evenly into a greased round casserole dish, flatten with fingers, making sure to distribute the dough as evenly as possible so that there aren't very thick or very thin areas of the crust.
Bake the crust for about 5 minutes in a 350F oven, then remove.

Filling
1 large eggplant or 2 medium eggplants
1 cup of salsa***

Poke eggplant(s) with fork and place in microwave safe dish. Cook in microwave on high for 3 minutes. Flip and rotate the eggplants and cook another 3 minutes. Repeat this until soft and cooked.
Scrape the flesh of the eggplant(s) into food processor and blender until smooth (discard the skin). Add salsa and blend.

Pour filling into chickpea crust. If you wish, shred some cheese (e.g. cheddar) over the top. Bake at 350F for 30-45 minutes, or until filling is steaming hot and crust is baked golden brown.

***I made up a batch of Apple Pepper Salsa, and it's a bit heavy on the turmeric for my tastes. However, the eggplant flavour compliments the flavour of this salsa beautifully. Here's the salsa recipe, should you wish to use it.

Apple Pepper Salsa

10 cups green apples, cored & coarsely chopped
6 cups green and red bell peppers, cored & coarsely chopped
4 cups tomatillos, coarsely chopped
1 1/2 cup lemon juice
1 tbsp pickling salt
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp ground tumeric
2 tsp dry mustard
1 tbsp green coriander seeds
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground black pepper

Bring ingredients to boil in heavy sauce pan (Lee Valley's maslin pan is fabulous for this job). Reduce heat, stirring occasionally, and boil gently until thickened.

Ladle hot into clean, hot pint jars, leaving ½-inch headspace. Remove air bubbles and adjust headspace if needed. Wipe rims of jars with a dampened, clean paper towel; apply two-piece metal canning lids. Process in a boiling water canner according to the recommendations in Table 1.

Table 1. Recommended process time for Salsa in a boiling-water canner.
		Process Time at Altitudes of
Style of Pack	Jar Size	0 - 1,000 ft	1,001 - 6,000 ft	Above 6,000 ft
Hot	Pints	15 min	20	25

What's not to love about eggplant?

Personally, they're one of my favourite items in the grocery aisle, at least to look at. Not entirely from taste: I've had some really bitter ones, and those aren't great. But they are such a beautiful colour and their shape is also very appealing. What do you do with them? Here are a couple of options for you to get started with this intriguing fruit (yeah, I know, everyone thinks of them as a vegetable, but technically, and I am a science geek, they are fruit).

Baba Ganoush (my version of it, at any rate!)

1 - 3 eggplants (one really large one or 3 really small ones; or something in between!)
2 small golden zucchini squashes
(1 or 2 ripe tomatoes, if you have any)
3 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp tahini (sesame paste)
dash of hot sauce
pinch of kosher (or better yet, grey sea) salt

Steam the eggplant(s) and zucchini in the microwave: poke them repeatedly with a fork to allow the steam to escape them, and place rinsed fruit on a paper towel lined microwave safe dish. Microwave on high for 3-4 minutes, rotate the zucchini & eggplant so that a different surface is up, and microwave again. Repeat until softened. Scoop the contents of the eggplants into a food processor, chop up the zucchini into food processor, and add the remaining ingredients. Pulse the mixture until its paste-like. Serve with pita wedges or tortilla chips.

Eggplant Casserole

1 large eggplant
1 cup garbanzo beans, cooked
1 cup salsa (I used our home-made tomatillo salsa verde, and it was great)
1 tbsp tahini
2 tsp tamari sauce
1 cup grated aged cheddar cheese
(sprinkling of cornmeal for topping)

Cut eggplant lengthwise in 1/4" thick slices. Microwave in microwave-safe dish until slices are softened (about 4-6 minutes on high; rotate the slices mid-way through cooking to cook evenly). Place cooked garbanzo beans, salsa, tahini and tamari into a food processor and pulse until well blended and the garbanzo beans are chopped and somewhat mashed (but not total paste). Lay half of the softened slices of eggplant in a baking dish, spoon half the garbanzo bean mix in a layer on top of the eggplant slices, and sprinkle half of the grated cheddar cheese. Layer the remaining eggplant, then garbanzo bean mix, then cheese. Sprinkle cornmeal for topping if desired. Bake at 350F for 30 minutes or until cheese is melted and centre of dish is heated right through.