I've always loved late summer and all of its fresh, everything's in season glory. But then October rolls around and the tomatoes start to fade from farmer's markets stands, only to be replaced by apples and root vegetables; both of which I love and welcome their arrival, but I can't help but miss tomatoes. It is for this reason that I always keep cans of good quality tomatoes on hand to help add some freshness and life to sauces and soups during those times when tomatoes are out of season.
Last night I had the pleasure of getting a sneak peek at this year's Muir Glen Limited Edition Reserve tomatoes. These tomatoes are picked in the peak of freshness in Northern California and then packaged up to preserve their freshness. The thing that I like most about the tomatoes is the chunkiness of them. Often times I find that canned tomatoes seem to loose their shape and plumpness but the Muir Glen Reserve tomatoes maintain that heartiness that I like.
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| Muir Glenn Fire- Roasted Tomatoes |
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| Ratatouille |
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| Tomato Soup with Grilled Cheese |
To help display the sample the tomatoes, Chef Will Gilson was on hand last night at the Boston Center for Adult Education to do a cooking demo utilizing the Muir Glen tomatoes. Within an an hour's time, and with some help from the audience of bloggers, he had made a classic Ratatouille, utilizing the Fire-Roasted Tomatoes, and a Creamy Tomato Soup with Grilled Cheese. I was also lucky enough to snag a sampling box of these limited edition tomatoes on my way out and I'm already starting to dream up what soups, stews and braises these tomatoes will be added to this winter. If you're interested in sampling the
Muir Glen Reserve Tomatoes, they will be available to purchase
online only, starting November 1.
7 comments:
Thank you for sharing these drool worthy photos! On this crisp fall day I want those fire roasted tomatoes and that soup and grilled cheese! Everything looks superb. I also have a major crush on Will Gilson. Had I been there, I'd be tomato red.
It kinda looks like Will is about to break into the Soulja Boy dance, no?
I miss fresh tomatoes this time of year, too - these look so tasty!
Nice seeing you last night! I love this year's reserve tomatoes... such a great idea for them to include yellow. Can't wait to see what you make!
I loved these tomatoes as well. It was good to see you the other night.
Wow this looks so yummy! That is awesome that you got to take some tomatoes with you!! Also, I saw your pumpkin mac and cheese recipe on boston.com and read the last bit about how you left the corporate world in January for cooking school and to start your business. Very inspiring I hope to do the same someday :)
Muir Glen does make incredibly good diced tomatoes. You're right, other brands are really loose and can ruin a good batch of sauce. They actually hold their shape and most of their consistency when you saute them, yet do soften enough. Del Monte, Hunts, and to a lesser extent, Tuttoroso, all either stay extra hard or soften so much they turn into crushed tomatoes. Now only if my local grocery store started carrying Muir Glen again. Great photos, I'm sure it was amazing.
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