Last year Tomato Growers Supply sent a bonus packet of Giant Belgium Tomato seeds with my order. Free things are good, and free seeds are even better in my book! I started a couple seeds, transplanted them into the garden and quickly forgot about them as the season wore on.

Fast forward to later in the growing season. I noticed large tomatoes set on the two Giant Belgium plants. Large might be an understatement — HUGE is probably much more descriptive… Some of the fruits ended up being as big as a small plate!

Giant Belgium is a pink beefsteak-type tomato. It ripens from a pale green to yellow to pink beginning at the blossom end. I found out quickly if you wait until the entire fruit is pink it will be overripe. Pick the fruits when the shoulders at the stem end are still a bit green and yellow and they should be perfect.

What makes Giant Belgium my new favorite tomato? The taste! It is low in acid yet retains a smooth tomato taste. There is a fruity component to the flavor — the best I could come up with to describe it is a melon-like taste. It is subtle, yet noticeable.

The fruits are almost 100% “meat” too! The seed cavities are very small so there isn’t a lot of liquid and “gunk” when you slice it up.

And slice it up I did! I quickly fell into a routine of picking one Giant Belgium and slicing it up for lunch. With fruits averaging well over 1 pound each, the tomato ended up being the ENTIRE lunch more often than not! A dash of salt and I was one happy camper!

If you want to try Giant Belgium yourself there are a couple things you should be aware of. The skin is extremely thin, so delicate handling is a must. I quickly learned to pick the Giant Belgiums last so they would be at the very top of the basket. Also, they are slow to ripen. Once the fruit grows to size it takes several days for it to fully ripen up — more often than not it became an exercise in patience as I watched the pink color slowly work up the fruits. Last, as mentioned before, if you wait until the entire fruit is pink it will be mushy and overripe.

That’s the scoop on my new favorite tomato! I’m interested in your experiences with this outstanding tomato. Has anyone tried to make wine with it?

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Giant Belgium — My New Favorite Tomato!

I think we can all agree that fresh tomatoes are incredible, so much so that growing tomatoes is probably the best argument I know for starting a home garden.  The problem is, fresh tomatoes only last a couple months and then what do you do for decent tomato taste?

For year-round tomato goodness I think sun-dried tomatoes are hard to beat.  They add intense flavor to dishes and store for a long time.  They are expensive in the store, but are cheap to make yourself.  Plus, you won’t believe how easy they are to make – check it out!

To make homemade sun-dried tomatoes (actually oven-dried, just don’t tell the tomato police) you need a cookie sheet, an oven and some paste tomatoes.  Any tomatoes will work, but paste tomatoes like Roma are best because they have more “meat” and less seeds.  It helps a lot if all of the tomatoes are the same size so they dry at the same rate.

Part of the first Roma harvest. Try to use tomatoes of the same size so they are dry at the same time.

Remove the stems and cut the tomatoes in half lengthwise.  You can scoop out the seeds if you want, but I don’t and they turn out fine.  Place the tomatoes on the cookie sheet with the cut side up.  That is it!  You can add some salt or a little olive oil if you like, but neither is necessary.

Sliced up and ready to dry. I sprinkled a little salt on them even though it isn't strictly necessary.

The rule-of-thumb for drying tomatoes is “low and slow.”  Place the tomatoes in the oven and set it to 200 degrees, less is good if your oven can go lower (I dry mine at 190).

Now you wait.  And wait.  And wait some more.  The drying process can take 8-12 hours and possibly more depending on your oven and temperature setting.  Don’t try to speed things up by setting the temperature higher – the trick is to evaporate the moisture to concentrate the flavor in the tomatoes without really cooking them.  If time is a concern dry them overnight as you sleep.

The tomatoes are done when they have a pliable leathery texture like a dried apricot or a raisin.  There is a bit of a delicate balance here — too dry and they crumble (as noted below), not dry enough and they are more apt to spoil in storage.  Store your homemade sun-dried tomatoes in the refrigerator in glass jars or plastic bags, or freeze them for longer storage.

All dried out and ready to store. Note the darker ones in the upper-right are so dry they crumbled. Read the post for a nifty trick to save them!

