A Tribute to Alton Brown

(lemon) Tomato Sauce or Roasted (lemon) Tomatoes with Fresh Herbs, Sea Salt and Goat Cheese

Ingredients:
20 or so (lemon) tomatoes halved
1 small onion quartered
2 big hand full of herbs (I prefer lots of basil, thyme, oregano and a few sprigs of tarragon) finely chopped
course sea salt
olive oil
1 clove garlic minced
goat cheese


Place halved tomatoes skin side down on a silpat lined baking sheet with onion quarters mixed in at 4 even points. Drizzle with olive oil. Spread herbs over tomatoes and onions evenly and sprinkle with sea salt. Roast in oven at 300 degrees for two hours. Remove from oven.

If making the second recipe stop here. Place a sliver of onion on each tomato halve along with a small dollop of goat cheese - I prefer Sweet Grass Dairy Chevre - and serve.

Moving on to the tomato sauce. Remove onions, chop finely and put into a sauce pot along with the garlic. Place a food mill over the sauce pot and begin milling tomatoes until all have been pressed through the mill. Stir sauce.

Serve over pasta, use as pizza sauce or serve as a soup with a dollop of softened chevre. Can’t possibly eat it all? Freeze in batches for a taste of spring when the season is long gone.


Garden update: Squash are gone and I spent a good portion of the day yesterday making garden lasagna and putting those beds to rest for a few months. Cucumbers are not far behind the squash. I have a few left to mature, but they are coming in smaller and smaller and the plants are not looking so healthy. The corn is puny, and will probably come out in a few weeks. I’ll have to do some research and try again next year.
The tomatoes are going crazy as you may have noticed from the above recipe. I am harvesting a dozen or so a day with no end in sight. Hard to believe that this time last year tomato season had already ended due to a horrible weekend rain storm.
Peppers and eggplants are coming in as well with fruit ready in the next week or so, and finally my neighbors get a little eye candy as the wild flowers in the bottom of the driveway go bananas.