Friday files - tomato diaries II

Not one being in this household is happy with the cooler weather or the prospect of winter. Least of all Princess Pearli. Cooler weather on a Friday is a mixed blessing. Mother doesn't like it, either and it necessitates a shift in strategy. That I was in the kitchen did not make Pearly happy. She wears her displeasure well.

Tomatoes - ratatouille for the market

I am very fond of ratatouille. Until the weather changed, my plan had been to make Andaluzian Gazpacho for this morning's market in McGregor as dish that can be eaten hot or cold. I admit that I made it as much for sale as I did for myself. All the ingredients are locally sourced - especially the tomatoes - and/or from our garden. When I first started making this, I used to fling everything into the same pot. And cook. And cook to - as my pal SY so elequently put it, to mush. Now, I don't. When I told him that I sautee everything separately and then pull it all together in with the somewhat reduced and pulped tomatoes he said, falling unconsciously into a French accent -

That's how they do it in Provence.

And he would know: he grew up in France.

It's one of the (many) times that my 5-plate Eurogas stove working hard. One of the best investments ever, eleven years ago, when we moved to McGregor. The gas and the stove. I never, in a million years thought I'd be cooking quite as much as I do.

It's a pretty dish:

Pulled together for the market with fresh basil and oreganum from the garden.

Ratatouille potted and ready to go

Chillyi Jam

Having sold twelve - yes 12 - jars of chilli jam in the last two weeks, a new batch was not negotiable.

The biggest batch of chillies I have every processed

Given the rate at which I've sold it over the last few months, I know that I should make it while chillies are cheap in season. I approached this batch with a little less trepidation than usual (notwithstanding the quantity), armed with two things: Silver Cat's advice (which has become an SOP), to rub olive oil on my hands and that these were the longer, more mild chillies rather than the hot fnckers of the last two batches.

The warmth of the cooking chillies did help the sourdough buns to prove

I'm pleased to report that I had no reaction to the chillies. At. All. For the first time. Ever.

I am delighted to have fourteen jars in stock.

Tomorrow's Sunday. Not a day of rest but rather another day for the tomato diaries...

PS. Please support the humanitarian efforts in Ukraine by setting @ilysarazom as a beneficiary for your posts, and as I plan to do for the next while.

Until next time, be well
Fiona
The Sandbag House
McGregor, South Africa

Photo: Selma
Post script
If this post might seem familiar, it's because I'm doing two things:

• re-vamping old recipes. As I do this, I am adding them in a file format that you can download and print. If you download recipes, buy me a coffee. Or better yet, a glass of wine....?
• and "re-capturing" nearly two years' worth of posts.

I blog to the Hive blockchain using a number of decentralised appplications.

• From Wordpress, I use the Exxp Wordpress plugin. If this rocks your socks, click here or on on the image below to sign up.

• Join Hive using this link and then join us in the Silver Bloggers' community by clicking on the logo.

Original artwork: @artywink

• lastly, graphics are created using partly my own photographs, images available freely available on @hive.blog and Canva.

Until next time, be well
Fiona
The Sandbag House
McGregor, South Africa

Photo: Selma
Post script
If this post might seem familiar, it's because I'm doing two things:

• re-vamping old recipes. As I do this, I am adding them in a file format that you can download and print. If you download recipes, buy me a coffee. Or better yet, a glass of wine....?
• and "re-capturing" nearly two years' worth of posts.

I blog to the Hive blockchain using a number of decentralised appplications.

• From Wordpress, I use the Exxp Wordpress plugin. If this rocks your socks, click here or on on the image below to sign up.

• Join Hive using this link and then join us in the Silver Bloggers' community by clicking on the logo.

Original artwork: @artywink

• lastly, graphics are created using partly my own photographs, images available freely available on @hive.blog and Canva.