Want even more tomato-tasting goodness?  Pack a glass jar with your homemade sun-dried tomatoes, fill it with olive oil and refrigerate for a couple weeks.  You get the double-whammy of tomato-flavored olive oil to cook with AND you still get to use the tomatoes!  Definitely a win-win.

The only “trick” to this process is to make sure you catch the tomatoes before they dry too much.  I know this from experience – the dark red dried tomatoes in the upper right of the last photo are so dry they crumbled in my hand!  Yeah, I tried to sneak in a couple small ones to finish out the sheet and you see what happened!

IF this happens to you all is not lost.  I threw all of the really dry ones in the bag with the rest.  After about 3 or 4 days they had picked up moisture from the other tomatoes and had softened up enough to use!

One of my biggest gardening goals this year was to learn how to make homemade sun-dried tomatoes – I actually planted Roma tomatoes just for this.  I’m on my third batch already and the tomatoes keep coming and I keep cutting and drying.  I don’t mind at all – come winter I’ll be savoring homemade sun-dried tomato goodness as I dream about next year’s garden and projects.

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Easy Homemade Sun-Dried Tomatoes

This recipe comes from my wonderful Mother — it is so darn good I stole it from her!  Every summer we all look forward to the first time she makes this.  All credit goes to her for this recipe, not me.

If you have an abundance of zucchini or any other summer squash and are looking for ideas to use it all up here is my suggestion:  Zucchini Casserole a la Meadowwood Garden!  It is easy to make, delicious, flexible and inexpensive.  This is absolutely my favorite zucchini dish – I like it so much I am eating it several times a week at the moment!

Ingredients:

• Zucchini (Yellow Squash works too!)
• Stewed Tomato – 1 can
• Butter or Substitute
• Cheese – 1 cup shredded

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Slice the zucchini 1/4 inch thick.  Layer the zucchini slices in the bottom of a casserole dish until they fill it about halfway.  Add contents of stewed tomato can – juice and all!  Throw some butter or substitute on top – maybe 3-4 pats.  Season to taste – I like Italian Seasoning and a little salt and pepper.  Spread about a cup of your favorite shredded cheese on top.  Cover and bake for 45 minutes or until done.

As with many of my recipes, exact measures, ingredients and times aren’t necessary.  The possibilities are just about endless – you can add just about any fresh vegetable from the garden and substitute anything you like.  Diced fresh tomatoes work well, just make sure you add a little liquid to steam the zucchini.  I add sun-dried tomatoes to boost the tomato flavor and it tastes great!

Try to keep the slices uniform and about 1/4 inch thick.

I use Italian Seasoning mix and some salt and pepper and don't hold back!

Everything is in and we are ready for the cheese! Note the sun-dried tomatoes on top of the butter pats.

All done and ready to cover and bake. This time I used Mozzarella cheese because it was already opened. Any cheese will do!

Ready to eat!

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World’s Best Zucchini Casserole

Our version of a Pico de gallo.  Easy to make, fresh and delicious!

Exact measurements are not important — the idea of Pico de gallo is to use what you have on hand.  This should be completely drained of liquid and served fresh.  Refrigeration will dull the taste.

Ingredients:

• Tomato (remove seeds)
• Onion
• Pepper (Jalapeno is best)
• Cucumber
• Lime Juice
• Cilantro

Dice approximately equal amounts of tomato, onion and cucumber.  Dice a smaller amount of pepper (how much depends on how hot you want it).  We often skip the pepper for a no-heat Pico.  Mix into a large glass bowl with enough lime juice to get everything wet and add cilantro to taste.  Let it sit covered on the counter for a couple hours, then drain off any liquid and dig in with your favorite tortilla chips!  Sublime!

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Meadowwood Garden Pico de gallo

My friend Nina decided to share this little gem of a recipe!  I have had it before and it was very moist and delicious!

Nina says: This cake will be more moist if you bake it a couple of days before you serve it. Freezes beautifully. Don’t tell anyone there is zucchini in it. They will ask “Why is this cake so moist”?

