Heritage Gardening: Heirloom Tomatoes

Heritage Gardening: Heirloom Tomatoes
 Angie Mohr

Growing heirloom tomatoes in your home garden is one of the easiest and tastiest projects imaginable. The tomatoes that you can buy in the grocery store have been bred specifically for their ability to be shipped without damage all over the world. They are frequently picked green then sprayed with ethylene gas to finish the appearance of ripening.

Home-grown tomatoes, however, especially heirloom varieties that have been grown in back yards for hundreds of years, can be picked at the absolute pinnacle of ripeness and enjoyed immediately. Although tomatoes need lots of heat and sun to grow, they can be grown in almost any climate, as long as they can get 80-90 frost-free days. Heirloom tomatoes can even be grown in planters on the patio and moved throughout the day to follow the sun.

Choose the tomato variety you would like to grow based on your climate and your preferences. In a colder climate, choose an early-ripening tomato such as Early Girl, or Sub-Arctic Plenty. These varieties take a shorter amount of time to reach maturity and will do better in climates when only the summer months can be counted on to be frost free. If you want a large harvest of tomatoes at the same time, either to can or to dry, choose a determinate variety, like Roma.

Determinates all ripen at approximately the same time whereas indeterminates set fruit and grow continually right up until frost. The determinate/indeterminate designation can be found in the description of the seeds. For one of the most sublime tomato experiences, grow Brandywine. This red-purple heirloom tomato has been in existence for over a hundred years and repeatedly wins taste competitions.


Tomatoes need as much sun as you can give them except in tropical climates. Choose the sunniest spot in your yard and observe it for a few days to make sure that it gets six to seven hours of sun per day. You can grow heirloom tomatoes from seedlings or from seed. If growing from seed you will have a better selection but will have to start the seeds indoors two months before your last expected frost. Plant your tomato seedlings in rich soil that has had compost added. If frost threatens unexpectedly, cover your tomato plants overnight.

Harvest tomatoes frequently when ripe to encourage the plant to continue production. At the end of the season, pull up remaining plants with green tomatoes still attached. Hang plants upside down in a dark cool place like a shed. The mature green tomatoes will turn red slowly thereby extending your growing season.

Mediterranean Summer Salad
4 ripe heirloom tomatoes
2 ripe English cucumbers
½ medium red onion
½ cup crumbled Greek feta cheese
½ cup pitted sliced black olives
¼ cup roughly chopped fresh basil
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons lemon juice

Dice tomatoes and cucumbers into similar bite-sized pieces. Slice onion in half then slice halves very thinly. Mix tomatoes, cucumbers, onion, feta, olives, and basil in a salad bowl. In a lidded Mason jar, shake olive oil and lemon juice together until well-combined. Pour over salad and toss gently just before serving. (523 words)



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Copyright 2011 Angie Mohr

Heritage Gardening: Hutterite Soup Beans

Heritage Gardening: Hutterite Soup Beans
Angie Mohr

The Hutterites were an Anabaptist break-away group established in Moravia under the leadership of Jakob Hutter in 1529. In 1874, a colony of Hutterites emigrated to the United States from Russia, fleeing religious in-fighting and external persecution.

Colonies of Hutterites still live in South Dakota today, but more than 75% live in Western Canada, where many emigrated in 1918, after a violent incident where two sect members were killed by the U.S. military.

When the Hutterites came to North America, they brought with them the seeds they knew how to grow and that they knew would sustain them. One of those was what is now known as the heirloom Hutterite Soup Bean. This dried bean staple makes the most amazing soup as it is naturally thick and creamy when cooked without the addition of cream or butter.

Hutterite Soup Beans are on Slow Food USA's list of heirloom endangered foods. Slow Food USA keeps track of foods and foodways that are disappearing due to the consolidation of large seed companies, which is resulting in the reduction of the variety of seeds commercially available.

These heirloom seeds are available through individual seed savers and RareSeeds.com, Baker Creek Heirloom Seed's online presence. Hutterite Soup Beans are well worth seeking out and given a bit of space in the garden. They are easy to grow, mature quickly, and store easily.


