Book Review: The Heirloom Tomato

The Heirloom Tomato: From Garden to Table

Amy Goldman, 2008

I’ve been on a bit of a heirloom tomato kick the last couple years. If you pick up The Heirloom Tomato: From Garden to Table and take a look at how beautiful they are, you might understand how I became smitten. There are dozens of tomatoes pictured, all plumply ripe, and visibly delicious (if that’s possible. I think it is. Pass the salt shaker and fresh basil please!) 

I stumbled on this book by accident. Even though this was an amazingly mild winter, the lack of growing things started to get to me, as usual, in January. To take the edge off I stopped at the garden center one day on my way home from work, to peruse their selection of seeds. They had an excellent selection of many flowers and vegetables, but there weren’t any “interesting” tomatoes (i.e. heirloom varieties that I wanted to grow). I thought about waiting until Canada Blooms, as there are always several seed vendors there, including those selling unusual heirloom vegetables. But what if they weren’t coming this year? After dinner I went on the internet to have a look at this year’s Canada Blooms vendors.

One thing led to another, and before I knew it I had stumbled on the mother of all heirloom tomato seed websites, Tatianas Tomatobase. 593 varieties of heirloom tomato seeds were available!  And yes, I went through the website and looked at every last one. Amazingly, the site has photos (at various stages of growth and development) for each variety, along with details on the plant’s history, growth habit, etc. This is the work of a genius or a well organized tomato addict, possibly both. Even better, the grower is in Canada, the seeds were $2.50 a package, and the shipping costs were extremely low. I was quite proud of myself for only ordering 5 packets (which arrived in less than a week!)

While I was poking around on Tatianas Tomatobase I followed some links and discovered www.tomatoville.com which bills itself as “the world's largest online community of tomato growers.”  There are countless forums and articles on, of course, tomatoes. If you have a tomato-growing question, this is the website for you.

Anyhow, somewhere on Tatiana’s website she listed The Heirloom Tomato: From Garden to Table as a good resource, so I picked it up at the Toronto Public Library. As mentioned, there are many beautiful photos of tomatoes, and lots of detailed information on quite a few varieties. But not nearly as many varieties as you’ll find on the tomato website. However, if you like to browse through a lovely book instead of clicking a mouse, this is a good way to get your information. The back quarter of the book is devoted to recipes, the front eight to growing and seed saving.

As I’m not one to read the complete details of every plant described (but instead leaf through, look at the pretty pictures, and delve into the full details only of varieties that looked especially interesting) I found it a pretty quick read.

If you’re interested in a book that’s more of a tomato story than a reference, I highly recommend Heirloom: Notes from an Accidental Tomato Farmer by Tim Stark, 2008.  If you’ve ever grown a tomato, you’ll enjoy this book.

Book Review: The Surprising Life of Constance Spry

The Surprising Life of Constance Spry: From social reformer to society florist.

(Sue Shephard, Macmillan, 2010)

I picked up this book for two reasons; I have the David Austin rose “Constance Spry” so I wanted to know about its namesake, and I enjoyed a previous book by this author, Seeds of Fortune: A Great Gardening Dynasty. I’m delighted to report that this book is a much faster read than Shephards’ previous book, and in fact was a real page-turner. Spry’s life really was surprising!

Shephard brought to life the interesting tale of a forlorn child with a rather miserable beginning who, through many odd twists and turns, ended up the florist of choice for the UK’s elite, even doing the flowers for a royal wedding! The book had to be a biography; as a work of fiction it would never be believable.

I won’t give away all the interesting parts but will instead dwell on what the book revealed as the cutting edge of floral design in the 30’s and 40’s—the use of kale leaves and other edibles in arrangements. Indeed, a floral design in a shop window featuring these elements was such a head turner that the police had to be called to clear a sidewalk! Startling for the time, I’m sure. But what struck me is that these are the very elements we see touted now, both in cut flower design and in planted containers, that are thought to be so “on the edge.” How did the floral design and gardening world lose these elements between the middle of the last century and now?

Also interesting is that Spry, who was really behind the birth of formal floral arranging competitions (oops, I gave away more of the story!) completely disapproved of the idea of competition in floral design. She thought it should be a venue for self-expression, and a way for everyone of any economic means, to have beauty in their life. Furthermore, she abhorred the idea that there were set “rules” for design (you know the ones we all contort ourselves to for floral shows—flowers must not touch the table, the proportions must be thus and so, etc.) 

For gardeners and those who like to arrange flowers (and yes, even grow Rosa “Constance Spry”) this book is worth a read. 