Ingredients

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

• MARGARINE OR BUTTER  1/2 cup, soft
• VEGETABLE OIL  1/2 cup
• SUGAR   1 – 1/2 cups
• EGGS   2 whole
• VANILLA  1- 1/2  teaspoons
• SOUR MILK  1/2/cup  *  How to make sour milk: Add 1 teaspoon lemon juice to 1/2 cup of any kind of milk. LET STAND 5 MIN or longer before using.
• FLOUR   2-12 cups , unsifted
• COCOA  4 Tablespoons
• BAKING POWDER  1/2 teaspoon
• BAKING SODA    1 teaspoon
• CINNAMON     3/4 teaspoon
• CLOVES   1/2 teaspoon
• ZUCCHINI    2 cups finely diced ( about 1/4 inch size pieces ) NOT SHREDDED
• CHOCOLATE CHIPS   1/2 cup or a little more

A Tip: The larger firm zucchini work perfectly well in this recipe, so now you have something to use that zucchini monstrosity your neighbor gave to you!  Also, make sure the zucchini is diced, not shredded.  Shredded zucchini makes the cake too moist.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Cream MARGARINE, OIL and SUGAR. Add EGGS, VANILLA & SOUR MILK.  Beat with mixer.  Mix together all dry ingredients then add to creamed mixture.  Stir in diced ZUCCHINI.

Spoon batter into greased & floured 9 X 12 X 2 inch pan.  Sprinkle with CHOCOLATE CHIPS . Bake at 325 degrees for 40 to 45 min.

This really needs no frosting, it is moist and very tender.

Post from: Meadowwood Garden © 2011 All Rights Reserved.

Chocolate Zucchini Cake Recipe

Baked Eggplant Parmesan

Just made this tonight at Redd Acres Farm and it was excellent!

Baked Eggplant Parmesan

Ingredients:

• 2 Eggplant peeled and sliced 1/4 inch thick
• 3 Eggs beaten
• 2 Cups Italian Seasoned Breadcrumbs
• 6 Cups Spaghetti Sauce
• 1 16oz. Package Shredded Mozzarella
• 1/2 Cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
• Italian Seasoning/Garlic/basil to taste

Directions:

1. Salt both sides of each eggplant slice and let drain in colander in sink for 20 minutes.  Rinse salt off with cold water and dry each slice.
2. Preheat Oven to 350 degrees.
3. Dip both sides of the eggplant slices first in egg, then in breadcrumbs.  Place in a single layer on a lightly oiled (cooking spray works) baking sheet.  Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes on each side.
4. In a 9×13 baking dish spread 1/2 of the spaghetti sauce evenly to cover the bottom.  Place a layer of the baked eggplant slices on the sauce.  Sprinkle mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses to fully cover eggplant.  Repeat layers with remaining ingredients, ending with the cheese on top.  Sprinkle seasonings over cheese as desired.
5. Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 35 minutes, or until cheese is golden brown.

Post from: Meadowwood Garden © 2011 All Rights Reserved.

Baked Eggplant Parmesan Recipe

Adapted from Jim Lahey, Sullivan Street Bakery
Time: About 1½ hours plus 14 to 20 hours’ rising

3 cups all-purpose or bread flour, more for dusting
¼ teaspoon instant yeast
1¼ teaspoons salt
Cornmeal or wheat bran as needed.

1. In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. Add 1 5/8 cups water, and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest at least 12 hours, preferably about 18, at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.

2. Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it; sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest about 15 minutes.

3. Using just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to work surface or to your fingers, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball. Generously coat a cotton towel (not terry cloth) with flour, wheat bran or cornmeal; put dough seam side down on towel and dust with more flour, bran or cornmeal. Cover with another cotton towel and let rise for about 2 hours. When it is ready, dough will be more than double in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.

4. At least a half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 450 degrees. Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in oven as it heats. When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven. Slide your hand under towel and turn dough over into pot, seam side up; it may look like a mess, but that is O.K. Shake pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 15 to 30 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned. Cool on a rack.

Yield: One 1½-pound loaf.

Post from: Meadowwood Garden © 2011 All Rights Reserved.

No Knead Bread Recipe

My Aunt Diane dropped me a note a couple weeks ago and it contained this little gem:

Rice Stuffed Zucchini

Prepare one package chicken flavored rice according to directions on package (I usually use Uncle Ben’s.)