Hutterite Soup Beans grow between 24 and 30 inches tall and mature in approximately 80-85 days. These bush-style bean plants are compact and highly productive. Plant as early as possible after the last expected hard frost in the spring. Plant seeds 18 inches apart and bury ½ inch deep in rich amended soil. Leave beans on the plant until completely dry, then harvest and break out of pods.

The heirloom cream-tan seeds with "black eyes" cook in record time: 20 minutes or less with an overnight soak. They can replace pinto beans or black eyed peas in any recipe but really come into their own when featured in soup. Here is my favorite bean soup recipe:

Hutterite Bean Soup

2 pounds dried Hutterite Soup Beans
8 cups chicken stock, homemade or purchased *
1 large onion, diced finely
1 tablespoon fresh sage, finely chopped (or 1 teaspoon dried)
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
Salt and pepper to taste

Rinse beans in colander, picking out stones and stems. Soak overnight in clean water. When fully soaked, drain water then put beans in large pot with all other ingredients (except salt and pepper) and boil gently over medium-low heat for 20 minutes. Add water during boiling if thinner consistency is desired and check doneness of beans after 15 minutes and then every five minutes until done.

Salt and pepper to taste. You may blend in a blender or with an immersion blender if you desire a consistent texture or serve as is, a more rustic style. Serve with thick slices of whole grain bread for a substantial meal.
* You may substitute mushroom or vegetable stock for a vegetarian version. (507 words)



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Copyright 2011 Angie Mohr

Make the Perfect English Christmas Pudding

Make the Perfect English Christmas Pudding
Angie Mohr

In my family, it simply wouldn't be Christmas without our plum pudding and white sauce; a common British ending to a large holiday feast.

Plum pudding (or Christmas pudding as it has been called since the mid-1800's) evolved over the centuries from the first plum pottages made with meat and suet in the 1600's. Gradually, like mincemeat, the meat was left out and a more dessert-like pudding was formed. Plum pudding has never contained plums. In old England, plum referred to any dried fruit. It has always been customary to bake small charms or coins into the plum pudding to represent wealth, health, and love in the coming year. In modern times, this is rarely done for safety and sanitary reasons.

Plum pudding takes time to make and time to age. All the effort is worth it in the end to have your family and guests swoon over this rich and wonderful dessert. Traditionally, in England, the Sunday before Advent was called "Stir-Up Sunday" because it is the day usually set aside to make the plum pudding. This is generally in late November. It is not necessary to age that long, though, and, if you have a vacuum sealer, you can make it as late as Christmas eve.

Christmas Pudding

4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 cup butter, room temperature
½ cup milk
½ cup rum
2 eggs, beaten
¾ cup molasses
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup raisins, coarsely chopped
1 cup dates, coarsely chopped
½ cup walnuts or pecans, chopped
1 large apple, finely chopped
1 large carrot, peeled and shredded
¼ cup mixed candied fruit, finely chopped
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/3 teaspoon nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground cloves

Soak raisins in a bowl filled with the rum for a minimum of 4 hours or overnight if possible. Mix together wet and dry ingredients separately in two bowls. Remove raisins from rum and add to dry ingredients. Stir rum into wet ingredients.

Slowly add dry to wet, beating constantly until thoroughly mixed. Pour into greased pudding molds or heat-proof bowl. Cover tightly with aluminum foil. Fill a large roasting pan half full of water and heat on stove to boiling.

Set a baking rack or trivet in the bottom of the pan and set puddings on rack, slightly apart so that they do not touch. The water should come about two-thirds up the side of the molds. Add more water if necessary. Reduce heat to medium low, cover pan and boil gently for 5 to 6 hours. Check water level occasionally and add more if needed. Pudding is done when toothpick stuck into the center comes out clean.

Unmold and cool on a baking rack. Soak enough cheesecloth to cover the pudding two layers thick in rum for 1 hour. Wring out cheesecloth and wrap around puddings, completely covering. Wrap in butcher paper and store in a cool dark place or in refrigerator until Christmas.

