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Roasted Tomatoes

I had many green tomatoes still when it was time to pull up the tomatoes plants for the season. Just like last year, I saved all the green tomatoes and wrapped them in newspaper for ripening. You can read about those tips here. This idea works well and given a little time, the green tomatoes turn red while stored in a bag.

But on with this post and how I roasted some tomatoes that were ripe and needing processed. I have frozen tomatoes, made salsa and tomato sauce and used many of my tomatoes already this year. But I hadn’t tried roasting in the oven yet.

First I washed and cut up the tomatoes in about quarters. I placed them on a baking sheet that had just a bit of olive oil spread over it. I sprinkled the tomatoes with a dash of garlic, salt, pepper, and oregano. You can use any spices that you like to season your roasted tomatoes. I dribble a little more olive oil over the tomatoes and tossed them a bit to cover them with all the seasoning and oil.

Here is my pan ready for the oven.

Bake at 400 F degrees for about 30-40 minutes. Just check them at 30 to make sure them aren’t burning or overdone. I think mine took Continue Reading →

Homemade Tomato Sauce

I had a huge garden of tomato plants this last year. So I ended up with lots of tomatoes and wanted to make my own homemade tomato sauce with this abundance of tomatoes.

I first cut up the tomatoes and placed them in a large pot for cooking. I generally followed a vintage tomato sauce recipe where I cut up the tomatoes and let them stand a few minutes in a colander to drain off some of the excess juice. I added a bit of dehydrated green peppers and onions (one tablespoon each), and a sprinkle of cayenne powder for a bit of zing to my pot.

Next, bring to boil and cook for about an hour on low. Remember to stir occasionally until you have a nice pulp. I then used my food mill to make a smooth tomato puree.

I ended up with this lovely pot of tomato puree ready for the next step. Continue Reading →

Indoor Basil Grown in a Pot

Just wanted to give an update on my basil grown indoors in a pot. Here is the last photo I took.

I posted last month about my homegrown basil and how I had dried the spice for later use. It has been so nice to have homegrown basil that I can use fresh all year-around. There is nothing like fresh basil spice when you are making spaghetti, lasagna or pizza sauce. You just can’t beat the flavor and taste of fresh basil in these recipes.

Anyway I just wanted to post an update and share my basil plant that continues to grow in a pot in my kitchen window. Just remember to put your basil pot in a sunny, warm spot Continue Reading →

Cast Iron Bread Rolls from Home Storage

Here are bread rolls that I made from my home food storage. These rolls were made using Augason Farms Honey White Bread and Roll Mix. I have been working to test a few of my home storage items just to make sure I like the products and to practice their use.

Augason Farms Bread & Roll Mix

I made my batch small so I could bake it in my favorite little cast iron #3 skillet. I used about half of the “small recipe” on the back of the can. I started with 1 cup of bread mix and added just a bit to make a soft dough ball.

Here are my four rolls I placed in my 8 inch cast iron skillet after mixing up the batch of dough.

Cast Iron Skillet Rolls before Baking

Below are my rolls after letting them rise for about 45 minutes in the oven with the oven light on. I found that if I put my yeast dough in the oven to rise, it works out very well. Continue Reading →

Cast Iron Baked Irish Soda Bread

There has been a shortage in some stores of yeast. Several people have been posting that they can’t find yeast in their local stores due to the Coronavirus. One such poster shared her favorite recipe for Irish soda bread which does not require yeast. The recipe calls for baking soda for the leavening in the bread rather than regular yeast.

I heard good reviews on this bread and set out to bake some myself. Of course, I love to bake in my little 6 inch cast iron skillet so I modified the recipe to fit into my original No. 3 cast iron pan.

Irish Soda Bread Baked in Cast Iron

I baked my Irish soda bread using the recipe from Gemma’s Bigger Bolder Baking site. To achieve the right amount of bread to bake in my cast iron pan, I cut the recipe in half. I also found that I didn’t need as much milk as called for so do be careful not to add too much milk as you make your dough ball.

Irish soda bread before baking.

The Irish soda bread rose very nicely and I baked it the initial 15 minutes at 425 F degrees and then about 18-19 minutes at 400 F. Halfing the recipe provided for just the right amount of bread for two generous servings for my husband and I. I served my Irish soda bread along with a bowl of homemade stew. The heavier Irish soda bread went well with our stew meal.

Overall I love the idea of using alternate yeast sources especially during these times of shortages that we are facing. Another alternate to regular bread yeast is wild sourdough yeast. Here is my wild sourdough starter directions. Anyone can make wild sourdough yeast at home. It is made by capturing wild yeast from the air and creating a natural sourdough yeast starter.

Check out my posts on these recipes and other useful ideas Continue Reading →

Mini Cast Iron Cornbread

Here is a new cast iron cornbread idea that I want to share. I frequently need just a small batch of cornbread as I am generally just cooking for two. Using my vintage #3 cast iron skillet is just the right sized pan for cornbread for two. My old #3 cast iron skillet is nearly 7 inches wide. Official size stamped on the bottom says 6-5/8 inches.

I used a small recipe of cornbread and filled my cast iron skillet about 3/4 of the way full and then baked at 400 degrees for about 15-16 minutes. Watch for the light browning before Continue Reading →

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