Tag: tomatoes
Attack of the Killer Tomato Festival takes over Twitter
The Attack of the Killer Tomato Festival returned to JCT Kitchen yesterday. The crowds were convivial, the heat was blazing, and the cocktails were cold. 5 Bone Rack, the all-chef band that includes Ford Fry, Zeb Stevenson, Ted Lahey, Jamie Adams, and Gary Mennie, turned out to be not that bad. (Who knew that Ford Fry could almost play the solo for "American Girl?") Oh, and there were truckloads of ripe tomatoes in most every variation imaginable.
Hot Dish: Heirloom tomatoes at One Eared Stag
A few friends and I dropped into One Eared Stag early in the evening last week for a few drinks and snacks. It was that casual kind of night where everyone agrees to order something slightly different (a salad, a meat, a finger snack, and so on) to share while ordering all too many cocktails. Right as we were taking our first sips, a bowl of Hammock Hallows heirloom tomatoes, bufala mozzarella, tomato water, radish, and edible flowers landed on the table and everyone's jaws just about hit the floor.
While tomatoes ripen, enjoy other good stuff
So long, strawberries. I’ll miss your sweet, tangy, tiny-by-supermarket-standards presence in my cereal, my yogurt, my dinner salads. Oh, yes, your big flavor and tender texture have ruined me forever for those berry-like items found in the grocery stores. I’ll pass, and I’ll be counting the days until you return next spring.What to do in the meantime? Fortunately, there’s plenty coming in to area farmers markets to keep me distracted. Georgia’s generous growing season is just getting going, and there’s a whole summer ahead of good stuff to eat.Here’s a look at what you’ll find now and in the weeks ahead:Right here, right now: Early peaches. Summer squash. Beets, green beans, potatoes, arugula, collards.Just starting to roll in: Blackberries, blueberries. Cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, pole beans.Here but not for long: Sugar snaps, lettuce, spinach, radishes, carrots, broccoli, garlic scapes, kale, onions.Still to come: Slicer tomatoes! Basil, corn, eggplant, freestone peaches, field peas, okra, peppers, raspberries, musk melons, watermelons.And then, as the summer fades, we’ll have figs, muscadines, winter squash. Then sweet potatoes, apples, hardy greens, turnips … and the cycle starts over again. Strawberries will be back before we know it.It’s the joy of eating locally and, by extension, seasonally. There’s always something good to look forward to. And when something you love is at its peak, you enjoy it all the more.
This year, grow your own tomatoes—organically
Remember last tomato season, when you resolved that next year, you’d grow your own? If 2012 is your personal Year of the Garden, now is the time to start planning.
Baingan Bharta
Late summer is the perfect time to make this Northern Indian stew, when eggplants and peppers are plentiful and tomatoes are still available, if not slicer-perfect. You can use any kind of eggplant. The key is to roast it first to bring out a smoky flavor. Serve with basmati rice.
Chicken and Sweet Potato Stew
From "The New Southern Garden Cookbook" by Sheri Castle. The somewhat unusual combination of chicken, sweet potatoes, peanuts, tomatoes, coconut, chutney, and curry has deep roots in the South, particularly in the Lowcountry, where there was ready access to imported spices and where expert cooks from many cultures stirred their own familiar ingredients into the pots.
Chickpea and Soba Soup
Romaine lettuce is the surprise green in this main-course soup. The rich broth gets its substance from the chickpeas and buckwheat noodles, while the lettuce adds an occasional crunch.
My Mother’s Chicken Spaghetti
From "Craig Claiborne’s Southern Cooking" by Craig Claiborne
One hot tomato festival
Last Sunday, the sold-out second annual Attack of the Killer Tomato Festival—a fund raising event for Georgia Organics hosted by JCT Kitchen and its top toque, Ford Fry—saw many of brightest culinary talents from Atlanta and nearby towns team up with some of the region’s top tomato farmers to produce an afternoon of creative tomato-inspired dishes and cocktails.
Euharlee Crock-Pot Brunswick Stew
From "Smokehouse Ham, Spoon Bread, and Scuppernong Wine" by Joseph E. Dabney
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