If making plum pudding close to Christmas, you can vacuum seal pudding in a sealer bag or sealer container for 8 hours before preparing to serve. This "ages" the pudding and allows the flavors to marry quickly.
To serve, unwrap completely and steam over boiling water for 1 hour. Serve with sauce of your choice.

White Sauce for Plum Pudding

1 cup sugar
½ cup flour
1 tablespoon butter
2 cups milk
¼ teaspoon nutmeg

Mix together flour and butter in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture is hot. Add milk in small increments, whisking constantly, until sauce is bubbling and the desired consistency. Add sugar and nutmeg, stirring until incorporated. Serve over hot plum pudding. May add rum to replace part of milk additions.

Lemon Hard Sauce

1 stick (1/4 pound) butter
1 cup powdered sugar
¼ cup limoncello liqueur

Melt butter in small saucepan over low heat. Beat in sugar until dissolved. Add limoncello and stir until bubbling. Serve over hot plum pudding. (663 words)



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Copyright 2011 Angie Mohr

Power Couponing and Eating For Free

Power Couponing and Eating For Free
 Angie Mohr CA CMA
www.numbers101.com

I was never the type to clip coupons. Being an accountant, I figured out how much time I would need to spend at it versus what I would save. It wasn't worth my time. However, I always hated to pay full retail price for food when there were coupons out there, so, over time, I developed a method of coupon clipping that saves our family enormous amounts of money and takes very little time. Here are 5 tips to get the most out of your coupon-saving efforts.

Power Coupon Tip #1: BOGO is your friend. This will give you the "biggest bang for the buck". It's one thing to get $1 off a box of cereal but if the cereal is on sale at "buy one get one" or BOGO, as it's called, you will get the best deal. This is frequently where I end up getting something for free (or better). In a recent shopping week, for example, Zatarain's Rice Blends were on BOGO. They were regularly $1.29 a box, so the BOGO price was 65 cents. I had 20 coupons for 50 cents off the purchase of two boxes. Our local stores double coupons so this equated to 50 cents off each box. That meant that I could purchase 20 boxes of Zatarain's for 15 cents each. Not a bad deal. There are occasions when the coupon is worth more than the sale price of the item and I make money by buying the product. I do this frequently with Hamburger Helper.

Power Coupon Tip #2: Plan your weekly shopping with a flyer. On Sundays, take some time to gather the grocery flyers together to plan your shopping trip. It helps to keep a price book so that you can compare the sale price in the flyer to what you've paid for the item in the past. Sometimes, flyer sales aren't great deals and, if you are forewarned, you can pass over these and get to the real deals. Once you have a list of the deals, compare your list to the coupons you have on hand making sure that the coupon is for the correct flavor or size. Keep all of the coupons you will use attached to the shopping list so that they are handy as you get to the checkout.

Power Coupon Tip #3: Pay someone to clip coupons for you. This tip, combined with tip #1, has given me the absolute best, most efficient returns on the time I invest in my coupon adventures. Clipping coupons myself is time-consuming and only lets me purchase one or two of the items on sale. Having someone do it for me allows me to purchase as many as I want. The only caveat here is that buying coupons is illegal. These clipping services charge you for their time to clip, sort and mail you the coupons, not for the actual coupons themselves.

Here's how I do it: I check the grocery flyers online as soon as their available. At our local Kroger store, the flyer doesn't come until Sunday but the online version is available first thing Saturday morning. Once I list all of the deals, I check our pantry or freezer supply of the item. If we're low on the item, I estimate how much we need to last us a certain length of time. If it's frozen goods, that period will be no more than 6 months, but for things like dishwashing liquid, I can buy a year's worth if it's a really good sale. Then, I will go to a coupon clipping site, like eBay or Coupon Clippers (www.couponclippers.com) and purchase the number I need.