Unexpected Sights Out the Back Window

One of my favourite things to do on a winter Saturday morning is to sit with a cup of coffee and watch the birds out the back window (which faces south.) We have two feeders filled with black oil sunflower, and one finch feeder filled with niger seeds.

Last year we sometimes had 4 pairs of cardinals visiting, plus house finches, the little American goldfinches, and the odd woodpecker. This year, it's the same type of birds but there have been a lot less of them, which I attribute to another visitor...

I believe he (or she?) is a Cooper's Hawk. Last year we had the odd visit from a larger hawk, but it wasn't too frequent. However, this Cooper's Hawk seems to have figured out that we have a very nice bird restaurant, and he's not talking about the black oil sunflower seed... :-(

He's a fairly frequent visitor. This shot was taken a few weeks ago, as he sat in the cherry tree right outside the window.









This morning, as I sat with my coffee, I didn't see too much bird activity at the feeders. There was one pair of cardinals sitting in the cherry tree. I figured they'd come down to the feeders eventually, so I started reading the Saturday paper and drinking my coffee, with a glance out the window every few pages to see what was happening.

After awhile I realized that the cardinals weren't moving...at all.

And, they were kind of...flattened against the braches.

You have to look hard to see her, but there's a female cardinal in the top left corner of this picture. The male (who is brighter red) was on the south side of the tree.













I looked up into the big tree further south in the yard, and sure enough, there was a hawk.

He was looking in the other direction (with his back to the north, where the cherry tree with the cardinals was.)







 

So there we had the cardinals, not moving a feather, scrunched as close in to the branches on the tree as they could, terrified, trying to make themselves invisible.  Which is kind of difficult when you're bright red and everything else outside at this time of year is greyish or white.

I realize this probably happens all the time. And yes, the hawk has to eat too. But these are "my" cardinals!

So I threw a coat on over my pajamas, boots over my bare feet, grabbed some gloves, and tromped out to the back yard. I headed toward the big tree, looking at the hawk. He looked at me, saw how close I was getting (even though he's up pretty high) and took off. I clapped my hands to give him a further bad experience at my "restaurant," hoping he wouldn't be a return client.

When I turned around, the cardinals still weren't moving a feather, but they were certainly watching me! I didn't go too close, figuring they were probably stressed enough already.

But what I saw next surprised me so much I almost exclaimed something out loud.

Hiding on the north side of the tree, below the branches with the cardinals, were a pair of woodpeckers!

Do you see them? 

If you scroll back up and look at the picture of the cardinal...they're there, but they blend in so well I hadn't seen them until I went outside.










I didn't take the camera outside with me, which is a real shame, since I was only about a metre away from them. Once I was back inside the house I took these pictures out the window.

Just like the cardinals, they weren't moving a feather. And they were glued to the tree. Just their eyes were moving as they watched me closely.


















After a while, the male woodpecker (the one with the red bit on his head) figured out that the hawk was gone and flew off. A little later, so did his lady companion.

But the cardinals still didn't move! Eventually I had to leave to run some errands, so I don't know how much longer they stayed there. I guess when you're that colourful, you have to take extra precautions!

It was certainly a more exciting morning of birdwatching than I had expected!

Fall Roses and Horse Manure

There is one last rose still blooming in the front yard. Any surprise that it’s the English Rose “Summer Song”? I saw it on my way in the front door after work. It called me over to take one last sniff I think. I can't describe how vibrantly it glowed against everything else that’s browning and falling. Unfortunately, with our shorter days, there wasn’t enough light for a decent photo by the time I reached my camera. Kind of fitting though—the rest of the garden flowers are quickly turning into memories only as well.

The photo I do have to share with you is really the opposite of the rose. Although I suppose it does lead to roses.

You see, I’ve been on a hunt for horse manure for the garden. In Toronto, this is a little challenging to find. But a resourceful older gardening friend told me where to find it. Two tries later (we drove right past it the first time) I had two (sealed) containers full in the back of the car.

Since it took some effort to find, I’ll share the location with you (if you’re reading this blog I’m going to guess you’re the kind of gardener who might be interested in this sort of thing). It’s on Jane Street, north of Highway 7, on the east side of the street, past the little cemetery, and past the Wal-mart (which is on the west side of Jane.)   

You’ll be looking for a sign like this:














If you hadn't seen the photo I bet you'd have driven past it too. Note that this is a "shovel it yourself" operation if you're looking for small quantities. If you want it by the cubic yard they'll deliver. For a small home garden bring your own containers. Pricing is by the bushel--I brought along a green garbage can (with a lid!) that they priced as two bushels. They may be set up for credit cards for larger quantities, but bring cash if you only want a few bushels. There were several mountains of horse manure, in various states of composting. What I bought (from the oldest pile) was quite well composted with very little odour.

