We’ve never had much success growing tomatoes. More than likely due to the fact that the spot we had for our veggie garden a few years back got a ton of shade from the neighbor’s trees. A few tomatoes would set and then they’d mold…go figure! So with our big new raised bed for our garden along the back side of the house that gets a ton ‘o sun we thought it would be good to try tomatoes again. Friend Lorrie told me that there are varieties for cool weather. Good to know! So I headed out to my favorite nursery and inquired, list in hand with several varieties I thought sounded good. Alas, all they had in stock was Stupice (say it this way stew-peach). Wasn’t on my list but I was eager to plant. I wanted a 4” pot but they only had pony packs of 6 so I got them. Steve had this great idea: since we don’t have any luck with tomatoes, why don’t we plant 3 in one tomato cage and 3 in another and then if one or two don’t thrive, we can just pull them out. Sounds good!
Now here it is 4 months later. Note to self: Stupice do well in our garden and will grow like weeds. The plants are spilling over the side of the bed, climbing up the trellis we strung for the sugar snap peas. They sent out long, tall stalks and then fell over with the weight of the green tomatoes. After the cooler summer, they’re now starting to ripen. It’s quite a challenge to spot the flash of red in the jungle of overgrown greenery but I’m happy to get close and personal with the plants, the pungent scent of tomato all up in my face. I was hoping to start roasting and freezing the tomatoes. But they’re ripening at just the right pace to keep us supplied with a large bowlful for salads and cooking.
Dinner the other night: browned some beef in the pan (grass fed…why? That’s a post for another day) then put it in a bowl. Sautéed patty pan squash and those round yellow ones, onion, leek, garlic (of course), some roasted red and yellow peppers I had stored in the freezer, and a huge handful of fresh basil in olive oil. I poured boiling water over a large bowl of tomatoes and when the skins started peeling, I took the peel off and diced the tomatoes into the pan. The tomato juices bubbled up making this incredibly awesome veggie broth. I added the beef back in then served it over pasta (with a little parm cheese on top).
The heirloom tomatoes at The Farm (veggie stand down the street) are starting to ripen. I think I’ll start roasting those to “put up” in the freezer. My own Stupice? I’ll keep eating those babies one bowlful at a time.
Sounds yummy!
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