Everyone that knows me knows I did the single mom thing for the majority of my parenting life. Seventeen years, to be exact. And every single mom knows how large of a hurdle food is on a daily basis. Even if you’re not pinching pennies…
If you’re looking to elevate your dishes, especially that slab of red meat you’re defrosting right now, there’s nothing easier than fresh condiments. Sure, you could open that bottle of marinade and call it a day, but do you even know what’s in most of…
Since moving to Oregon, I’ve managed to work crush most years despite having full time jobs elsewhere. What is crush? I guess some people call it harvest. To winemakers, harvest refers to the picking of the grapes. Crush is when the grapes are then made into wine. I’ve crushed all over the Willamette Valley and now I’m working my way around Southern Oregon. Last year, there happend to be a surplus of Syrah grapes left hanging out in the vineyard, which the owner generously let me have to make into wine. Hubs and I made a rose out of the grapes that were less than stellar and we made a couple barrels of red Syrah with our friend Diane, using the pristine fruit.
The red was easy enough. In fact, I basically ignored it until it was done. The rose was a challenge. First, I’ve never made a rose. Second, the fruit had botrytis, a mold that negativly affect red grapes, but is desirable in sweet whites. No problem, I thought, since rose was the goal. I had to consult another winemaker because we’d need some enzymes to clean up the bot rot and there’s a ton of different enzymes out there that do vastly different things. The enzymes, as expected, stripped the color out of the wine so I added back finished red Syrah to the rose for color. It took a surprising amount of syrah to get some color back. We bottled it unfiltered and I really like the watermelon Jolly Rancher flavors. We named it La Vin Vole…The Stolen Wine in French… to keep in line with the back story of The Heist, the red Syrah we made from the same grapes. What is that back story you ask? I can’t tell you. It’s a secret. There are a few out there that know…..Now here’s a silly phone video Hubs made at bottling:
Yes, I know cherry season is over and this post is late. But I’m busy okay? And everyone knows I’m often late in virtual world. I mean, this entire site is practically two years in the making. Life happens. And then there’s cherries. This salad…
There is nothing handier than my Kitchenaid stand mixer pasta attachments to make fresh pasta. A few months ago, I had the perfect storm of discounts and Kohl’s cash and rewards to get this set on the cheap. Anyone that knows me knows I hate…
It’s been my goal, since the inception of the farm, to grow year round. To say that we’ve been hit with setbacks is a tremendous understatement. Last year, everything that could have gone wrong did and what did survive that slow moving train wreck, was discovered by the deer. Or the aphids. We spent our designated wad on the expansion of raised beds and didn’t have a lot to show for it. This year, the expansion was the greenhouse and irrigation, which also suffered time consuming setbacks. How hard it is for the company to replace two pieces that showed up bent? Apparently, it takes that particular greenhouse company several tries over several months to send correct parts. The only problem with setting up the irrigation was that it took quite a bit longer than I liked. And once a season is over, it really is over. Next year, our designated farm wad for expansion will be spent on beautifying the outlying areas. The challenges will be getting rid of a couple of yards of rocks and some railroad ties. That I can forsee, anyway.
Through a year of soil ammendments, this year’s plantings got sidelined by a toddler. Don’t ask. We still managed to get all but one bed planted. So what if the tomatoes were planted in late July? I was just thrilled I got three hundred tomato plants in the ground in between potty training and toddler meltdowns, of which there were many. Thank gawd for naps. At nap time, it’s a marathon to get as much done as possible before nap is over. It’s like working in fast forward. For two hours. If I’m lucky. If I’m not lucky, I get busted halfway through a project because nap was only an hour and then it takes several hours to finish.
Where was I? Oh yes, year round growing. Focus! For the first time since we started this endeavor, I’ll be planting fall vegetables and greens. Many of them will last through the winter. At least, that’s the plan. There will be carrots, beets, and turnips. Lots of asian greens including pac choi and tatsoi. And the winter lettuces! And of course spinach, peas, and rabe. I’m getting exhausted just thinking about it.
Of all the AVAs in Oregon, the Eola-Amity Hills AVA holds a special place for me. It’s where I studied Oregon Pinot Noir, after all. And it’s where I met the divine Miss Betty O’Brien. Betty and her late husband, Dick, are one of the…
There’s this little blink of a town in Oregon called Amity that is home to a farmstand that makes the best pies I’ve ever had in my entire life. Besides my gramma. But I’m guessing she would have agreed that they even beat her best…
It so happens that I learned to make gravy from little old Sicilian ladies in Brooklyn when I lived there a million years ago. When I look on the internet for recipes for gravy (marinara), there’s all kinds of celebrity chef recipes that put all kinds of things in it that simply don’t belong there. It’s one of those elusive recipes that’s just never authentic because of all the dumb add ins. Like carrots. There’s no carrots in gravy. Or onions. Or celery. I mean, we’re not making soup.
And then there’s the oregano. With marinara there are two distinct camps. The oregano camp and the no oregano camp. I’m firmly in the no oregano camp. Not every tomato is exactly the same in it’s level of acidity and sweetness. Consequently, oregano can make some tomatoes taste bitter. And sometimes not. The point is, why risk a bitter sauce? Just don’t.
Then there’s the tomato battle. Paste tomatoes are preferred by just about everyone and canned is considered only if you’re buying San Marzano canned tomatoes. But we live in a modern era of counterfeit food items and canned “San Marzano” tomatoes often are not what they seem. And who would know the difference anyway? I don’t know anyone that could open a can of fake San Marzanos, taste it, and be like, “Oh. This can does not contain San Marzano tomatoes.” It’s laughable really. And since most of us don’t have days to make gravy and an acre of San Marzano tomatoes in our backyards from which to make said gravy, we all kind of have to deal with a can of crushed tomatoes. It’s totally fine and I keep a couple on hand in case of a sauce emergency. I, on the other hand, am a complete rebel and I use whatever tomatoes I like because my tomato palate extends far beyond the humble paste tomato and also because I grow a crap ton of tomatoes for the sole purpose of making gravy. Ok, and the occasional BLT. And caprese salads. And for fried greeen tomatoes. And for just eating off the vine with a little salt. You get the idea….I really like tomatoes and the spectrum of tomato flavors in heirlooms. This year my tomato bags include Purple Cherokees, Black Krims, Brandywines, Mortgage Lifters, Big Zacs, and a few others.
So, what I do is grow as many as I can, core them with my handy dandy corer thingy, pop them into a freezer bag, suck out all the air, and jam them into my chest freezer. Then I take out two gallon bags of tomatoes, let them defrost, and drop them whole into my pot. The skins slip right off as I drop them in. I don’t even remove the seeds. I’m that lazy. I cook all the water out, and then proceed with the recipe. If you prefer a seedless concoction, scoop the seeds out during coring before freezing or simply press the cooked sauce through a sieve after it’s cooled.
This recipe is for the basic gravy and it can be done with or without meat. Both versions can be used as a base for countless other sauces like bolognese or pizza sauce and spoonfuls can be dropped into soups and stews. And, of course, meatballs and Italian sausage can be added to both versions.
Welcome to Salt~Leaf! We grow mostly heirlooms with a special affinity for ugly tomatoes, hot peppers, weird cucumbers, and a smattering of other off the wall greens, vegetables, and fruit. We are a tiny urban farm in Southern Oregon. Life is so charmed here on…