Product Description

A vine-ripened, juicy delight of a book from Gary Ibsen, founder of the renowned TomatoFest celebration in Carmel, California. Heirloom tomatoes are hot right now, and Ibsen gives history and cultivation information for such sweet delights as Radiator Charlie's Mortgage Lifter, Boxcar Willie's, and Aunt Ruby's Yellow Cherry, among others. With 40-plus festival standout recipes, including Mu Shu Tomato Pillows on Spicy Slaw, Baked Tomato Tart, and, of course, Old-Fashioned Fried Green Tomatoes.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #391060 in Books
• Published on: 1999-05-01
• Released on: 1999-05-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 160 pages

From Booklist
The authors tell us that there are about 34 million gardening households in the U.S., and of those, 93 percent grow tomatoes. Their book begins with tips for successful planting, and they recommend starting seeds indoors. They give advice on seed selection, soil preparation, designing a garden, trellising techniques, watering, organic fertilizing, and saving seeds. Ibsen also provides a glossary of his 85 favorite tomato varieties. Instructions on harvesting, drying, canning, and freezing tomatoes are also included in this photo-filled paperback, as well as 27 appetizing recipes. George Cohen

Review
"Can help you enormously" if you'¬?re interested in growing tomatoes.-Sunset Magazine'¬?s

Ingram
The founder of the renowned TomatoFest celebration provides a juicy delight of a book that gives history and cultivation information for such sweet delights as Radiator Charlie's Mortgage Lifter.

Customer Reviews

Great Tomato Lover Book
I thought this book was a great general book. You get a little o everything. I love the part where Gary is talking about his favorite tomatoes. The information on the festival is inspirational!

Tomato culture and recipes for those who want to grow them
This was sold as a companion book to Carolyn Male's "100 Heirloom Tomatoes." Dr. Male's book is pretty complete for a home tomato grower, but this book has extra tips for growing those love apples, and a lot of recipes, too.

So I am reviewing this primarily as a cookbook, though it is half cookbook, half gardening guide. The recipes range from soups to desserts such as a tomato granita (frozen sorbet.) There are of course spaghetti sauces. And here's where the book surprised me. The recipe for Bolognese sauce (tomato and ground beef gravy) is excellent, in fact, one of the best I have used. At home I have a taster who compares all things Italian to "Ma's". (Ma was born in Sicily, lived to be 100 and routinely cooked for a crowd of invading Visigoths on a Sunday.) The sauce lived up (almost) to Ma's unachievable heights. It was meaty, but balanced with plenty of fresh tomato and bolstered by canned sauce and paste. The addition of carrot and celery provided natural sweetness to offset the acid of the fresh tomatoes. No sugar was needed. We used farmstand plum tomatoes (my homegrown were dwarfed by the draught.)The directions for peeling them (bowl of boiling water, bowl of ice water) worked well. In no time, I had the fresh tomatoes peeled and seeded. A handful of fresh opal basil was substituted for some of the dried herbs. The proportions in this recipe are what makes it work so well. A huge, huge success.

The tomato growing tips add more information and lore than in Dr. Male's book. If you are deeply into growing tomatoes, I still would recommend "100 Heirlooms" but this book is stands alone for useful recipes and great hints.

Great overall book
Great book to learn which ones to grow and what soil should be ammended w/. Best all around tomato book i have and i have 15.