A Seed Saver's Garden

[Dahlia]

No, you need UNRIPE tomatoes for that. Ripe ones would bee too wet and mushy.

Also, you probably wouldn't want to try and make ketchup or tomato sauce. Heating tends to move the pigments towards the yellow/red part of the spectrum. That's why red tomatoes turn into red-orange tomato sauce. Whites turn yellow, yellows turn orange, red and pink, turn red-orange, purple and black turn deeper red orange......and green turn a really off-putting greenish brown.

Bear in mind though, that when I did the tests, I was using Green Zebras (which are actually a green with some yellow). These don't have any yellow pigment at all (which is why they still look unripe) so the color might be different (possibly a dark green, like pesto sauce or cooked spinach.)

That's good to know! Thanks!

 

[heirloomgal]

One other thing about that one. I'll have to be careful about saving every seed, as not only does it not make many, it can make ones that have no seeds AT ALL (which makes me wonder if it could be the variety called Thompson's Seedless Grape). Unlike with a lot of other seedless tomatoes it WILL have fully sized seed cavities with full get, but there will be no seeds in the gel. It's sort of the reverse of the one I used to have I called Drywall, which produced fruit with seeds that had no gel around them (I ended up discarding that one, as it also had basically no water in the fruit walls as well, and was not only tasteless, but dry to the point of cardboard-y.)


The name is vaguely accurate. While Turandot is what Filet Mignon is sometimes called in French (as in Turandot Rossini, the literal meaning is "Turn the back". The legend is that Rossini the famous composer (Barber of Seville, Willian Tell Overture) was in a restaurant, and complained that he was tired of all of their beef dishes. When the chef tried to steer him to other areas of the menu, he said he only liked beef. Then he proposed the basic idea of what would become Turandot Rossini. The chef said such a dish would be unpresentable. Rossini said "Well, then arrange for it not to be seen". The dish became popular, and is now a classic of French fine cooking, but still, by tradition, it is never to be prepared in the sight of the diner.

Wow! How did you come to know this rather esoteric bit of knowledge!? I had no idea that Turandot had any other reference aside from being the name of a tomato? Very interesting, I should maybe amend my description of this tomato in my seed catalogue!

Re: Barber of Seville, have you heard the Maria Callas and Tito Gobi rendition? There is one point in there where Maria seems to literally convert her voice into what sounds like a literal songbird. It's just one small clip, but it's the finest piece of opera I've ever heard bar none.

 

[Pulsegleaner]

Wow! How did you come to know this rather esoteric bit of knowledge!? I had no idea that Turandot had any other reference aside from being the name of a tomato? Very interesting, I should maybe amend my description of this tomato in my seed catalogue!

I used to have a book about odd bits of culinary esoterica. I had the Turandot Rossini story, along with the origin of such things as Baba al Rhum. It also gave me my fist introduction both to the story of the death of Vatel (the French chef who plunged his own sword into his stomach because, due to a storm in the English Channel, the Dover sole he had ordered for a Royal Banquet would be thirty minutes late,) AND the answer Escoffier gave when he was asked if he would have done the same ("No, I would have made a mousse of young chicken breasts, covered them in a fish velouté, and no one would have known the difference".)

 

[heirloomgal]

I used to have a book about odd bits of culinary esoterica. I had the Turandot Rossini story, along with the origin of such things as Baba al Rhum. It also gave me my fist introduction both to the story of the death of Vatel (the French chef who plunged his own sword into his stomach because, due to a storm in the English Channel, the Dover sole he had ordered for a Royal Banquet would be thirty minutes late,) AND the answer Escoffier gave when he was asked if he would have done the same ("No, I would have made a mousse of young chicken breasts, covered them in a fish velouté, and no one would have known the difference".)

I just googled Turandot Rossini and yup the dish was right there! Given my diet, that plate would be a hard pass for me, but in checking this Turandot thing out I realized that it's also an opera. I had no idea. Can't help but wonder why the tomato was named for an opera about luf and sacrifice? It seems to be a commercial Russian variety, so that was an interesting name choice the company made. It does seem like many Russian varieties are named for historical references and Turandot premiered in 1926.

