"Jenny's cookbook is full of heart and soul" Chef Michael Smith

Saturday, March 26, 2011

A Sure Sign of Spring: The Local Hothouse Tomato


See this?  It is a Den Haan's hothouse tomato.  It is not from Mexico, has not traveled thousands of miles to get here and is not months old.  It looks like a tomato.  It smells like a tomato.  It even tastes like a tomato! Hallelujah!  More sure than even the sight of Roll-Up-the-Rim cups littering the highways, its presence at your local grocery store is a sure sign of spring in Nova Scotia.

I really do limit my tomato consumption in winter.  Den Haan's takes a break from growing during the darkest months, and tomatoes from Florida and Mexico are picked by people in seriously undesirable working conditions.  You can read the article Politics of the Plate:The Price of Tomatoes here.  Plus, they taste bad, not an insignificant factor for me.

Den Haan's tomatoes are as close as we can get right now to full garden flavour, and I'm grateful to them for providing this to us!  We have been enjoying them chopped up and folded into scrambled eggs in the last minute of cooking, in thick slices on toast with a sprinkle of salt and pepper, and diced into a simple and delicious fresh salsa. 

Union Street Salsa

At the Cafe, we make this in quantity with good quality canned tomatoes .  It's great.  But this, made minutes before consumption, is superb.  You substitute 1 can diced tomatoes, drained slightly, if all the tomatoes at your store are imports.

2 C. chopped Tomato
1/4 C. minced Red or Yellow Onion
1 small Green Pepper, diced
1/4 C. Banana Peppers, minced
1 t. Cumin, toasted and ground
1/4 C. chopped fresh Cilantro
1/4 t. Salt

Combine in a bowl and taste.  Add a little more salt if you like, maybe a dash of hot sauce, maybe a smidgen of garlic.  Welcome spring!

4 comments:

  1. gorgeous! I can't believe that this is what you've posted today and before I even read it, I was in the kitchen making a batch of a similar salsa combined with beans for a huevos rancheros feast tonight! Dude we are SOooo on the same page!
    xoMelissa

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  2. Jenny I LOVE reading your blog!!!! I enjoy reading cookbooks for leisure, and reading your blog is my new favourite. I need to tell you though that I am looking for your granola recipe... I miss those warm-out-of-the-oven clusters of honey/maple/almond/whatever-it-is/granola-ie goodness that you make at the restaurant. Is that recipe under lock and key or what?? :)
    In the meantime I can't wait to try your salsa recipe...
    Hope all is well,
    Jaclyn

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  3. My mouth is sooooo watering as I sit here searching my memory from Friday's shopping for something fresh to eat. Did we buy anything that good? Hmm...

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  4. ooh, yes, granola......thanks Jaclyn! I will put it on my list of recipes to share.

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