September Tomatoes

I always have an orderly rank of recipes lined up, eagerly waiting to volunteer their services to the tomatoes that come in July and August. I can hardly wait to make Gazpacho. I always hope the basil in the containers on my porch will be ready when the first cherry tomatoes are in the CSA box so I can make Pasta with Cherry Tomatoes, Olives and Basil. Sandwiches and salads benefit from that sweet-tart and juicy boost that can only come from ripe seasonal tomatoes. When it gets to September, however, I want something different. Even if it hasn’t started to get cold yet (for the record, it just did), the days are noticeably shorter, the breezes a little cooler, and warmer food somehow beckons more forcefully than cold soups.



When I got a gift of beautiful heirloom tomatoes from my friends Jen and Jake (I do believe Jen is the gardener) a little while back, I wanted to do something particularly nice with them. I knew I was probably going to make a sauce or salsa or something out of many of them, just because it would be hard for even me, a great lover of tomatoes, to just eat them all fresh, much as I wanted to.

After I’d been shopping for the week, I remembered this great recipe for a tomato and beef stir fry I had copied from a cookbook by Martin Yan way back when. In fact, the when was so way back that I had never made this dish for Harry, at least not that either of us could remember, and I’ve known him for 12 years. Luckily, I had just bought some steak for Harry, so I happened to have what I needed for the recipe. It was a New York strip steak, which is pretty fancy for stir fry. Normally, I would use flank steak, sirloin, or even round steak for stir frying, cutting it across the grain to ensure more tenderness in the final product (the shorter fibers result in easier, more pleasant chewing). I have to say, the strip steak was super tender in this dish, and since the recipe doesn’t use much beef, a more expensive cut is still reasonably economical. Use what you like or what you have.

I made a few other changes to the original recipe that also reflected what I happened to have in my pantry at the time, plus I increased the amount of tomatoes. For me, it was all about the tomatoes. The final dish had the consistency of a stew, and, if you didn’t feel like messing with rice or noodles, or if your cupboard was bare of such starches, you could serve this like a stew. I served it over brown rice, which soaked up the savory sauce. The complex flavors of the perfect heirloom tomatoes worked and played extremely well with the soy sauce and vinegar. Harry said the flavors oscillated on the tongue. I needn’t say more than that.

Tomato and Beef Stir Fry
Based on a recipe by Martin Yan

2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons Shaoxing wine or dry sherry
2 tsp cornstarch
¾ lb beef steak, such as flank steak, sirloin, round steak (or whatever you like), thinly sliced across the grain
¼ cup ketchup
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon chile garlic sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
2 teaspoons sugar
2 tablespoons vegetable or peanut oil, divided
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 small onion, chopped (about 1-inch pieces)
1 cup green bell pepper, chopped (about 1-inch pieces)
4 cups tomato cut into wedges (about 3 large tomatoes
2 teaspoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons water

1. Combine 2 tablespoons soy sauce, dry sherry and 2 tsp cornstarch in a medium bowl. Add the sliced steak and stir to coat evenly. Set aside about 30 minutes (you can prepare the rest of the ingredients and any accompaniments during this time).

2. Combine the ketchup, 2 tablespoons soy sauce, rice vinegar, chile garlic sauce, sesame oil and sugar in a medium bowl to make a sauce. Set aside.

3. Heat a wok or large skillet with 1 tablespoon vegetable or peanut oil over high heat. Remove the beef from the marinade with a slotted spoon and add it to the hot oil. Stir fry about 2 minutes or until beef is evenly browned. Remove beef from the pan and set aside in a clean bowl or plate.

4. Add remaining 1 tablespoon vegetable or peanut oil to the pan. Add the onion and bell pepper. Stir fry about 2 minutes or until the vegetables soften somewhat and the onion begins to brown. Add the garlic and cook 30 seconds.

5. Add the tomatoes and the sauce and mix well. Cook about 1 minute.

6. Combine 2 teaspoons cornstarch and 2 tablespoons water and mix well. Add to the wok along with the cooked beef. Cook and stir until the sauce boils and thickens.

Serve over hot rice or noodles, or perhaps even in a bowl like a stew.
Makes 4 servings.

