Friday, September 21, 2007

Garden of Unearthly Delights

I've had a pretty good tomato year.
I remember when I couldn't bear to cook my homegrown babies. I'd just rather eat them fresh and juicy, in any number of preparations.
This year, though, I've harvested enough tomatoes to cook down for sauce, in addition to the raw sandwich and salad eatin'.
So today, I was roasting what may be the last of my Roma tomatoes (there are still some on the vine, but I have doubts about their willingness to ripen). The house smelled spectacular, as usual, with the aroma of roasting Roma.
And then I thought, no, dog! I'm not running this batch through the food mill.
Cranky dashed down to the store and bought a loaf of rustic bread. We toasted it and applied the appropriate lashings of butter.
Over this, we scooped fresh, hot spoonfuls of roasted, collapsed, sweet, deep, dark tomatoes. Nnnngghh!!
But, wait.
See that brown puddle under the tomato chunks? Kinda syrupy, kinda evil, kinda...
Yeah.
Marmite.
Ohmygah.
Best sandwich ever.
You could call it bruschetta, but you'd be a dink.

22 comments:

PR@ said...

let me know if you need marmite replacements!

do you think it would work with green tomatoes - we have a lot of these over here right now.

cookiecrumb said...

Sam: "They" say I can get replacements at Safeway here in the States. Heh. Thanks, doll.
I do imagine it would be good with green tomatoes. Probably not as sweet, but I'd definitely cook them down to melting tenderness. Ooh. Must try.

Zoomie said...

I keep hearing about marmite but I confess ignorance. What is marmite? What is it made from? Lovely picture - kinda sexy in a funny way!

cookiecrumb said...

Zoomie: I'm going to give you a gentle, tentative introduction to Marmite. You can read the ingredients here.
And then, if you want to explore more, you can click around that web site.
See... it's culty here in the States. A love-or-hate thing.
Come on in! We won't hurt you!!
:D

Moonbear said...

Oh yeah! Marmite (or vegemite, down under) is strangely delicious, and addictive, ja? Once you have it on your toast in the morning-- just a dab! you start to crave it. I can see you've succumbed. If we have to do an intervention, you'll end up at MA.

Stacie said...

mmmmmmmmmmmm............

Kalyn Denny said...

I'd be willing to try Marmite, but I'm warning you, I had vegemite once and did not become a convert. The tomatoes, however, look heavenly!

Ms Brown Mouse said...

Vegemite is the real stuff - though you only need to wave the toast over the jar, just a whisper will do!
I had a terrible tomato year last year but so far this spring my little marto plants are doing well.
Oh, dinks are "Double Income No Kids" down here :)

Anna Banana said...

You are just too funny, thanks for the morning laughs.

Dagny said...

Can I have a little basil on mine?

Unknown said...

Ya know Cookie, I am so jealous of this sandwich. My immediate thought was that you could make a complete local meal (100-200 mi) of it by drizzling Central Valley or Sonoma Valley olive oil on your sandwich. OMG, I am jealous.

Zoomie said...

So, it seems like it's a sort of veggie spread? Like peanut butter? or not nutty? I should try some, just to see...

cookiecrumb said...

Moonbear: I've had a jar of Vegemite in the pantry for a long time... Marmite is (hide your eyes, DMM) better! It's runny and less salty. And yes, I'm attending my 12-step MA.

Stacie: You too? Hee.

Kalyn: I wasn't a convert to Vegemite, but I did like it's umami deepness. Marmite is a little easier to take. There's almost a sweetness...

Mouse: Dink is "double income no kids" here too, but before that, it was always the polite way to say "dick."
Good luck with your martos.

Anna Banana: You can sort of chart my mood by how funny I'm being. I'm feeling good. ;)

Dagny: I don't see why not. I wouldn't like it, but I have a "tentative" relationship with basil. The way I see it, if you're making up food, you can put anything you want on it! :D

Lannae: Thank you, dear. The olive oil we used to roast the tomatoes IS local... but the bread is not. No local white wheat flour. That I know of. The Marmite, alas, is WAY not local. Heh.

Zoomie: I might have misled you by calling it syrupy. It's definitely on the savory side. It tastes like something you'd flavor gravy or fake onion soup with. Ohgod, now I've ruined it.

Katie Zeller said...

Marmite! I don't think I have anything to say to that.... Nope, not a thing. You've rendered my speechless... well, apparently, not totally..
I have to think on this!

cookiecrumb said...

Katie: Oh, I get it. You're saying "Eh, no. Don't think so."
Well, think a little more and when you find yourself weak with hunger and with a tray of melted tomatoes, maybe you'll give it a try. :)

ZM said...

Wahoo! But we're Vegemite people over here.

Off to cook the hell out of some homegrown 'matoes. Thanks for the suggestion!

Anonymous said...

Ohmagod is right. Hot damn, that sandwich looks amazing!

GollyGumDrops said...

I'm drowning in green tomatoes, it just hasn't been warm enough for ripening.

I do feel I have step in and say Vegemite is so not the same as Marmite!

cookiecrumb said...

Mama: I fear I've trod onto Vegemite-vs.-Marmite territory here. I mean no harm. No sir, not a partisan blog.
But yeah, go cook the hell out of some maters. :)

Leena: How could such a slag-pile of melted tomatoes on toast look SO-O-O good? I'm glad I dreamed it up.

GollyGumDrops: No, I don't think they're the same either. But when you've been culturally deprived of BOTH (we just don't get it in America, I guess), you sort of think of them both as brown, smelly, yeasty goo in a jar.
(I'm *thisclose* to frying green tomatoes.)

ChrisB said...

CC hoorah glad you are now firmly in the 'love it' camp!!

Beccy said...

Anything with that special ingredient and I'm a fan!

cookiecrumb said...

ChrisB: I love it, yes. And I'm experimenting with it, baby steps...

Beccy: Of course you would find this post! To tell the truth, I have to portion out my encounters with the special ingredient. I'm new at it, and don't want to overdo it and then recoil. So far, so goodie good.