With eBay, I only select coupon offers that have a "Buy it Now" label. I don't want to have to wait for an auction to end. The coupons usually cost less than 10% of the face value of the coupon, plus postage. So, for example, I could get a 50 cent coupon for 5 cents each. I never bother with coupons less than 50 cents unless it means that I will get that item for free. Usually, these coupons are put in the mail on Monday and I will receive them no later than Thursday. As grocery sales usually last until Saturday, I still have time to take advantage. This way I don't have to hold coupons for the chance to be able to use them before they expire.

Power Coupon Tip #4: Buy groceries for the pantry and freezer. When you start power couponing, expect strange looks from cashiers and other shoppers as you ring in 20 boxes of macaroni and cheese, 10 packages of toilet paper and 30 cans of peas. You are not shopping for the dinner table, you are shopping to fill the pantry and freezer with things purchased for the absolutely lowest price. This means that your cart will not look like anyone else's cart in the store (unless you are shopping at the same time I am!). You will feel vindicated when the cashier is finished ringing up your purchases and running the coupons and you owe less than ten dollars. Quite often, the cashiers who have rung my purchases in go back and review the receipt because they think they have rung something in wrong.

Power Coupon Tip #5: Take advantage of unused storage space in your house. Storing these great deals takes space and you will have to get creative about where to find it. Look at it this way, if someone offered to give you $100 per month to rent the space under your bed, you would take it, wouldn't you? You'll save at least that much if you're following these tips so find all those nooks and crannies under beds, in closets, under the stairs, and behind the drapes.



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Copyright 2011 Angie Mohr

Gifts for Paula Deen Fans: Share Her Favorite Kitchen Gadgets

Gifts for Paula Deen Fans: Share Her Favorite Kitchen Gadgets

Angie Mohr

Another Christmas is just around the corner and if you have foodies on your list this year, especially Paula Deen fans, here are some of her favorite gifts. All can be ordered online in time for the holidays.

Fish Measuring Spoons from Tin Woodsman~ Paula has used these hand-made pewter measuring spoons on her show several times and has featured them in her magazine, Cooking With Paula Deen. They are sturdy, able to go into the dishwasher, and are beautiful. They come in Tablespoon, Teaspoon, Half Teaspoon, and Quarter Teaspoon sizes. There are also matching measuring cups. The measuring spoons can be ordered online at www.kitchensonthesquare.com.

Skyros Designs Bakeware~ Paula uses these beautiful ceramic square and rectangular casserole dishes at home and on her show. They come in many earthy colors and look gorgeous displayed in the kitchen. In the November/December edition of Cooking With Paula Deen magazine, it appears on page 40 filled with Paula's Curried Butternut Squash Casserole. You can find Skyros bakeware at many retailers or online at www.lewisgifts.com.

Cookies from the Byrd Cookie Company~ located in beautiful Savannah, Georgia, the Byrd Cookie Company has been creating exquisite cookies since 1924. Paula's favorite is the Key Lime Cooler, a Southern tradition. She has even created recipes around this cookie. They carry many other types of cookies and a wide array of gifts. You can find them at www.byrdcookiecompany.com.

Tupelo Honey from The Savannah Bee Company~ this exquisite and rare honey is produced only from the White Ogeechee Tupelo flower that grows along certain river basins in Georgia and Florida. It is rich and distinctive and a beautiful gift for those Food Network fans on you list that have just about everything else. You can find it as well as other Southern specialty honeys and gifts at www.savannahbee.com.

Captain Michael's of Savannah Coffee~ One of Paula Deen's most favorite things is her husband, Michael, and so is his line of whole bean and ground coffees. The coffees are blended in small batches and hand-roasted in Savannah at Savannah Coffee Roasters. You can choose from 8 different blends, including an organic blend and several flavored coffees, and you can buy them individually or in combination sets. You can buy Captain Michael's coffees online at www.pauladeen.com. Click on the "Shop" tab.
While it isn't likely possible for you to spend your Christmas season with Paula herself, it's easy to share her favorite things! (403 words)



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Copyright 2011 Angie Mohr