Last Saturday was the Tomato Festival at the Farmer's Market. I was asked to be the "Guest Chef" for the event. All of my food was to be "tomato food" . . . or almost.I spent most of Friday making 4 loaves of bread, 120 plus tomato spice muffins, gallons of a cream of tomato soup (to be served chilled).
I was given the huge container of basil to be used with the tomatoes and organic garlic.
And whenever I do any class or demonstration, I always give away a luncheon at my home -- everyone loves to win something and it's my way to contribute to make the event better.
With the three tiers of tomatoes, I made fresh pasta sauce (chopped tomatoes, garlic, basil, olive oil and a splash of balsamic vinegar) which we tossed with pasta which I had also fixed at home. With the abundance of basil, I made pesto which we also tossed with the pasta.The fresh pasta sauce, we also used as a bruschetta topping. I grilled bread, put the tomato topping on, added some cheese, and let it melt before serving.
We served small plates with a mini muffin, a small cup of soup (garnished with fresh basil) and a pasta. The bruschetta replaced the muffin after we ran out.
We called it "breakfast, lunch and dinner with tomatoes on a plate". Our goal was to show that tomatoes was not just for slicing or BLT's.
We estimated that over 300 people came to the Farmer's Market last Saturday -- a pretty good turnout for our little town.
It was a fun Saturday morning and I thoroughly enjoyed the tomato festival!
Please join Susan at A Southern Daydreamer to see more of the great outdoors this Wednesday.
24 comments:
What an incredible undertaking, Martha!! You seemed to have pulled it off with such ease. I would have been a wreck!! lol!!
Very cool menu. I like your pasta sauce, very much like mine.
The town seems to have great faith in you. Do you have cooking lessons or demonstrations often??
Great Outdoor Wednesday post. Still waiting for my tomatoes to ripen. We are always weeks behind in the Midwest!!
xoxo
Janie
Oh, Martha, I see you got the 3-tiered stand you eyed at Smith & Hawkins. Good for you! Nice post!
Julie
Hey Martha, I'm sorry I missed that - I love the way you are using your wire stand. I bought one last year when our S&H was closing (and do I ever miss it). Now I just need all of my tomatoes to ripen so I can do that too. ~ Robyn
Move over Martha Stewart...there's a new Sheriff in Town! You missed your calling having a catering business. I love everything you made! Wish I could have been there, and I could have because I was driving the daughter back to Pitt State. Dang it!
Smiles, Nancy
Great outdoor post.
That is awesome. Oh how I wish that I could have been a guest eater. ;-)
I love that 3 tiered stand!
My mouth is watering after reading this post!!!
~Amy
Yum...I'm hungry. Thank for sharing these delicious possibilties. I am going to try the tomato combination and melted cheese on bread. There is nothing like a fresh, homegrown tomato.
WOW! Thats a lot of work, I'm impressed~ the food sounds heavenly~ thanks for sharing. Cindy
Homegrown tomatoes? They just so make me drool! Now, where's the salt shaker? Let me at 'em!!
My Outdoor Wednesday is photos of surfers/the Gulf Waters...come on over test the water temperatures!! I'd love to have your company today.
Martha,
My favorite kind of food....yum!
And your gift basket is gorgeous and a generous one at that! Lunch at Linderhof, how lovely..
xxoMary/saff
I can't imagine how long that took you. Good job with great recipes. Would love the muffin recipe.
looks really fun!!
You do nothing in a small way ;-). What an undertaking, Martha. I'll wager every morsel was delicious. I hope you are having a wonderful day.
Fresh tomato and basil sounds so yummy. We love it on hard bread with some olive oil, sea salt and mozzarella.
Looks like a great day.
becky K.
Hospitality Lane
My hat is off to you. You are obviously one competent woman!
I bet you had a long, long line of hungry folks waiting for samples at your booth. Sounds wonderful!
What great fun, I wish I lived close to you I would have come to the festival and helped you.
How did you make the tomato spice muffins? this is the first time I have heard of them.
Enjoy your day,
Elizabeth
What a fun event for your farmer's market to hold. Love the way you utilized all the ingredients, you pasta sauce sounds alot like the one I make. Very simple, but SO delicious. The muffins sound wonderful also. Thanks for sharing this great idea. Kathy
Your house must smell wonderful.
How much fun this sounds, would love to have been there. Our tomato growing season here in my area of Florida has been over for the last month. I have seedlings growing that I hope will give me some homegrown tomatoes before it gets too cold.
Tomato spice muffins? Now that sounds like a recipe I would love to try. Hint, hint…
Tomato spice muffins sound very good. I've been very busy using up the bounty of tomatoes from my garden. Lots of gazpacho, which I love and seem to devour.
Wow! I always enjoy meeting other women who love to cook and bake. I wish I had more time to do these things, but as a homeschool mother of three boys, it's not always easy to find that time. I do love trying new recipes!
That's a cooking demonstration I would have loved to attend! Everything sounds wonderful and there is nothing better than fresh locally-grown tomatoes!
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