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“What do I do with 30 tomatoes all at once?” - A question I was asked this week.

Nothing compares to the summer tomato harvest. Ripe, sun-warmed tomatoes fresh from the garden are among Mother Nature’s most luxurious offerings. However, they’re also one of the more plentiful harvests to expect from even the smallest edible gardens. When the harvest season arrives, you’re grateful, proud… and overwhelmed. How do you use 30 tomatoes all at once?

I had to learn a new way of cooking when I became a vegetable gardener. Most of the recipes I had been making before relied on big supermarket grocery stores for a continuous supply of fresh ingredients, regardless of the season or country of origin. When I started growing more of my own food, I discovered that there are 2 secret categories of recipes:

1. Supermarket recipes
2. Seasonal recipes

Supermarker recipes rely on the global distribution of fresh produce. They call for fresh ingredients from multiple seasons or geographic regions. When sourced from long distances or out of season, the environmental impact is far greater and the quality of produce suffers. And because these recipes rely on what is typically available at supermarkets, it can be difficult to incorporate entire harvests or unique crops that aren’t stocked by supermarkets due to short shelf life or lower demand.

Seasonal recipes, on the other hand, are a gardener’s best friend. Seasonal recipes call for fresh ingredients from a single season and geographic region. They rely on local produce (your produce!) so it’s easier to incorporate homegrown harvests, calling for what you’re harvesting, when you’re harvesting it. In comparison to supermarket produce, the environmental impact is negligible; the only distance produce travels for these recipes is garden to table! And there’s no compromising on quality. Everything is as fresh as it gets and you know exactly how it was grown. Beautiful.

Over the years, my favourite source for seasonal recipes has become the French Mediterranean. There’s just something special about the way they celebrate fresh produce. Simple ingredients and straightforward methods elevate these dishes beyond the sum of their parts.

I’ve collected a number of cookbooks set in the south of France and there’s a lot to be learned from them. Not just how to prepare food, but how to enjoy it as well.

Puttering around the kitchen in the summer with an apéritif, then sitting down to long lingering meals among friends under the setting the sun is good for the soul. And I would be remiss if I didn’t also include a toast to my dearly departed father, a chef by trade and the source of many of our own beloved family meals. My favourite was always when he cooked right over the fire; the absolute best way to have scallops, shrimp, and corn.

So in response to the question, “What do I do with 30 tomatoes all at once?” and as a love letter to vegetable gardening and also maybe to my dad, I’ve prepared a free download: 3 Beautiful Tomato Recipes for your Summer Harvest.

In addition to the 3 recipe cards, this download has another feature I am particularly excited about: garden layouts. To show you how simple it can be to grow your own ingredients, I’ve included garden layouts for the fresh ingredients in each recipe. It has never been easier to see exactly what’s possible in a small space.

I’ve poured my heart into this little download and I hope you find something of value in its pages. Click here to get your free download.

With love,
Bridgette.

3 Beautiful Tomato Recipes for your Summer Harvest

Cottage Corners