What's available this week

Hollow Spring Farm

www.hollowspringfarm.blogspot.com

Please let me know before 4pm Tuesday if you would like to get some of these Wednesday.  You can also order by 4pm Thursday for items that you can pick up at the Pepper Place Market on Saturday.  If you are interested, let me know what and how much you would like.

 

This week’s featured item:  Orange Banana Tomatoes- $3/lb-Its amazing sprightly sweet flavor, reminiscent of Sungold but with more depth and diverse tones, makes an ambrosial sauce by itself and adds a vivid fruity complexity to any sauce with other tomato varieties. 

Green Peppers- $1/each

Provider Green Beans - $3/lb

They just keep on providin’ that rich, beany taste of a classic green bean.

Mixed Bouquets of Zinnias, Comsos, and Sunflowers- $5/ bunch (also can do bunches of just Zinnias or Sunflowers).

Black Cherry Tomatoes - $3/lb Two-bite cherries with the dusky color and complex flavor typical of the best black tomatoes.

 

These are particularly good for drying…

Principe Borghese Tomatoes -$3/lb

An Italian heirloom with excellent flavor. Used for sun-dried tomatoes as it has few seeds and little juice.

 

Lilliput Tomatoes - $3/lb

Hybrid Cherry tomato. Heavy cropper with small round tasty fruits. Great for drying, too.

 

Sun/Oven Dried Tomatoes – Overview

Plan on 10 standard tomatoes to get one ounce of dried tomatoes.  Homemade dried tomatoes should be placed in an airtight bag or container and stored in the refrigerator or freezer (for up to six to nine months for optimum shelf life.) 

When packing your own in oil at home, be sure to keep them refrigerated, especially when adding fresh herbs or garlic to avoid the risk of botulism. Once opened, oil-packed dried tomatoes should be refrigerated and used within two weeks. 

 

The Die Hard Way to Sun Dry Tomatoes

·         Simply slice tomatoes in half, place on a raised screen, lightly sprinkle with salt and optional herbs, and place in the hot sun until dry. Depending on your weather conditions, this could take anywhere from four days to two weeks.

·         Cover them with cheesecloth, raised so it does not touch the tomatoes, to keep out any critters and provide proper ventilation.

·         You will also need to bring them in during the night, lest the evening dew undo your drying process.

·         Transfer the tomatoes to zip-lock bags and store in either the refrigerator or freezer.

 

The Simpler Way to Oven Dry Tomatoes

Prep Time: 15 minutes, Cook Time: 6 hours

·         Preparation: Preheat oven to 200 degrees F. or the lowest setting possible.

·         Trim and discard the stem ends of the tomatoes. Halve each tomato lengthwise. Arrange the tomatoes, cut side up, side by side and crosswise on cake racks set on the oven racks. Do not allow the tomatoes to touch one another. Sprinkle lightly with salt. 

·         Place in the oven and bake until the tomatoes are shriveled and feel dry, anywhere from 6 to 12 hours. Check the tomatoes from time to time: They should remain rather flexible, not at all brittle. Once dried, remove the tomatoes from the oven and allow them to thoroughly cool on cake racks. (Smaller tomatoes will dry more quickly than larger ones. Remove each tomato from the oven as it is dried.)

·         Transfer the tomatoes to zip-lock bags and store in either the refrigerator or freezer.