No matter what the situation, we humans always find a reason
to complain.
And nothing, in my mind,
elicits more complaints from people everywhere (except maybe those lucky enough
to be living in some paradise like Hawaii or San Diego) than the weather!
All winter long, we complain that it’s too
cold, or that there’s too much rain or snow.
And then come summer, suddenly, it’s too hot, it’s too dry, there are
too many mosquitoes – the list goes on and on.
Similarly, if you live in the Northwest (of the US) and fancy yourself
to have a bit of a green thumb, every summer you complain from June to
September about how your tomatoes are just not ripening fast enough.
And then, all of a sudden, at the end of
September, the tomatoes start coming in all at once, and now you’re stuck with
finding a way to consume all those plump, juicy, red (or yellow or orange)
fruits, in larger-than-Costco quantities.
Some of my more domestic friends look forward to this task
and whip out their canning equipment to make salsas and pasta sauces and other
delicious things. But by September, with
all the jam that I’ve canned during berry season, I don’t want to
see another boiling water bath until at least next year.
To my lazy bones, tomatoes in September are for immediate gratification –
after all, I have waited all summer for them to ripen!
In the spirit of wholesale tomato consumption, I try to
experiment with new recipes that incorporate these summer ripened fruits. I recently came across a recipe for a Greek
dish, called domatokeftehes, or
tomato fritters, which seemed to be just the thing to accompany a Friday
evening cup of tea with the hubby. Of
course, as I started making these, my Indian brain took over and turned these
fritters into something that no Greek person would recognize, but I think they
turned out rather nice. Do you agree?
Tomato fritters
1 large ripe tomato, diced
½ zucchini, diced
½ tsp turmeric
½ tsp salt
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 T chopped fresh herbs such as oregano or cilantro
½ C flour
½ tsp baking powder
Mix all ingredients together, adding the flour and baking
powder last.
Add enough water to form a thickish batter
Heat oil in wok on high heat until a drop of batter dropped
into oil rises immediately to surface
Reduce heat to medium and drop tablespoon-fulls of batter
into oil
Allow to brown on all sides; remove from oil with a slotted
spoon, and drain on paper towels
Serve hot with spiced tea.
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