 

[heirloomgal]

Well this is a first. The bean plant on the left is network bean Nickell, the plant on the right is actually a giant weed that grew up alongside Nickell and I missed pulling it somehow. Now the Nickell plant has twined itself all the way up that weed - so much so I can't untangle them though I've tried! Now I HAVE to keep that weed around until the beans dry down! Ugh.

 

[digitS']

Keep your clippers handy.

With some luck, it may only have 1 flower, at the top.

Looks like it might be an amaranth weed. If you can ID it, those leaves may be edible.

Steve

 

[heirloomgal]

Back to cold nights again. That heat crashed. Going to 10C/52F tonight and not getting much warmer than that for night time lows in the next week. Bummer. If I learned anything this summer, it's how important warm nights are to heat loving vegetables. What can you do but hope.

That said, my tomatoes are tasting awful good on sandwiches these days, and the bowls of fresh salads are so darn scrumptious. I make salads with protein added so they're like a meal. There are a few icebergs left, and then that's it. Such a great lettuce type, all the 'not iceberg' varieties bolted awhile ago. Those head lettuces can really hang on, even in high heat and dryness. I've developed a few go-to diy dressings this summer after all the lettuce we're picking. I can't just do oil and lemon, or oil and vinegar. Not quite enough taste to me.

For anyone interested.

#1 -
Dark olive oil, rice vinegar (I like a 3:1 or 4:1 ratio, no other vinegar will do), 2 cloves of garlic grated on a rasp (important for flavor! chopped won't do) a little splash of maple syrup, salt - sometimes I add fresh basil, but then the taste is all about the basil

#2 -
Big handful of raw almonds, lots of olive oil, huge handful of cilantro, some parsley, a squeezed orange, some fresh squeezed lemon juice (not near as much as the orange juice though), splash of maple syrup, salt (DH's fave dressing)

#3 -
1/2 cup sour cream, 1/2 cup buttermilk, 1/2 cup mayo, huge handful fresh dill, a clove of garlic grated on a rasp, salt, makes a great homemade ranch

#4
peanut butter, garlic grated on a rasp, soya sauce, a splash of rice vinegar, a big splash of maple syrup, powdered ginger, salt and water to get it to the right consistency - sesame tahini is just as good if not better than the peanut butter version

I like to make all these in a little Ninja, because I like emulsified dressings. I don't like having to reshake the dressings every time I want to add it to my salad

And because I'm talking salads, and am in a foodie mindset right now, lol, here's what I've been adding to the iceberg salads which have been deelish - - -

Walnut halves toasted in the oven for 10 minutes, cooled and coarsely chopped (probably the best addition of all these)
Raw pumpkin seeds
Toasted sesame seeds
Hemp seeds
X-tra Firm Tofu marinated, cut in tiny cubes and baked in tamari sauce, cooled
Feta crumbled
Arugula
Bocconcini

My last salad thought to share is of a great house salad a local cafe used to offer. A friend worked there and forced this salad on me once, which I thought sounded awful, but since they brought it to me anyway I obliged eating it out of courtesy. It was amazing, and my friend was right that I would like it if only i gave it a try. The main ingredients were romaine & baby spinach, covered in sliced strawberries, which were covered in gently toasted sliced almonds, which were topped with crumbled feta and served with a Poppyseed Onion vinaigrette. One of the best salads I ever had. Looked like - - -

Sorry, bit of a salad rant. What can I say, I'm a salad freak.

 

[digitS']

Now, use some of that same salad dressing cleverness for marinades, HeirloomGal.

It's 5:30AM and 56⁰f (13⁰C).

With our local environment's cool nights, I have wondered why we don't have tragically short seasons. Our growing season is shorter than Denver's, the WS says, but not usually something that makes me feel cheated. It's happened but not yearly, anyway .