Steam four medium size zucchini and let cool (I usually do this in the microwave.)

When zucchini is cool, split in two lengthwise and scoop out seeds. Fill halves with rice mixture, top with Muenster or Provolone cheese and bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes or until cheese is melted and rice mixture is hot.

You can make this ahead, refrigerate and then bake when ready to eat.

Thank you Aunt Diane!

Post from: Meadowwood Garden © 2011 All Rights Reserved.

A Zucchini Recipe from Aunt Diane!

The Baked Bounty

The recipe for the fruit pies came from an old Joy of Cooking cookbook that looks like it is from the 1940′s or something.  When I discovered there were only about 6 ingredients I was pretty skeptical.  But I have to be honest — the pies were simply outstanding!

The zucchini dishes were quite the hit too.  3 Zucchini translated into 3 dishes that everyone seemed to really enjoy.  The recipes were:

Redd Acres Zucchini Casserole

• 1 Zucchini very thinly sliced
• 1 can stewed tomato
• 2 cups cheddar cheese
• dab butter (optional)

Spread sliced Zucchini on bottom of casserole dish.  Dump tomatoes on top.  If butter is desired place dab of butter on top.  Spread cheddar cheese over top.  Bake at 400 degrees for approx 25 minutes.

Super Easy Zucchini Pie

1 cup chopped zucchini
1 cup chopped tomato
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2/3 cup Bisquick Heart Smart® mix
3/4 cup fat-free (skim) milk
2 eggs or 1/2 cup fat-free cholesterol-free egg product
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

1. Heat oven to 400°F. Lightly grease bottom and side of pie plate, 9×1 1/4 inches.
2. Sprinkle zucchini, tomato, onion and cheese evenly in pie plate.
3. Stir together remaining ingredients with fork until blended. Pour evenly into pie plate.
4. Bake about 35 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Cool at least 10 minutes.

Oven smoking

Instead of a pie plate we used a casserole dish and a Pyrex mixing bowl.  We substituted Rotel for the stewed tomatoes in one batch.  In the other batch we experimented by adding mushrooms to the mix.

After the smoke cleared (literally — see photo) we had a super dinner and I headed home.  There was a little bit of a mess I left behind…  Definitely a good time.

Post from: Meadowwood Garden © 2011 All Rights Reserved.

The Great Redd Acres Pie Bake!

As of today I’ve already harvested 12 eight inch zucchini over the past 6 days!  If the saying, “You are what you eat!” is true then I am turning into a green summer squash with a name that begins with a Z…

An interesting observation regarding transplanting zucchini.  At the end of May I transplanted several zucchini plants into the garden.  About 10 days later I sowed 5 zucchini seeds directly into the ground.  In less than 30 days the direct sown zucchini plants are as big as the transplanted ones and they have already produced zucchini!!!  This is at least a full 20 days earlier to yield than it lists in the seed catalog.  Next year I’ll probably just direct sow them because it doesn’t seem to make much of a difference.

Based upon the rampant growth and productivity of the zucchini plants so far I’m beginning to believe that zucchini might be a solution to the world’s food problems!

So far I’ve steamed it and grilled it.  3 days ago I was able to combine a couple recipes to make some really delicious Zucchini Patties.  Although the goal was for something more like a hamburger patty in consistency, these were outstanding and were quickly scarfed up over 2 days!

Zucchini Patties a la Meadowwood

• 2 cups grated raw zucchini
• 1/2 cup minced onion
• 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan and mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour (will use potato flakes instead)
• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoon mayonnaise
• generous dashes of Italian Seasoning, Mrs. Dash Onion, Montreal Steak Seasoning

Rid grated zucchini of as much moisture as possible.  Combine everything into a bowl and mix until it is the consistency of pancake batter.  Cook over medium heat on a lightly oiled (olive oil) skillet until nicely browned on both sides.  Makes 4 generous patties.

The potato flakes should thicken up the batter a bit and add some flavor to the mix.  One could also add grated yellow squash, diced tomato, mushroom, etc…

The search for a vegetarian beef patty substitute continues…

Post from: Meadowwood Garden © 2011 All Rights Reserved.

Holy Zucchini!