Thursday 13 August 2009

More tomatoes and courgettes / Encore de tomates et de courgettes

The tomatoes seem to be ripening more slowly than last year and our records confirm this.  We have picked 35 kilos so far.  By this time last year we’d picked 48 kilos, but the Monte Carlo plants which we grew last year were more productive than the St Pierre we are growing for our main crop this year.  Today’s harvest was 6.5 kilos of Roma tomatoes.  I used about 4 kilos to make four more jars of tomato purée, using the same method as I did last year.

Les tomates murissent plus lentement que l’année dernière.  Nous avons ramassé 35 kilos au lieu de 48 kilos au mème temps l’année dernière, mais les St Pierre de cette année sont moins productives que les Monte Carlo de l’année dernière.  La récolte d’aujourd’hui est 6.5 kilos de tomates Roma.  J’en ai fait de la purée de tomates avec 4 kilos, la mème recette de l’année dernière.

I’ve cut some of the others in half, salted them and laid them out on kitchen paper in a fruit box to dry in the sun.  Last year this didn’t work as the air wasn’t dry enough, but the next few days are forecast to be hot and dry, so I thought I’d try it again.

J’ai coupé des autres tomates en deux.  J’ai ajouté du sel et je les ai mises sur du papier de cuisine dans un cageot, pour les secher au soleil, parce qu’ils annoncent des belles journées sèches et ensoleillées.

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I’ve also got a bowl full of aubergines and another of courgettes, but I’ll be using these tomorrow to make chichoumeille (ratatouille) for a lunch on Sunday when we’ve invited some friends to join us in the garden (more on this meal in a few days’ time, I hope).  I used a few of the courgettes to make a very simple dish for our lunch today:

A simple courgette recipe / une recette simple de courgettes

Cut two or three courgettes into long pieces and roast in the oven in olive oil, mixed with some oregano and salt.  When they are nearly done (after about 20 minutes) add some lardons (small pieces of bacon) to the pan.  Cook some pasta and add the courgettes and lardons and some finely chopped garlic and mix.  Serve with pepper and grated cheese.

Couper deux ou trois courgettes en morceaux and les faire cuire au four melangés avec de l’oreganum, du sel et d’huile d’olive.  Quand ils sont presque cuits (après environ 20 minutes) ajouter des lardons.  Faire cuire des pâtes à l'eau bouillante et ajouter les courgettes et les lardons et de l’ail haché et mélanger tous.  Servir avec du poivre moulu et du fromage rapé.

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Lo Jardinièr made a salad with Ananas tomatoes, basil and garlic.  A glass of red wine too, and we had a delicious simple lunch.

Lo Jardinièr a fait une salade de tomates Ananas,  de basilique et de l’ail.  Un verre du vin rouge, et voilà!  Un déjeuner simple et délicieux.

9 comments:

Stefaneener said...

"More courgettes and tomatoes" seems to be the refrain of all summer gardening, no? The pasta dish reminds me of much of our summer eating. Quick and delicious.

Michelle said...

Everything looks delicious! The tomatoes are beautiful, good luck with the weather. We ate the first 2 tomatoes from the garden last night :)

At the moment I'm working on using up the zucchini. One batch of preserved zucchini in olive oil - 5 lbs. A double batch of Zuni Cafe's pickled zucchini - 2 lbs. And we'll be eating pasta with zucchini tonight. And there's still some left....

Woodland Fay said...

I'm growing Ananas this year, but lacking the sun to fully ripen at the moment, I'm guessing they will all come ripe together, usually the week we holiday!

Ewa said...

I admire your diligence to keep records of produce. This is so helpful to understand how things are doing and how to improve.
35 kilos - that's a lot!
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Thanks 4 courgette recipe - I will definately try it, because it sounds delicious.
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You have changed your blog layout -I like it better :)
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Greetings
.
Ewa

Jan said...

Everything looks so gorgeous and tasty! I may try sun drying some toms.

easygardener said...

I like that kind of quick recipe. Tomato blight has reached our outdoor tomatoes - now the norm for much of the UK. Thank heaven for greenhouses, though they are not 100 percent safe!

Weeping Sore said...

I always leave your blog hungry. Why is that? Your fresh food and simple combinations of ingredients always make lovely and perfectly delicious sense.

HappyMouffetard said...

I'll definitely try the courgette recipe - after a total of two courgettes last summer, this year we're inundated.

Do you think rain-drying will catch on? It's a bit damp in the NW of England this summer :(

Ewa said...

2 days ago I tried your courgette recipe - it was so delicious, I will make another one today again.
Greetings,