What’s in my kitchen this month? Tomatoes, tomatoes and yes, more tomatoes. Thanks again Celia at Fig Jam and Lime Cordial for giving us this opportunity to share and have a glimpse into kitchens all around the world. Yep, with tomatoes, you cruise along for a few weeks harvesting at leisure and using beautiful tomatoes one by one for your salads and breakfasts and then bang! Glut time. All at once you become overloaded with these beautiful ruby red, purple, black and pinky orange delights.
I usually start by sorting them into 3 separate piles, those that I can leave to ripen a bit longer, those nice now and over the next few days and those that must be used now or they will be destined for the chooks! The nice now and for a few more day ones are going onto my pretty new blue plate/bowl.
I spent this morning making some tomato pickles.
This pickles is great with meat, eggs and anywhere you would use tomato sauce.
I knocked up a ‘tart au tomato’. I just used some puff pastry as the base, spread some Dijon mustard over and topped with sliced tomatoes, olive oil and thyme. Smells pretty good, might be lunch this week I think.
I also made a tomato ‘quichey’ pie dish. First up, a pastry base into which I spread the bit of tomato pickles that didn’t fit into the jars, then came pan-fried tomatoes, zucchini, onion and capsicum with some olive oil, thyme and oregano. I grated the zest of our first kaffir lime into the mix too. Gee I love the smell of kaffir lime, it is so heady and aromatic. Oh, there was some chorizo I found in the fridge when I cleaned it out, so that went in as well!
I dug out my favourite rolling pin to roll out the pastry. I bought this in an op-shop in Tassie about 20 years ago. Kauri pine and beautiful to use. The ‘quichey’ pie looks good and today’s white sourdough loaf have kept my ‘toy oven‘ jam packed. Two loaves of 50% rye yet to go in today!
On an exciting note, I have a new sourdough starter, Phoenicia. Celia graciously offered me some of her starter saved from “Priscilla”. How could I refuse? The starter arrived last week and it was only this morning before I’ve had a chance to give it the kiss of life. I’ve named her Phoenicia in honour of the great Phoenician bakers, apparently unrivalled. So now I have Phoenicia, Vessie (after Vesuvius) which are both a white starter and ‘100% rye’ (must think of a name for that! Only a couple of hours in and already signs of life.
In my kitchen is a very handy bucket. When we were camping our trusty old bucket came to grief and I refused to pay $4.00 for one that looked about as good quality as a chinese food container. I went into the local bakery and asked if they had any spare fondant buckets. $5.00 later we came out with 2 large 10 litre buckets and this handy little one which is ideal for doing my preferment of bread dough in.
Well, that’s about all that’s going on In My Kitchen this month. I now have to go and find my passata making equipment as I think that will definitely be a job that needs to be done in the next week or so. But first, some sourdough french toast with a dollop of tomato pickles for lunch.
We are stuck in the same tomato land and making the same chutneys. When does it ever stop. I see you have some nice banneton bread thingies- am thinking of purchasing some too. Your bread looks sensational. and your big rectangular quiche looks great too.
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Hi Francesca, yes, they just keep coming. Half of me doesn’t want to do anything with them as I just love seeing them! Bannetons are great, just the cheapies from ebay but have been going well for a couple of years now.
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I’m drooling. I’m also envious of your tomatoes, ours are large and green, three are turning, think I’ll paint the rest! I feel pickles coming on. MS x
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Just wait, they will eventually ripen. Pick any big ones and keep them in a cardboard box in a dark place or hang them upside down in a protected place, they will ripen. I’ve had toms right through winter doing this. 🙂
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Aah!! now I know how you know what variety of tomatoes I had – you are the queen of tomatoes. Your bread looks great and I have rolling pin envy.
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LOL, hardly but thanks.
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I want to come for dinner, I definitely have tomato envy. It will be a few more months before I have any and the ones currently available at the market are poor substitutes for vine ripened summer tomatoes.
Your bowl is lovely and love your bread. It looks very professional.
Have you posted the recipe for pickled tomatoes? I’ve made tomato jam but never pickled them.
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Hi Liz, welcome anytime! Haven’t added the recipe as it was first time and I found it a little too sweet. Might do another batch to tweak, then post. It is really just like a relish. 🙂
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I am so jealous of all those tomatoes! They look so delicious. I just planted my tomato seeds so I guess I can slowly start dreaming of my own goodies from the garden in several months. The tart also looks quite delicious, as does the bread.
