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September 9, 2009
By Cheryl McCord
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Saturday is the annual Tomato Tasting contest at the Farmers Market. Anyone can
bring their tomatoes to the Market and enter the contest. Everyone can sample the
different tomatoes and vote for their favorites.
Tomatoes are in abundance and their vine-ripened flavors are at their best. How
do you preserve that summer, vine-ripened flavor for the winter and spring months
when the local, fresh tomatoes are not available? I dehydrate them.
Slice the tomatoes about ¼ inch thick and place them on the dehydrator trays. Set
the dehydrator to about 115 degrees F. The tomatoes are usually dry over night.
When the slices are crispy dry, pull them off the trays and seal them in plastic
bags to be stored in the freezer.
Dried tomatoes make an excellent sauce that is naturally sweet and easy to prepare.
To make one quart of tomato sauce, take 3 cups of dried tomato slices from the freezer
and put them into the blender. While the tomato slices are still frozen run the
blender on high. The tomatoes will turn to powder.
Add 1 ½ cups water, one onion (quartered), 3 cloves of garlic, 2 tablespoons olive
oil, 1 teaspoon sea salt, 2 teaspoons dried basil, 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano, 1/4
teaspoon dried rosemary, and pepper to taste. Blend until smooth. Empty the thick
paste into a glass dish. Use 2 cups more water (or less if you want a thicker sauce)
to rinse the blender. Pour into the dish with the paste and stir until smooth. Heat
in the microwave for about 3-4 minutes or until the sauce is thoroughly heated.
Dried tomato slices can also be dropped into soups and added to casseroles. They
can be used whole or crushed into smaller pieces.
The roma-type tomatoes are best for drying. They are firm, meaty, and have few seeds.
Other tomatoes can be dried as well; although, they have more seeds and are juicier.
If thin slices do not hold together well, the tomatoes can be sliced into ½-inch
wedges for drying. They will take a little longer to dry but work just as well in
soups or powdered in the blender for sauce.
Come to the Tomato Tasting event at the Market. You will be able to sample many
different varieties of tomatoes and select your favorites. Our vendors have a wide
selection available for your needs whether it is eating fresh, drying, canning or
freezing.
Fresh produce at the Market this week includes plums, pluots (plum-apricot cross),
grapes, peaches, nectarines, apples, green beans, blackberries, melons, tomatoes,
pickling cucumbers, peppers, tomatillos, carrots, and sweet corn.
Coming Sep 26—Oktoberfest at the Market
The Market is held Saturdays from 9 am to 12 noon at Sandstone Plaza in Kuna at
the west end of Main Street. For more information, contact Cheryl McCord at 922-5113
or visit the website at
www.KunaFarmersMarket.com.
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