First tomatoes of the season eaten, and you can’t have enough

We had the first of our tomatoes from the veggie garden over the weekend.

They were delicious tossed with some olive oil, salt, pepper, basil and burrata. Accompanied with toasted Zeally Bay Casalinga, it was a Sunday night treat.

We have eaten far less red meat since leaving Torquay Farm Foods. It hasn’t necessarily been a conscious choice, but we seem to enjoy an abundance of vegetables and the access to meat is not quite as simple.

I do enjoy growing vegetables, but find the constant watering at this time of year a little tiresome. Besides this, the most difficult part of growing vegetables is making sure you use all that you grow.

Everyone seems to have an oversupply of fresh zucchini at the moment and you can only give so much away. How can anyone eat 20 lettuces when they all mature at the same time?

Of course, the idea is to plant at different times, but I am never organised enough for this.

The one exception to the rule is tomatoes – I can never have enough. Firstly, because we eat plenty and secondly, the humble tomato is so readily turned into beautiful relish or passata. My parents make the most amazing tomato relish – even better when you supply the ingredients and they use their magic touch to create. Relish and passata are pantry staples we use all year round – unlike 20 fresh lettuce!

If the weather forecasters are to be believed (and I find long-range predications more guesswork than accurate), we have lots of hot summer days ahead. My tips for keeping your veggie gardens productive are fairly simple. Watering is the key. Lots of regular dousing first thing in the morning is perfect. A layer of pea straw or lucerne hay as mulch not only helps hold the moisture in the soil for longer – giving the plants an extended period to draw from it – but will help suppress competing weeds, regulate soil temperature and feed those hungry summer crops.

I have planted (and am eagerly awaiting the arrival of) chilies, eggplants, basil, sage, corn and the aforementioned tomatoes. None of this requires extensive netting and all is planted in our raised beds. I will continue the watering schedule with the hope of some intermittent and long-awaited rain. Wouldn’t it be nice to have 20 millimetres of rain every week? That’s a little like asking for a small Tattslotto win every week; it’s just not going to happen!

I have made the following recipe from Guy Grossi many times as it uses up a glut of both zucchini and tomatoes.