Wednesday, August 31, 2011

First tomato


When I first moved to Montana, a neighbor mused:"Those tomato plants in your garden don't stand a chance."
I had no idea what she was talking about. I knew that a tomato needed healthy soil, lots of sunlight, water, and a pair of strong hands to yank out the weeds.

Turns out there were a few things I didn't know. I guess I didn't expect snow in June. In Bozeman, tomato plants are lucky if they make it into the ground by July first. I also didn't expect summer hail storms. Another neighbor reminded me to build a hail protector(an apparatus of plastic pipes and a tarp) over my garden which I could unfurl if and only if I happen to be at home when a hail storm strikes. If any tomatoes survive the snow and hail, there is still a chance they will be nibbled by deer who wander into everyone's yards after dark.

Given these challenges and my lack of experience as a gardener, the odds of a plentiful tomato harvest were low. Despite this, on August 31st, a single tomato in my garden ripened. When I picked it and sliced it into fourths for my family, it tasted sweet and juicy. It was as perfect as a tomato could be!

As for the rest of the green tomatoes, if they can survive the remainder of the summer, there is still time to ripen. Or else I will make fried green tomatoes.

If I had a whole bowl of tomatoes, I would cook this recipe for my family:

Baked Tomatoes, Goat cheese and Basil
4 rounds of goat cheese
1 1/2 cups of tomatoes, cut in half (any tomato will do but cherry tomatoes are best!)
1/2 cup olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
6 leaves of fresh basil
one large clove of garlic, crushed
Four slices of French bread

Preheat the oven to 400 F
Pour olive oil into a flat ovenproof dish and add the garlic. Put the tomatoes in the oil and then add the goat cheese on top. Add a few shakes of salt and pepper.
Bake for 10 minutes. When done, add slivers of basil.

Serve with toasted French bread.


1 comment:

  1. Love this blog! I am a new subscriber, yay! This recipe looks yum. Glad you could get some of those tomatoes to ripen, you must have brought some California with you!

    I also happen to love (and even prefer) fried green tomatoes. Was actually brought up on them so that doesn't sound like a close second to me...

    Keep us posted about Montana fall and winters! Cheers!

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