A Gift of Tomatoes and Cabbage

I can’t remember where or when I heard this, so I can’t give credit where it is due, but I seem to remember someone once saying that people give you zucchini from their garden because they know you, but they only give you tomatoes from their garden if they love you. If that is true, then our friends Jen and Jake must love Harry and I very much. Not only did Jen give us a heap of beautiful, delicious heirloom tomatoes from her garden, but also a lovely, huge purple cabbage. How did I ever get so lucky?

I suppose there is something in my recipe vault that would use both the cabbage and the tomatoes in one dish, but I’d been wanting to re-test a recipe for an Asian-style red cabbage salad with a spicy peanut dressing that I threw together last year. Well, all right, here was the cabbage. No more waiting.

I like to shred cabbage for slaws with the slicing blade on my food processor rather than the shredding blade (an idea think I got from Ina Garten on Food Network’s Barefoot Contessa). I find that the cabbage just gets mutilated and mushy when I try to shred it with the machine, where the slicing blade makes long, even and substantial pieces. I switch to the shredding blade to prepare the carrots in this salad, or any slaw for that matter. I don’t have good luck using the machine on bell peppers, however, which I also put in this salad, and thinly slice them by hand, trying to mimic (but never mock) the size and shape of the cabbage. You could use a knife to cut the cabbage as well, if you’re good at such things (I’m not) and a box grater to deal with the carrots if you have stronger fingers and tougher knuckles than I do.

The dressing for this salad has a sweetish, rich kick from the peanut butter, and some flashy umami from the soy sauce and fish sauce. (I recommend trying not to think too much about fish sauce being made of fish. Try to think of it as liquid umami unless, of course, you’re strictly vegetarian, in which case, you should know it’s made of fish). The dressing leans more, however, toward the sharp and spicy side with the chili garlic sauce and raw garlic and ginger. The lovely cabbage I received has a nice bite to it, reminiscent of a hint of horseradish. If your cabbage is wimpier and you want some more zest, you could add some shredded daikon radish or even turnip to the slaw.

My written recipe for this salad called for “½ a small red cabbage”…um, whatever that means. Clearly, I did not have a small cabbage, and I gained a little too much in my attempt at translation to mass and/or volume. In other words I shredded too much cabbage, and would have like the ratio of dressing to cabbage to be a little higher. I’ve reflected what I think is a reasonable change in the recipe below.

This recipe was a great use for some of that beautiful cabbage, (I’ve got about two-thirds of it left. Back to the recipe vault!) and I have big plans for whatever tomatoes I can’t just eat in the next few days. I hope to post something I’ve done with them, but tomorrow night, I’m headed out the “Omnivore’s Solution” lecture by Michael Pollan, author of three of my favorite food and eating-related books (The Omnivore’s Dilemma, The Botany of Desire, and In Defense of Food). I’m so excited, and I hope that I learn something new that I can post here soon!

Cabbage Slaw with Spicy Peanut Dressing
You can use any kind of cabbage you have, such as red, green, napa or a mixture. Mirin is a sweet wine that you can find in the Asian sections of some supermarkets. You could replace it with 2 teaspoons of sugar or honey.

The Dressing
2 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 tablespoon mirin
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 teaspoon Asian chile sauce or chile garlic sauce
1 teaspoon fish sauce
3 tablespoon peanut butter
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon grated ginger

The Slaw
1 pound red cabbage, shredded
1 cup grated carrot
½ cup diagonally sliced green onion
1 cup julienned bell pepper (any color)
¼ cup chopped cilantro
¼ cup chopped fresh mint
¼ cup chopped peanuts

1. In a medium bowl, vigorously mix the dressing ingredients until very smooth. This may take a minute or so.

2. In a very large bowl, mix together the cabbage, carrot, green onion, bell pepper, cilantro and mint.

3. Pour the dressing over the slaw and mix well to coat. Sprinkle the top with the peanuts.

This makes a really big salad, perhaps 10 servings.

To-may-to, To-mah-to: Gazpacho Soup

If you’re in a debate over how to pronounce the word tomato, I have a simple solution for you: Call the whole thing off and give all of your tomatoes to me!

