On my weekly visits to the Palo Alto Farmer's Market, I always stock up on tomatoes when they're in season. My favorites are the varied heirloom tomatoes available from Full Belly Farm and other organic farmers. But recently I started making a point of always stopping by the Molino Creek Farm table, which is usually all the way at the back of the middle aisle; they sell right out of the side of a two-tone brown and white van. Not only are their tomatoes reliably good, but also the ladies selling them are very friendly and pleasant. Molino Creek also sells at the farmer's markets in Santa Cruz (Wednesday afternoons), Aptos / Cabrillo College (Saturday mornings), and Campbell (Sunday mornings); beyond these venues, the produce can be found at Whole Foods, New Leaf Markets, and other local grocery stores.
The Molino Creek tomatoes are not heirlooms, but are grown using a "dry farming" technique which only uses moisture naturally occurring in the soil:
We have specialized in dry farmed tomatoes since 1982. Dry farming utilizes soil moisture from the prior winters rain as the only irrigation. The advantages are concentrated flavor with a sugar/acid balance many people rave about. The disadvantages are thicker skins, smaller and fewer fruit with increased disease pressure due to water stress. Difficult to grow, yes, but worth it for the exceptional flavor.
Huh, you can grow tomatoes without watering them? Who knew? Molino Creek offers two varieties of tomatoes, red and pink. The pink ones are sweeter, less tart, juicy, and very flavorful (not that the red ones aren't good too -- the pink ones are just more mellow).
This weekend the Molino Creek ladies were passing out a recipe for roasted tomato preserves (because these gems will only be available until Thanksgiving, after which they will only be a fond foodie memory until next summer). I may try this recipe if I can excavate my freezer to make some room for it. My excuse is that I'm waiting for a team of paleontologists from Stanford who have been wanting to come by to examine the fossilized remains of a fruit fly that was trapped in the ice sometime during the Mesozoic era, or maybe sometime after Sears delivered the freezer.
E Z Roasted Tomatoes Frozen Preserves
10 lb. Molino Creek tomatoes
olive oil
peeled garlic cloves
herbs of choiceWash tomatoes. Halve or quarter them and place in baking pans. Drizzle with olive oil and scatter garlic on them.
Roast uncovered in 250-degree oven for 2 hours. After 1 hour, stir and mash with spoon. Add fresh herbs (basil, oregano, cilantro, or whatever suits).
After 2-4 hours, let cool in oven. Spoon into small freezer containers or Ziplock freezer bags. Note: if you roll the bag, you can slice rounds off later like cookie dough.
Source: Molino Creek Farming Collective
Molino Creek Farm
301 Molino Creek Farm Rd.
Davenport, CA 95017
831-818-2137 (ask for Joe Curry)
Comments