Heirloom Veggies

A few days ago as we were out picking beans and cherry tomatoes at our CSA farm one of my friends asked me about the orange cherry tomatoes we were picking. In fact almost all of the tomatoes we get are funny colors and shapes. And the watermelon we received the last couple weeks are yellow and orange inside. ("We don't grow seedless" I heard one of the farmers explain to a young mom). Those veggies are funny colors and shapes likely because they are heirloom varieties. Conventional tomatoes for example are bred to be a particular size and shape and to travel well whereas heirloom seeds have been passed down generations. They are the family and neighborhood favorites because of their great taste or their particular adapatability to a place. Unfortunately taste is not high on the priority list for tomatoes grown for the grocery store and yet I've heard it said (in books, on NPR, and on seed savers exchange website) that we are in danger of loosing a lot of biodiversity in our world because of loss of regional varieties of veggies, fruits, and even livestock(!) due to the industrialization of our agricultural system which demands uniformity among other qualities.
This year I am growing Brandywine (an enormous pink heirloom tomato that tastes amazing!) and Mr. Stripey (yellow with red stripes, even on the inside) as well as a cherry tomato plant given to us by our CSA called Lemon Drop, which is slowly beginning to yeild the brightest yellow tomatoes I've ever seen. I also ordered the seeds for many of my other plants (peas, beans, zucchini, melon, carrots, and sunflowers) from Seed Saver Exchange whose catalogue is one of the prettiest things I've ever seen-fully of beautiful pictures of gloriously colored veggies, fruits, and flowers. If you're a gardener I urge you to check it out and if you're not the next time you're at the farmers market and see purple tomatoes, ask the farmer about them. They may have a name and a story as unusual as their appearance.

Salsa Day!

After months of waiting and the battle against blight (a virus tomatoes all over the nation are succumbing to this summer) my tomatoes are finally ripening in full force. After picking a couple times the past few days or so I already had about 30 Romas on the counter, enough to finally justify a batch of salsa. I also had several of the largest jalapenos I've ever seen waiting in the fridge.
As I got the water boiling (you dunk the tomatoes in boiling water to help remove their skin before canning) I decided to just make a quick trip out to the garden to gather any others that might be ready to join this batch and came back with more than my basket could hold! I ended up doing a double batch of salsa plus a few cans of plain tomatoes! It's amazing how tomatoes sometimes seem to ripen overnight.
I know a few folks who can things they buy at the farmers market because they aren't able to garden. It's a great way to preserve the freshest things of the season. (Many of my tomatoes today went from vine to jar with in a couple hours!) Plus there are no added preservatives or even salt in my salsa recipe! I plan to give some to my father-in-law who is cutting salt out of his diet.
In fact many of the recipes I plan to make this fall have particular people in mind. This salsa recipe is a favorite of my sister-in-law. Brandon requested some jalepeno jelly. And I think my dad will love the peach BBQ sauce I made last week. I know I'm walking a thin line between normal and weird aunt status when I start giving salsas and jellys as gifts(between that and my knitting I might just have to deal with the label). But today when I ran into a friend who'd been away all summer one of his first questions was, "how's your garden? I've been thinking about it all summer." Hopefully my friends and family love me in spite of, if not because of it all.

Here's the Salsa recipe I used today, from the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving:
Fresh Vegetable Salsa
(makes about ten 8oz. jars or five pint jars)
7 cups chopped cored peeled tomatoes
(to peel tomatoes cut an "x" in the bottom end and submerge in boiling water for about 1 min. immediately place in ice water to stop cooking, peel and chop)
2 cups coarsely chopped onion
1 cup coarsely chopped bell pepper
8 jalapenos, seeded and finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 can(5 oz) tomato paste (or make your own)
3/4 cup white vinegar (I subsituted apple cider vinegar and bottled lime juice, but make sure you add at least this much acid to keep the recipe safe for canning!)
1/2 cup lossely packed finely chopped fresh cilantro (half that if you're using dried herbs)
1/2 tsp. ground cumin

1) In a large stainless steel sauce pan, combine all ingredients. Bring to a boil over med-high heat, stirring constantly. Reduce heat and boil gently, stirring frequently, until thickened about 30 min.
2) Meanwhile prepare canner, jars, and lids (wash, and place jars and lids in warm water on the stove; no need to boil, but they should be warm. Leave the screw top part of the lid out so you can handle it to tighten)
3) Ladle hot salsa into hot jars, leaving 1/2 in. (1cm) headspace. Remove air bubbles with a knive and adjust headspace if necessary by adding more salsa. Wipe jar rim, center the lid and screw the band to finger-tip tight.
4) Place jars in canner, ensuring they are completely covered with water. Bring to a boil and process jars for 20 min. (You start counting when it finally gets boiling hard). Remove canner lid and allow to cool 5 min. Remove jars carefully and allow to cool. After 4-6 hours or more remove screw top lids, check to make sure they sealed, clean jars with a damp cloth and store.

preserving the harvest

After three or four weeks of extreme busy-ness I have finally been able to turn my attention back to my garden for more than a brief moment and it seems its just in the nick of time. The zucchini are producing more and more rapidly and my roma tomatoes are turning red in bunches. On top of that the CSA is providing more food than we can eat and it's also the peak of the season for the best of West Michigan produce at the farmers market. While I wasn't looking it seems my kitchen started to overflow with produce. Yesterday, in between steps in canning peach salsa and BBQ sauce, I made a list of the veggies in the fridge because I keep loosing track of what I have.
I feel this compelling urge to can and freeze the abundance it's so beautiful and seems to me so valuable I can't bare to see any of it go to waste. At times even feel guilty for throwing carrot and turnip tops into the compost, but I already have plenty of veggie broth in the freezer. (At least with compost its not a complete waste as it will nourish next year's garden.)
I'm trying to sort out for myself what's behind this urge. I love finding ways to use what I have and create homecooked meals from local ingredients. I enjoy it and I think it's important. I do think choosing to eat seasonally and preserve the abundance is an act of good stewardship. But I also find myself feeling a little obsessed and proud of myself. And I wonder what the right balance is.
I also wonder how much I can urge others to do the same. Canning is a lot of work. I enjoy it, but is everyone called to this lifestyle? I didn't learn this skills from my mom or my grandmother because neither of them enjoy cooking and were happy to give up the more labor intensive aspects. The other day as I mentioned making homemade vinaigrette for our salads my sister-in-law pointed out that I don't have kids so I have time for things like that. I don't know if having children is the difference (I do know others who garden can and bake their own bread while their children learn along side them, and they aren't stay at home mom's either!) But I do wonder if this is for everyone.
All I can say for now is that for me, growing, cooking, and preserving my own food by the seasons is related to a recognition that I and my schedule are not bigger than this world. If God wanted to create tomato plants to produced year round I think God could have, but instead we live in a place of variety and abundance, ebbs and flows and seasons. So when tomatoes and zucchini are plentiful that's what I'm going to eat and in the winter I'm not going to buy the tomato-like-things in the store that where picked green halfway around the world and forced to ripen with chemicals. I also believe the best tasting and most nutritious food is fresh and local and I think that is the food God meant for us to eat and enjoy. So maybe this will never be the accepted norm again, but I am compelled to the kitchen to can my tomatoes.