Thursday, June 11, 2009

Passa the pomodoro


A sharp eye and quick wit will tell you that I'm just-ah poking fun-ah at the word passapomodoro. It also helps to know that passa is from the verb passare (to pass) while pomodoro is well...a tomato. This is an old tomato food mill made by Bialetti, and soon we should be passing tomatoes right/left, up/down at the rate the plants are growing. Perhaps that's why my inlaws gave their passapomodoro so willingly. I could tell that they hadn't used it in ages, and knowing my mother-in-law, she'll just say that it's easier to buy canned stuff from the store. I know that she isn't physically up to canning anymore, but she also said something similiar upon giving me her manual pasta machine!

Gardening work has been nothing but weeding in this period. In between the last post, the temperature dropped to 17°C / 63°F and it rained for several days straight. When the sun came out today I checked the tomatoes and found a baby Black Trifele, and then another! The plants are located in an area that is first to see the sun, even if I didn't intentionally set them there. This is the first time that I've tried growing the Japanese Black Trifle, and thanks to a post from Hanna's Tomato Tastings, I feel lucky to have chosen this one on a whim. Can you imagine the look on my inlaws' faces when I tell them that I'm making Japanese black tomato sauce? Haha!


Average daytime temperature: 22°C / 72°F

11 comments:

chaiselongue said...

That looks like a very useful machine. I usually use a mouli legumes and it's hard work and takes ages, but it does remove the tomato skins, and like that we produce enough delicious preserved tomato to last all winter. Much better than tins or bought jars! Great to see your first tomatoes growing!

K and S said...

you are so lucky to be able to inherit all these gadgets :) I am thinking to prune the top off of my tomatoes to stop them from growing up and work on the flowers that are there...

Rowena said...

Chaiselongue - if she hadn't given me her food mill, I would have bought one of those manual hand-crank types too. This is the first year, heck the first time! for doing my own canning so I'm anticipating the fun (and work).

Kat - I am tempted to prune at least one of the plants because I'm so eager to try one of these tomatoes already. I planted cherry tomatoes too but there are only flowers...no fruit yet.

Anonymous said...

Can't wait to see your Black Trifle tomato mature! I've never seen that particular variety before. Have fun with your new gadget. :)

Gail - Fort Rock Glimpses said...

Very nice Rowena. We are growing some Black Russian tomatoes that we have grown in the past. They are an heirloom variety that we have successfully tried before.

Anonymous said...

Have never even heard of a black tomato - are they just a really deep red, or are they... black? L makes our own sauce every year - the most useful tool we now finally have is the jar lifter to get the hot jars out of the pot after we've boiled them. It's so good! Your tomato looks very promising...

Rowena said...

Perennial Gardener - I've read so much about the "blacks" that it was inevitable for me to want to try them as well. Now if only I had more space...

Gail - if you are referring to the Black Krims then yippee! Those are also starting to form on the vine. It seemed that as soon as the trifeles proclaimed themselves "first ones!", the others soon followed.

Farfalle - I had never heard of one either...until last year when I got bit by the tomato bug! The "black" tomatoes are more of a dark purplish-brownish color - very exotic to my greedy little eyeballs, and therefore exciting to grow....until they come out with a blue (organic) tomato!

Christina said...

I'm growing Japanese Black Trifele for the first time this year too, and it is loaded with fruit. I've got a bunch of other types too, and each plant is laden with fruits that make me dream of salads and sauces. I can't wait for them to ripen!

Rowena said...

Christina - for whatever reason, it looks like it'll be a banner year for tomatoes. Last year we did okay but the weird, mixed weather didn't make the toms too excited. It took forever until they flowered! You know that I'll be looking forward to all the pomodori pics ^-^

Anonymous said...

I LOVE your site. I thought I was the only american girl here in Italy who likes to grow things. I'm not sure why I thought that...
Stellina in Castel San Lorenzo

Rowena said...

Stellina - first things first...you're in Campania then? If so, you gardeners down sud have the greatest weather (warmer than us and longer growing season I'm sure). Anyway...I've always hoped to come across an expat blogger(s) here who loves to get in the dirt as much as I do. I am absolutely NUTS about gardening, partly because I like the whole idea of seed to table, but mainly for the fact that I really don't know beans about gardening in general, so this has been a fun learning experience. You just have to start a gardening blog so that I can see how things go on your end of the peninsula...pleaaaaaase!