It’s safe to say I love tomatoes, but only good ones. I rarely even buy them in the supermarket anymore, preferring to wait out the grainy, bullet-proof, tomato-like fruit season, long as it is, for mid to late summer when I can sink my teeth into really great, vine-ripened, voluptuous darlings, especially the endless variety of heirlooms, that were grown only a few miles away. (It’s even better when I can visit someone’s garden and eat them in while still standing among the vines.)



This year, however, has been a special test of my patience. We have had a cool summer in southeastern Minnesota (and much of the rest of the upper Midwest). Tomatoes need the hot summer sun to ripen and turn red, orange, or gold, and the local ones were significantly delayed. Luckily, I had plenty of other great vegetables to keep me company until the object of my secret love affair could arrive. (Okay, so it’s not a secret anymore.)

The first thing I do when I get a great tomato, is make a sandwich. I’ve been eating these since I was a kid. Though I used to have them on toasted store-bought white bread and just a bit of Miracle Whip, I’ve since graduated to homemade breads, like this one, real mayonnaise (sometimes even homemade!), and often a few sprinkles of thinly sliced basil leaves or even a bit of pesto mixed with the mayo. This is the best do-nothing food in the world, and I can’t think of anything that I’ve been eating or fixing for myself for so long. (Adding bacon and lettuce is just great as long as you have the patience to delay your tomato satisfaction while cooking the bacon.)

The second thing I do when the tomatoes come in is make gazpacho soup, especially since bell peppers, chile peppers, cucumbers and fresh onions are in season at the same time.

Now let me make myself clear to all you purists and aficionados of Spanish cuisine. What I make may not really be gazpacho. I don’t put bread in mine, and I realize that no self-respecting tapas bar would serve such a thing, but I’m okay with that. I like it to be about the vegetables. I also do not strain out the pulpy bits. I don’t have a problem with chewing my cold soups (I also leave some of the vegetables in chunks rather than pureed), and it seems such a waste to throw out all that dietary fiber. (Really, what’s the point of eating your vegetables if you have to chase them with bran muffins or a dose of Metamucil?)

Much like when I make cold cucumber soup (there are striking similarities between these recipes), I don’t peel the cukes when they are organic or I know the skin has been left alone. I do remove the large seeds, though. I also remove most of the seeds from the tomatoes, but I don’t get too meticulous about that.

I used a Hungarian Hot Wax pepper in my soup, but you can use whatever kind of chile pepper you like, or leave it out if you don’t care for the extra spice. The Hungarians just happened to be on the table next to the tomatoes and peppers when I started making the gazpacho, so I went with convenience. Besides, that added another vegetable from the CSA box. This meant that only the garlic, olive oil, and lime were not grown nearby. Now if only they could grow olives and limes in Minnesota…

Since I purchased a ten-pound box of heirloom tomatoes in addition to those that come with our regular weekly delivery, I have a lot of tomatoes to eat. Gluttony and greed may be deadly sins, but I think they get cancelled out when the object is as healthy and holy as fresh, ripe tomatoes. I wonder what the third thing I make with tomatoes should be...


GazpachoThis whole recipe doesn’t quite fit in a standard food processor bowl, so it is best to puree it in batches. (I tend to remember this only after making a big mess.)
1 pound cucumbers, seeded (peeled if desired)
1 small bell pepper (any color will do)
¾ cup chopped red onion
2 lbs ripe tomatoes
1 chile pepper of your choice, seeded
3 Tbs fresh lime juice
3 Tbs extravirgin olive oil
1 tsp coarse Kosher salt or to taste
2 large cloves garlic


1. Finely chop half of 1 cucumber, half of the pepper, and ¼ cup of the red onion. Place in a large bowl.

2. Coarsely chop the remaining cucumbers, pepper and onion. Coarsely chop and remove the seeds from the tomatoes. Place the chopped cucumbers, peppers, onions, tomatoes and the remaining ingredients in the bowl of a food processor. Process in batches until smooth.

3. Pour into the bowl with the chopped vegetables. Cover and chill as long as you can, at least 2 hours. It should be as cold as possible. Before serving, stir well and taste the soup for salt, adding more if necessary. You can also garnish each serving with diced examples of what is in the soup.

Makes about 5-6 servings.