The answer is likely the same as why the nights are so cool: clear skies. Contributing is the somewhat thinner atmosphere at this altitude along with low humidity. Nighttime — heat escapes. Daytime — sunlight is intense at ground level and heat builds. So, this afternoon is expected to be 90⁰f (32⁰C).

Yes. Most plants struggle but the season moves along. If daytime has clear sky and only reaches comfortable room temperature, there is a risk of frost. So, outdoors, we are jerked (jerky?) from chilly to broiled. DW wears a Huge Hat. Instead of my truckers hats, I probably should too.

Steve

 

[flowerbug]

#1 -
Dark olive oil, rice vinegar (I like a 3:1 or 4:1 ratio, no other vinegar will do),

we often have apple cider vinegar on hand for cooking and canning recipes, it has a lot of flavor, and then we also have distilled vinegar that Mom uses a lot for washing stuff because she can't stand the smells of many laundry detergents or softeners. i do like rice vinegar in dishes from our favorite chinese restaurant but i've not cooked with it in a long time now.

 

[Dahlia]

Back to cold nights again. That heat crashed. Going to 10C/52F tonight and not getting much warmer than that for night time lows in the next week. Bummer. If I learned anything this summer, it's how important warm nights are to heat loving vegetables. What can you do but hope.

That said, my tomatoes are tasting awful good on sandwiches these days, and the bowls of fresh salads are so darn scrumptious. I make salads with protein added so they're like a meal. There are a few icebergs left, and then that's it. Such a great lettuce type, all the 'not iceberg' varieties bolted awhile ago. Those head lettuces can really hang on, even in high heat and dryness. I've developed a few go-to diy dressings this summer after all the lettuce we're picking. I can't just do oil and lemon, or oil and vinegar. Not quite enough taste to me.

For anyone interested.

#1 -
Dark olive oil, rice vinegar (I like a 3:1 or 4:1 ratio, no other vinegar will do), 2 cloves of garlic grated on a rasp (important for flavor! chopped won't do) a little splash of maple syrup, salt - sometimes I add fresh basil, but then the taste is all about the basil

#2 -
Big handful of raw almonds, huge handful of cilantro, some parsley, a squeezed orange, some fresh squeezed lemon juice (not near as much as the orange juice though), splash of maple syrup, salt (DH's fave dressing)

#3 -
1/2 cup sour cream, 1/2 cup buttermilk, 1/2 cup mayo, huge handful fresh dill, a clove of garlic grated on a rasp, salt, makes a great homemade ranch

#4
peanut butter, garlic grated on a rasp, soya sauce, a splash of rice vinegar, a big splash of maple syrup, powdered ginger, salt and water to get it to the right consistency - sesame tahini is just as good if not better than the peanut butter version

I like to make all these in a little Ninja, because I like emulsified dressings. I don't like having to reshake the dressings every time I want to add it to my salad

And because I'm talking salads, and am in a foodie mindset right now, lol, here's what I've been adding to the iceberg salads which have been deelish - - -

Walnut halves toasted in the oven for 10 minutes, cooled and coarsely chopped (probably the best addition of all these)
Raw pumpkin seeds
Toasted sesame seeds
Hemp seeds
X-tra Firm Tofu marinated, cut in tiny cubes and baked in tamari sauce, cooled
Feta crumbled
Arugula
Bocconcini

My last salad thought to share is of a great house salad a local cafe used to offer. A friend worked there and forced this salad on me once, which I thought sounded awful, but since they brought it to me anyway I obliged eating it out of courtesy. It was amazing, and my friend was right that I would like it if only i gave it a try. The main ingredients were romaine & baby spinach, covered in sliced strawberries, which were covered in gently toasted sliced almonds, which were topped with crumbled feta and served with a Poppyseed Onion vinaigrette. One of the best salads I ever had. Looked like - - -
View attachment 67554

Sorry, bit of a salad rant. What can I say, I'm a salad freak.

Wow! Those dressings and salads sound amazing! I especially like the sound of #3, #4, and the salad with strawberries!!! I made a Ceasar salad last week with homemade dressing and thought it would be my favorite salad ever! Now I'm not so sure!!