dee Hobsbawn-Smith recounts an early-September rush to get frost-sensitive Prairie produce out of the garden, into the kitchen and processed for storage.
Tag Archives tomatoes
Great recipes rely on timely fall resource management
First We Eat: Your garden’s yield may need storage all at once if autumn arrives on short notice
Books worth cooking from, part 2: My Thali
First We Eat: How a meal can centre around a starch, rather than a protein surrounded by sides
You’ll recall that in my previous column, I posed the question of how many cookbooks a home cook really needs, and which new ones are worth buying or borrowing. Part of my research for this month’s column was to peruse the shortlist of nominees for the 2024 Taste Canada book awards. Several books appealed, but […] Read more
Harvest, part 3: Saving seeds
First We Eat: Select the best from your fall harvest to bring forward in spring
Some years ago, I went on a road trip — a research tour for a book I envisioned writing about small-scale organic and sustainable farmers in Western Canada. I drove from my home in Calgary through the mountains into the verdant interior valleys of B.C., then west to the coast, to Vancouver Island and up […] Read more
Harvest, part 1: Garnishing summer greens
First We Eat: In the dog days of summer, salads with protein can help dial down the heat needed for food prep
We’ve been in deep summer heat for weeks now after a rainy spring, and every plant in my yard — including the quack grass and chickweed — is consumed with the green fuse of growth. The result is a cornucopia of everything. The scarlet runner beans and snow peas twining around their bamboo stakes tower […] Read more
Tomatoes and onions in gardens everywhere
Part 7 of a series: On all farms, tomatoes should go into ground not previously used for tomatoes
Tomatoes Tomatoes originated in South America from wild plants with grape-sized fruit. They were developed by the Indigenous peoples of the Americas. They were first brought to Europe in the 1540s, to Italy in particular by the 1550s. North Americans were slow to pick up on tomatoes, regarding them as poisonous until almost the year […] Read more
Tomatoes rise stronger from ashes
Also, bank on beans to boost beneficial bacteria in your bowel
Got a stove or fireplace where you burn wood only? Save those ashes and use them in this summer’s garden to grow some of the finest tomatoes ever. Already I can hear myself singing: “Oh it must be the tomatoes, maybe strawberries and homegrown potatoes, but I still think it must be tomatoes.” Those are […] Read more
Want to grow a huge tomato? Mortgage Lifters can do the trick
Singing Gardener: Plus more from Ted’s treasury of tomato tips
Hey there gardeners! Let’s meet in the tomato patch where, with a bit of imagination, a whole bunch of us can gather together to sing “O I’m lovin’ my tomatoes in the good old summertime, my tomatoes, in the garden, in the row, my tomatoes where they grow.” Now back to reality. Today’s page is […] Read more
Hippocratic medicine — much still applies today
Plus, a recipe for fried green tomatoes
The green medicine movement continues to advance. Have you ever given consideration to starting your own home green pharmacy medicine chest? “Your food shall be your medicine and your medicine shall be your food” is a time-honoured statement from the Greek founder of Western medicine, Hippocrates, which is as valid today as it was way […] Read more
Tomato tomahto
No matter how you pronounce it, tomatoes fresh from the garden are a delectable taste treat
During hot days, my cooking tolerance plummets. Last thing I want is anything warm — food, air, oven, stovetop flame. My appetite plummets too. A handful of small ripe tomatoes from my garden and a slice of buttered sourdough toast make the ideal hot weather walkabout lunch. My gardening situation is a little out of […] Read more
Making the best of a tough tomato harvest
First We Eat: This summer was disastrous for growing tomatoes as well as many other crops
War contributes to the transportation and appropriation of goods around the globe. For instance, tomatoes were among the plants and animals that ended up in Europe in the unequal exchange of goods, disease, slavery, land theft, and genocide between New World and Old, beginning in 1492 and culminating in1650, called the Columbian Exchange. This event […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
