There were hours of “back-to-normal” here today by which I mean it wasn’t necessary to be wearing a wooly hat indoors… only now the mercury is sliding again – and the hat’s back. In the midst of all this exuberant coldness no tomatoes have been purchased! So today is ideas only – the reality is pasta from the cupboard but…with frozen tomato sauce!
Those little polybags of suspended summer; an excavated relic from a time long-forgotten. It’s only as the ice crystals dissolve, and blipping bubbles of glossy red take their place that memories return – and turning from the hob, I look out onto the frozen garden and whisper…and to think you came from out there…never….
From Nigel Slater – a mini-shoal of Nordic fish stews/soups both containing tomato. (As the headline reads … and no need to cross the Baltic… no ‘cos it’s come to us… a case of be careful what you wish for). Both sound absolutely delicious. Brothy and soupy, light and warming – with lots of flavour. And very warming from the inside out as well I should think.
And then from Rachel Allen – sweet chilli jam – perfect for adding warming sweetness to cold Christmas leftovers.
And then as it’s difficult to accessorize cocktail frocks with beanie atop I don’t think I’ll be cooking up a canape storm in the kitchen but if the wind changes, and blows in from the Mediterranean instead of down from the Artic – Lamb, feta and roast tomatoes will be just the thing - looking, courtesy of the Daily Telegraph, mightily un-austerity like in their borrowed Greekness….
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The ice and snow indeed make tomato-time seem a long way away. But I’m still enjoying fresh, home-grown tomatoes as my green ones ripen slowly – even in the cold, dark larder it seems. Warm windowsill not apparently required! Two or three Black Cherries a day is my self-imposed ration, although half a small Gold Medal accompanied my cheese on toast today.
My attempt at red tomato jam was unsuccessful – the combination of sweetness and tomatoes just didn’t work for me and I converted it to chutney. The Daily Mail’s sweet chilli jam looks enough to warm anyone up in a most delicious way. And the picture is nicely done too.
I like the idea of rationing ( if it’s self-imposed and with good reason !) it makes the glut in the summer even more of a luxury – and then the idea of having a fresh, garden grown tomato at the moment is another kind of luxury all-together.
I am a great fan of sweet chilli dipping sauce – and can become quite distraught if my order of Sesame Prawn toasts were to turn up without it on the side – so at the end of the week I am off to the market to see if they have some good value tomatoes to have a go at rustling up a few pots of this variation on a theme !