After last year's abysmal (read EPIC) failure of our tomato crop, we decided to give it a go again. We would not be defeated. We would rebuild. Harder. Better. Faster. Stronger (a little Daft Punk for you all.) We ditched the pots and went big time, purchasing an easy do-it-yourself raised garden bed from Lowes. We bought swiss chard seeds, little Tom Thumb lettuce seeds (so cute!), peas, and a few small tomato plants. Really, they were very small plants, tiny in fact (see pic below for proof.) We may have (read DEFINITELY) overestimated our garden space in relation to the crops we planted. My only defense is that we were very keyed up to be growing our own food and going slightly off grid (as much as we can being urbanites with a tiny backyard.) Occasionally we try being trendy so that we can be like all the other cool kids. This was one of those moments.
Our farm plot was made complete with a small tractor that the Sous Chef picked up in the toy section at the local Walmart (aka The Walmarts for you Sister K and Dave) plus tiny farm animals that a friend gave to him. I told her that she really shouldn't encourage him...it could really escalate knowing him. Next year he's talking of expanding the fields, installing an irrigation system, developing transportation infrastructure. Wind turbines. Solar power. See what I mean? He does NOT need encouragement.
Needless to say, the tomato plants did what happy healthy tomato plants do- they took over and overshadowed everything else in that little garden plot. We can't even see the peas. I know they're in there, just can't see them. Nor the basil plant. Or the swiss chard. We ate all the Tom Thumb lettuce up so no worries there (note to self for next year, plant more Tom Thumb lettuce.) But we are from far complaining about our tomato predicament. What do you do when life gives you too many tomatoes? You search out recipes and make lots of dishes containing tomatoes of course. As life problems go, this is a great problem to have I'd say. A delicious problem....
Serendipitously, this particular recipe appeared in my Facebook feed from Smitten Kitchen. It's very basic (which I love), using only a few ingredients: tomatoes (check), basil (check), garlic (check), Parmesan cheese (check), and bread (will have to pick up, check.) You know that you are on to a stellar recipe when several amazing food bloggers and chefs have already tested it out, raved about it and not really changed the recipe that much along the way (Smitten Kitchen, Oh She Glows, and The Barefoot Contessa.) Why mess with perfection? And this is perfection. I don't tend to exaggerate a lot (well...) but this dish is absolutely amazing. It reminds me a lot of a bread and tomato soup that I made last year...and loved (see recipe here.) I even snuck a few cold spoonfuls right out of the fridge...and it was still delicious. It's a great way to use up all those tomatoes that are and will be ripening at break neck speed in our gardens shortly. Don't give them away to friends. This is no time for selflessness. Keep em and make this recipe. Once a week at least. I can hardly wait for our tomato crop to fully explode so I can make this dish again. And if, for some reason, you happen to have leftovers of this dish, it is truly great warmed up, on an English muffin with an egg on top (as suggested by the other famous food bloggers.) When life gives you too many tomatoes (and basil), may I suggest Scalloped Tomatoes with Croutons?
Happy tomato eating from Bistro 164!
Scalloped Tomatoes with Croutons
from Smitten Kitchen
Ingredients3 tbsps olive oil
2-3 cups of bread, diced into 1/2 inch cubes ( I used an artisanal potato and scallion bread, 3 cups)
2 1/2 lbs of tomatoes (any kind), diced into 1/2 inch cubes
3 cloves of garlic minced
2 tbsps sugar
2 tsps kosher salt
1 tsp freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup thinly slivered basil leaves, lightly packed
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese ( I may have added a tiny bit more)
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 F. Add olive oil to a large sauce pan and heat over medium-high. Toss in the bread cubes and stir so that the bread is well coated in olive oil. Cook cubes, tossing them frequently
so that they brown on all sides. Takes about 5-10 minutes.
In a large bowl, combine the tomatoes, garlic, sugar and salt and pepper. When the bread cubes are done, add in the tomato mix and cook for about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the basil. Pour into a shallow casserole dish and top with the Parmesan cheese. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until the cheese is nicely browned.
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| Sid the dog helping himself to the fruits of our labour...even the green ones |
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