You could turn it into yes yes by putting it in the alleyways and when half decomposed after a year or so put it in the compost or if really decomposed on the beds.
Already done with wood through a large broyeur and still have more frêne to take down. Unfortunately most of the wood was very rotten so I can not use other than fire wood.
The problem is fine chêne from the table saws and planers. The high tannin is not good for most plants.
We managed to get half a dozen St Pierre plants a few months back and a couple of days ago we picked three of this year’s crop. They tasted super and Stuart (i/c tomato plants) said that this year, we will have a bigger crop than we had last year. That’s good news because I know exactly how I will be using them (in salads, soup and sauces).
Also, thanks to @captainendeavour I will be using some on a recipe he gave me for gaspacho (1 kg tomatoes. 1 cuke. 1 ‘Italian pepper’ [the long thin ones, de-seeded] a small onion, loads of garlic. A splash of sherry vinegar. Salt/pepper. Blitz all in a blender. Voila! makes 2 litres. ) I’ve never had gaspacho before but really look forward to this - it sounds great and so simple to make !
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Well done Rachel,
We’ve just eaten our first 2 toms tonight.
St Pierre are one of my favorites to grow and eat very versatile.
PS. Two additions to gaspacho that go well. If you find it too ‘soupy’ - which essentially it’s supposed to be - I cut it with agua con gaz. A load of ice cubes does the trick, too.
To rev it up - vodka!
I just realised … I forgot the olive oil !
In case I’ve forgotten anything else, this is the recipe I use. Note the coring of the garlic. https://spanishsabores.com/recipe-gazpacho-andaluz/#recipe
Ah! That’s the thing. Proper tomatoes, not round red watery balls from the s/mkts. Years since I had a tomato that really tasted as I know they can.
In Italy, 1989 it was, we bought tomatoes from a street stall in the village we were staying in. The g/f, who liked tomatoes so much she thought she might be addicted, almost exploded with rapture at the taste of these tomatoes. I likewise.
I’ve never had a tomato that got near the taste of those, probably grown on his allotment in the village.
San Marzano are brilliant for Gazpacho and Tomato Sauce. I have just picked my first three with plenty more on the way.
My first St Pierre’s (courtesy of Wozza) were destroyed by hail but a new growth is starting to come through now.
Thanks for the recommendation for San Marzano Mik and I hope your St Pierres make it. Hopefullly there’s still time for them to grow and ripen before too long. They really are super tasting tomatoes.
Like the sound of that!
From my fave source of recipes, the New York Times
tho’ I’m happy with the one from Spanish Sabores. If you intend to make it a a soup, traditionally [stale] bread is added.
Genuine AOP San Marzano toms in a tin are a
price. I have difficulty keeping a pot of mint alive, let alone anything else… ![]()
There must be something in the air - El Pais’s cooking strand ‘El Comedista’ has just published ‘Gaspacho - 8 common mistakes to avoid’
1] Tomatoes not ripe enough.
2] Not removing the tomato seeds - guilty as charged, m’lud.
Crush them with your hands over a seive.
Use a fork to get the juice in the seive into the bowl.
3] The star of the show is tomato. Don’t overdo the cuke and the italian pepper.
4] Using inferior sherry vinegar.
5] Too much bread.
6] Not enough olive oil. Results in ‘gaspacho light’.
7] Being in a rush to cool it by adding ice cubes. I guess a bag of ice in the bowl or decant into a bottle and place in a bucket of ice, champagne-style.
8] Not tasting and adjusting the results with salt and/or vinegar
Optional: Filtering out the remaining solids.
Buen provecho!
When I make tomato soups and sauces I use a Passapomodoro. They are available in many French supermarkets. The tomatoes go in the hopper, are forced along an Archimedes screw in the tube, and the pith and pips exit the end into a bowl while the clear juice comes through the cone shaped sieve and pours down the chute in a separate bowl.
Thanks for the gazpacho inspiration. Tomatoes are now becoming a glut. Just made 2 litres -99% of the contents coming straight from the garden. (I don’t make my own Madera wine or white balsamic vinegar!)
Next step is concentrated tomato sauce to be frozen and used in recipes later in the year.
…an old friend of mine in Bari makes tomato sauce every year but they have so many tomatoes, the process is a bit more industrial. A lot of fun, lots of drinking and gallons of sauce for the next year.
…
In a few months times, it’s olive harvesting and oil making…
Days of drinking and eating and loads of belly laughs too.
Thats how it should be ![]()
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Confiting quartered full size toms in olive oil and then adding dried Thai basil, with some crispy chili in oil is a good preservable base for all sorts of recipes.