I'll let you know next year, whether it was worth the drive (hopefully after I fight my way past the giant tomatoes...)

Vegetable variety

As the days and nights are cooling down, my vegetable garden is slowing down, at least in the tomato department. There are lots of green ones, so I'm hoping for another month of tomato-friendly weather!

Earlier in September, the horticultural society I belong to held our fall flower show. My entry, pictured at left, won in the vegetable category. It includes zucchini (the climbing 'Trombetta' and a yellow variety), eggplant, pole beans (rattlesnake and purple), ground cherries, garlic, arugula and tomatoes ('mortgage lifter' and 'bloody butcher'.) I was quite pleased to be able to come up with this kind of selection out of a rather tiny space.  Of course I'm already planning to make it even more productive next year...

I was also delighted to win 'best flower' for a spray of miniature roses.

I didn't do much in the design categories this time around, mostly due to lack of time. The entry I was happiest with was this arrangement of 'Limelight' hydrangeas in a bright blue watering can. It just looked happy to me!

 

 

 

The Zucchini Bread Recipe I Couldn't Find

My garden has entered that late summer stage where, as far as flowers go, it's all about the dahlias and the rudbeckias. Rudbeckia Triloba has self seeded in several places (not all of which are convenient, but I let it go anyway) and it certainly must be one of the cheeriest flowers on the planet.












And as far as the vegetable garden, it's all about the tomatoes (yum and yay!) and zucchini. This year I tried out 'Trombeta di Albenga' a climbing heirloom Italian variety from Renee's Garden. To say that it is a vigorous grower would be an understatement--I think the vine is somewhere between 12 and 15 metres long now. And the zucchini! Well, take a look...

'Trombetta'

If you grow the more conventional zucchinis (the smaller green or yellow ones) you might think I've left this on the vine far too long, but I consulted with a friend whose family has grown these, and she assures me that they are indeed supposed to be allowed to get this big. In fact, I received a little talking to when I picked one too young.



 




The first mature one that I grated (in order to bake with it) measured in at over 7 cups! Time to get baking!

So I went in search of a good zucchini bread recipe.

I tested several (on my coworkers and my husband ,and even on my husband's coworkers) and found that they were either too oily, or too cakey, or just not the right bread-like consistency I was going for.

I wanted something with a texture like banana bread, not coffee cake. So I took the closest recipe to that out of my collection and started playing...


...and I came up with something that's pretty much exactly what I had in mind (I love it when that happens! Too bad it doesn't occur more often.) If you're looking for something similar, I'll share it with you: 

Zucchini Orange Oat Bread

Makes 2 loaves

4 eggs

1 ½ cups sugar

¾ cup vegetable oil

1 ½ cups orange juice

1 tbsp vanilla extract

2 cups shredded unpeeled zucchini

3 ¼ cups all purpose flour

½ cup rolled oats (not quick cooking)

1 ½ tsp baking powder

1 ½ tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp cinnamon

½ tsp cloves

1 cup chopped nuts (preferably toasted)

Heat oven to 350’. Place a piece of parchment paper crossways in the bottom of each of two non-stick 8 x 4” loaf pans. 

In the large bowl of an electric mixer, beat eggs until thick and lemon coloured; gradually beat in sugar. Add in oil, orange juice, vanilla extract, and zucchini. In separate bowl place all dry ingredients, combine with a whisk, and then stir by hand into wet mixture until everything is well mixed. 

Pour batter into pans.  Bake for approximately 50 minutes or until cake tester inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely. Use a flat spatula to release loaf from ends of pan; lift loaf out by lifting on edges of parchment paper. Store in a sealed container. Freezes well.

And if you have as much zucchini as I do...repeat all of the above!

First tomato of 2011!

Tonight I picked the first tomato out of the garden. The colour of a ripe Pineapple tomato is a bit more orange than traditional tomato red. I am going to wait until tomorrow to slice into it--it's just barely ripe now, by tomorrow evening it should be perfect.

I almost left it in the garden until tomorrow. But then I thought about how the raccoons have been using the raspberry bushes (laden with almost ripe raspberries one day) as a dance floor (no more ripe raspberries). How they seem to be having food fights with the baby peppers. And even (eww) how, in recent nights, they've been DRINKING the plastic container of soapy water and drowned japanese beetles I keep handy near my rosebushes. 

And I picked my almost perfectly ripe tomato. It's safely on the kitchen windowsill until tomorrow.