Let the Tomato Extravaganza Begin!

Hello Friends!

I hope you are all well. We are great! We’re excited to really get Tomato Season 2008 started … this week we’ll be bringing many varieties of tomatoes to the market. Stupice, Rose de Berne, Striped German, Prudens Purple, Cherokee Purple, Nyagous, Juliette, AND MORE! Every year we include the following two recipes because they are just that good …

A Big Tomato Sandwich
(Deborah Madison’s Local Flavors)

1 large loaf ciabatta*
Herb Vinaigrette (see below)
2 or more big ripe, juicy tomatoes**
1 large yellow or red bell pepper, roasted, peeled and quartered
4 oz fresh mozzarella, goat, or other favorite cheese, sliced
sea salt and freshly ground pepper

1. Slice the top third off the loaf of bread and set it aside. Pull out the inside. (You can use it to make bread crumbs for another recipe.)
2. Paint the inside of the bread with some of the dressing, then make layers of sliced tomatoes, pepper, and cheese. Bathe each layer with the dressing and season with salt and pepper.
3. Add the top, press down, then cut into quarters or sixths.

The Herb Vinaigrette . . .
¼ cup basil
1 T chopped marjoram
1 T chopped parsley
1 small clove garlic, minced
1/3 cup olive oil
4 t aged red wine vinegar
sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Finely chop herbs with the garlic, then add olive oil. Add vinegar and season with salt and pepper.

* Ciabbatta is an ideal bread for this – crusty, strong-textured, and able to drink in some of the juice without falling apart.
** Choice tomatoes for this recipe are Prudens Purple and Striped Germans.

Tomato salad
(Chez Panisse Vegetables by Alice Waters)

Simply chunk up some ripe tomatoes. Moisten with balsamic vinegar, season with salt and pepper, and drizzle generously with olive oil. Mix gently. Excellent additions include croutons, slivered fresh basil, avocado, red onion, corn, fresh mozzarella, cucumbers, and small pieces of broccoli. This healthy and delicious dish can be made in about 10 minutes, and is best eaten fresh. (The texture gets funny if refrigerated and eaten the next day, but it can be done.) We eat this almost every day!

I’ve also had a request for the dip recipe that we make for eating Japanese Turnips raw. Here it is:

1 cup Tahini (a sesame paste – it looks like pale peanut butter! If you don’t have tahini, peanut butter works, too!)
2-3 Tbsp soy sauce or Bragg’s
2-3 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

Stir it and then add water to make it a good dipping consistency. The amounts are really approximate – just add the soy sauce and lemon juice to taste.

This week’s visual art are posters from the World War I and/or II eras. Bill really wanted me to include them because he thinks the times, they are a-changin’. Seriously. I am no historian, but it does seem that we are entering unchartered waters with the global economy and global food production. The demand for food will continue to increase quickly, and the demand on farmland will similarly increase. What will we choose to do with the good farmland that we have? Develop it? Grow ever more corn and soybeans? We can’t leave it to large agribusiness to grow food that we need to be healthy (and to enjoy!!). Instead, we will increasingly look to small-scale farms to provide the best, most nutritious food on the planet.

Could you be one of those small-scale “farmers”? How about in your own backyard with a Victory Garden?? We don’t face the obvious enemy of Hitler or his ilk, but we do have a war to win against shortages of good food. I just love the posters from the past. At one point during World War II, approximately 40% of the food eaten in this country came out of home gardens. Wow! Bill may do a class this fall/winter to help you plan a small victory garden in 2009. It’s really not difficult to grow a handful of vegetables … and we assume that you’ll still come to the farmers market to fill the gaps. Some of our best customers have gardens!

Here’s what we’ll be bringing to the market this week:

Head Lettuce
Green Beans
Eggplant
Beets (Traditional, Golden, and Chioggia)
Kale
Collard Greens
Parsley
Basil
Swiss Chard
Japanese Turnips (white and pink)
Summer Squash/Zucchini
Cucumbers
Carrots
Garlic
Green Onions
Bulb Onions
Leeks
Potatoes
Tomatoes

Don’t forget that we’re delivering fresh veggies to Common Ground and the Garlic Press on Tuesday evenings …

On Tuesday evenings Bill delivers produce to Common Ground in downtown Bloomington and to the Garlic Press in Uptown Normal. So if you miss a market or just run out of veggies mid-week, head to Common Ground! And if you need the veggies prepared into a fabulous meal, Garlic Press is right down the road.

We’ll see you at the Downtown Bloomington Farmers Market on Saturdays from 7:30 a.m. – noon. BRING YOUR BAGS!! We’ll also be at the Trailside Market in Uptown Normal, every Tuesday from 3:30 – 6:00 p.m.

Please let your friends know about the blog. We plan to put out the email sign-up sheet during the market season again. Call us at 467-9228 or email us at blueschoolhouse@yahoo.com if you have questions.

Thanks!
Mercy Davison