Winter Tomato Tapenade and Stores Update

Tomato tapenade topped with ham

Computer Man asked me this week if we had any tomatoes for his sandwich. I haven't bought tomatoes in months but I guess he had a craving. Tomatoes are out of season, of course, here in New England and what is available in the supermarket is flown in from too many miles away and has no taste. What to do? 

I do have a jar of dehydrated summer tomatoes ready and waiting to be useful! Here is my solution to an out-of-season tomato craving.





Winter Tomato Tapenade

1 cup dehydrated tomatoes
3 Tbsp. reserved water
1Tbsp. basil pesto
1 Tbsp. capers
1/2 tsp. salt

Soak the tomatoes in enough boiling water to completely cover. Soak until rehydrated (20+ minutes) and soft.  Drain the tomatoes, reserving 3 tablespoons of the water. Put the tomatoes and water in a food processor and pulse. Add the rest of the ingredients and  process to the consistency desired, stopping and scrapping down the sides often.

Serve on crostini or crackers with ham, or in a grilled cheese sandwich.

Here's what I made for a quick supper last night - a frittata using spoonfuls of the tapenade, potatoes, scallions, bacon and cheese. Yum!

Bacon, cheese, potato and tomato tapenade frittata

Winter Stores

This will be the last report for the winter.  The only fresh veggies I have left are carrots, which are frozen in the ground! The cabbages, kale and brussels sprouts are all dormant and who knows what will happen when the weather thaws. Will they continue to grow?

I have plenty of jams, apple sauce and relishes left, as well as a few frozen meals and frozen fruit, but all the tomato sauce is gone and the dehydrated veggies jar is almost empty. I'll keep working my way through the supplies and I'm sure I'll have jam left going into the spring, but not much else. It's OK. It's a place to start, a bench mark to measure this year against. That being said, it's a good thing we're not pioneers. We'd have a long hungry winter ahead of us!

Inventory Remaining
Frozen vegetables and fruit

Bag roasted tomatoes (3),  Bag of 5 peeled and cored apples (5), 1lb Rhubarb* (1.5), Quart bag blueberries * (1), 1lb Strawberries*, 4oz Meyer Lemon Curd (3), 1.5 cups Kousa berry puree, 16oz Cranberries (1/2)*

*Locally grown
Dry

16oz jar zucchini (1/4),  24oz jar dried tomatoes (1/4)

Frozen Meals

4oz pesto (1), 1 pint green tomato curry sauce (4), Eggplant Parmesan (6 meals),

Canned

Jams (unopened)

8oz Strawberry (5), 16oz Blueberry (3), 8oz Rhubarb cinnamon (7), 16oz Meyer Lemon Marmalade (7), 8oz Meyer Lemon Marmalade (1), 16oz Blackcurrant (4), 8oz Blackcurrant (1)

Other (unopened)

16oz Apple Sauce (14), 16oz Dill pickles (3), 16oz Corn Relish (3)

Frozen Baked Items

Rhubarb muffins (6)

See you in the kitchen,

Sue

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