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Hi, I do love the tomatoes. Quiches didn’t taste as good as it looked unfortunately. Should I say that????
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Love the rectangular quiche dish. You can never have too many tomatoes I think!
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Thanks and I agree completely about tomatoes!
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Red everywhere is totally, totally okay with me. My place is pretty much the same. That bowl is gorgeous. And I could eat a big piece of your ‘quichey’ pie right now (lunch time – tummy rumbling).
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Hi Jennifer, the tart actually tasted better than the quiche! Mmm, might be time for tea I think!
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bread and tomatoes sounds like a fine way to fill a kitchen – my mum is in the midst of making passata and I feel the need for tomatoes to bottle – sadly our garden is too small for such a profusion as yours but I must saunter down to the green grocers
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Hi Johanna, I usually buy a couple of boxes for passata as it means they are all done and dusted in one hit. Amazing what you can get from one little bush!
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Your tomato post is good timing as I’m about to sow my seeds and I always sow too many and then of course have a glut to deal with in the summer. Perhaps this will serve as a warning to me that I don’t need to sow the whole packet! Your quiche looks delicious.
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I only put in about 6 of each variety. Never can have too many!
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Maree your quichey pie looks scrumptious. That would make an awesome lunch. I too have a few toms at the moment, but no where near the amount of your haul. I love that you approached a baker for spare containers, well done! cheers Kirsty xx
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Thanks Kirsty!
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Ok, that really is a LOT of tomatoes! How gorgeous. I love the variety you have too.
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Wow, those tomatoes look terrific! I had a woeful tomato season this year but my eggplants are out of control!
I love your blue bowl too, and your bread has me craving a piece fresh from the oven 🙂
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Thanks Lisa! Fresh bread with tomato sandwiches going down a lot here! Sorry to hear about your toms. 😦
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Absolutely love that bowl. I’m sure it looked fab with tomatoes in it. Looks like you’re enjoying your bread making. I use bannetons for proving and it dos give it a nice shape. And, yes, I have a Celia starter, too! It’s great. I think Celia has converted many of us to sourdough baking.
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Thanks, yes the bowl did look even prettier with the red toms in it! Although having bakes SD for many years it is always lovely to try new things.
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Having such fun reading about Priscilla’s offspring. We have one too, her name is Pussy Galoaf and she’s going great guns so far!
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Ha, ha,ha! God I love that name “Pussy Galoaf” just had a big belly laugh, thanks. Hope we don’t end up with loaves that have 2 heads!
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I say a huge ‘YES’ to sourdough French toast with tomato pickles. I’ll be making that this weekend. I have an old rolling pin that i use – not as big as yours but I like to think I saved it from a sad and lonely life in a 2nd hand shop. cheers
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Thanks Fiona. Always on the look out for interesting rolling pins. Hope you enjoy your french toast as much as I did!
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What glorious tomatoes and tarts! I can’t wait until I have moved in to my new place (whereever it is) so I can build up my preserves collection-at the moment i only have pickled beetroot, piccalilli and sauerkraut!
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Love tomatoes and throughly enjoy making relish when they are in abundance! Did you get your plate and Wheel and Barrow? I think I saw them as I walked paste the other day trying to not stop and look in! Your sourdough look so beautiful! Thanks for sharing! Liz xx
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Hi Liz, yes, Wheel & Barrow. Love that shop and it suits me well with how its located at Chaddy. I have panic attacks in shopping complexes but I can duck in there and get out quickly. Having said that I did make it to Williams-Sonama a while ago and was very impressed. Might use it as a form of therapy to deal with my anxiety!!!!
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Your bread looks divine and OH! those tomatoes! We are months away from any local produce with flavor and must settle for B.C. hothouse grown that have great color if not much taste. Do you find much flavor difference with different colored tomatoes?
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I love the different varieties of tomatoes. I don’t find too much difference in flavour but the black krim are a huge hit. Not too fussed about flavour of the yellows and structure seems more to dictate how they are used. All up really doesn’t matter, love em all! Hoping to do a bit more of a proper tasting test before season finishes to record results. That’s if Mr ATMT hasn’t eaten them all.
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Wow that is a lot of tomatoey goodness. Your relish looks beautiful.
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Wow, I Love It! Beautiful tomatoes and that bowl us gorgeous.
Thanks for stopping by my kitchen.
Lori
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🙂
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