There are two things you can do in the winter when it comes to vegetable gardening: You can dream and plan for your next seasons (as we've already shown in the previous post), and you can enjoy what you have prepared and stored during the summer and autumn. And we're good on the latter. We brighten our daily life with spices, herbs, tea, frozen veggies, drinking syrups, jams, and more. Today, I would like to mention tomatoes.
If you remember, last summer was both rainy and rather cold on average, meaning most of our tomatoes were green when frost started to threaten. So we harvested them as they were and left them to mature inside the house. It took a while, since we barely use the radiators until we have to. By the time the tomatoes were red, they had already started to dry out and wrinkle. On top of that, we were both stressed and running around in autumn, so one way to make sure they wouldn't go to waste (or end up in a one-shot bolognese), we decided to dry them in our mushroom dryer. We cut them in quarters and left them to dry at 65°C for a day.
The result is a flavor boom, radiant, crunchy, and delicious little tomato chips. So far, I've used them in soups, casseroles, salads, and sauces. But honestly, the best way to eat them, if you ask me, is as a quick snack. They are so flavorful it's insane. And the color is just magic. One of the best results we've had so far in drying vegetables. Definitely going to do it again next year.
(As you can see, the jar is already half empty, only proving that they're delicious!)
In conclusion, as we embrace the winter months, we cherish the flavors of summer with our homemade tomato chips, a sustainable delight from garden to table.
How do you preserve your seasonal harvests? Share your favorite sustainable kitchen hacks with us in the comments below!