Tomato Jam - Bottling the Summer Harvest

I hope everyone is enjoying our beautiful September weather. We took a walk early this morning and noticed the first signs of Fall in the red sumac trees. We got the gutters cleaned out and then spent some time in the garden eyeing our peppers, which are not quite ready for harvest but damn they are close. 

Last week celebrated Dan’s 60th birthday COVID style. We had 2 celebrations; one with his siblings and one with his daughters so that we could keep everyone socially distanced and the count at about 10 people. It was fun we ordered food, his mom made his favorite carrot cake and celebrated. We are now both in the same decade and he’s ready to start earning those senior benefits - although he's not ready to retire anytime soon. 

Overall we’ve had a great harvest and we’re still picking zucchini, basil, kale, collard greens, and tomatoes - lots of tomatoes and there are still tons on the vine. We definitely need next week's sun and warmer temps to finish ripening them.

I’ve baked multiple tomato pies, made 4 batches of roasted tomato sauce, sun-dried tomatoes, and now tomato jam, because what goes better with a toasted goat cheese sandwich that a smokey jam. 

I started with an assortment of tomatoes - dense and meaty heirlooms combined with Big Boy, Early Girl, and tossed in a few Roma to round things out. The heirlooms added a depth of flavor to the jam that I haven’t gotten in past years. This recipe is simple, the hard part is not eating it all at once.

Ingredients

1/2 tsp Coriander, dried

1/2 tsp Ginger, fresh

1/2 tsp smoked paprika

1 Onion - roughly chopped

4 lb Tomatoes - mixed 

1/8 cup Balsamic vinegar

1/2 cup Brown sugar

1 1/2 cup White sugar

1/8 cup Apple cider vinegar

1/2 tsp Cumin, dried

Instructions:

Add everything to a stockpot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer approximately 3 hours. Put in clean jars. The jam will last for 3 weeks in the fridge or longer in the freezer. 

Enjoy!

Eggplant in Garlic Sauce

The secret to getting perfect Chinese style eggplant involves two things

1. You have to prepare the eggplant properly before cooking in order to get the right texture
2. You need to make a sauce that is flavorful

We didn’t have a great year for eggplant but we did enough for a batch of our favorite eggplant in garlic sauce. Like tomatoes and peppers, eggplant likes warm weather and we’ve had our share of that but I don’t think the garden gives it enough sunlight. Come to think of it the peppers aren’t amazing this year either. I guess we either find a sunnier spot or find something else to plant.

I was prepping the eggplant when I got a text from Dan’s sister - they were getting new tires on their car and wanted to stop by our house and wait until it was done so I invited them to come over and have dinner with us. 

I pulled out some of the zucchini fritters I made/froze a couple weeks ago and preheated the oven for baking, chopped up some melon, and threw together a cheese board. Dan made Moscow mules and we enjoyed a spontaneous socially distanced dinner with family

There are pictures of the eggplant and fritters but we forgot to take photos of the appetizers - maybe next time. 

Eggplant is one of Dan's favorite foods and we've gotten this dish from a local place but wanted to try making our own. There is always room for improvement but I was pleased with how this turned out. 

Ingredients: 

Eggplant

5 small Chinese long eggplant, chopped to bite-size pieces 

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon cornstarch

Sauce

1 tablespoon light soy sauce (or soy sauce)

1 tablespoon water

1/2 teaspoon dark soy sauce (*see footnote 3)

2 teaspoons sugar

1 teaspoon cornstarch

Stir-fry

2 1/2 tablespoons peanut oil (or vegetable oil)

1 teaspoon ginger, minced

3 cloves garlic, chopped

Instructions: 

Place the eggplant in a large bowl and add water to cover. Add 1/4 teaspoon salt, mix well.

Place a pot lid on top to keep the eggplant underwater for 15 minutes. Drain and pat dry

After the eggplant is completely dry, sprinkle cornstarch over it and mix by hand, until the eggplant is evenly coated with a thin layer of cornstarch. This creates a crispy and nicely charred eggplant on the stovetop in 10 minutes. 

Combine the sauce ingredients in a small bowl, mix well and set aside

Add 2 tablespoons oil to a big nonstick skillet and heat over medium-high heat until hot. Spread eggplant across the bottom of the skillet without overlapping. Cook the eggplant one side at a time until all the surfaces are charred and the eggplant turns soft, 8 to 10 minutes in total. Transfer the eggplants to a plate. If the skillet gets too hot and starts to smoke, turn to medium heat.

Add the remaining 1/2 teaspoon oil, the ginger, and garlic into the same skillet. Stir a few times until fragrant. Add all the eggplant back into the skillet. Mix the sauce again until cornstarch is fully dissolved and pour it over the eggplant. Immediately stir a few times, until the eggplant is evenly coated and the sauce thickens. Transfer everything to a big plate.

Serve hot as a side or as main over steamed rice or noodles.