BajaNomad

Bahia Asuncion Area NEED TOMATO PASTE?

DavidE - 4-10-2013 at 10:36 AM

I purchased a lot of made-in-USA tomato paste several days ago. 2-years to go 'till date of expiration. Got tired of making specialty dishes like spaghetti sauce without it.

I am going to repackage the paste in a few days (I am aware of correct food preparation and storage protocol) and then freeze the small packages. Freezing does not affect tomato paste. Double zip lock bags.

Whomever wants some let me know or drop into Mercado Miramar. Unless I share, this amount of tomato paste would last me until I turned 113.

motoged - 4-10-2013 at 11:58 AM

David,
So....keeping all that for yourself will let you live to be 113? I heard that cooked tomatoes were good for the prostate, but did not know they were THAT good for a guy's longevity :biggrin:

Good luck distributing your bonanza :coolup:

DavidE - 4-10-2013 at 12:12 PM

PROSTATE = EXERCISE!!!

One way is one kinda exercise the other is getting up 22 times in the middle of the night and going to the bathroom. Ya win no matter what!

But marinara or spaghetti sauce and pizza topping is eeeyuck without tomato paste. Many years ago when I visited Italy I learned some secrets. One is chefs do not simply boil down tomatoes, that's pure BS. They use lots of fresh tomatoes, and a glop of olive oil AND tomato paste. It was invented in Italy and for a reason. It has its own unique taste. The other thing is Parmesan cheese. The powder they sell here cannot hold a candle to fresh grated. Oregano has to be fresh. Same for ground pepper corns. Barilla espegetti only, in Mexico. Prepare some bolillos with butter, garlic and parmesan, in a broiler and MAMA MIA!

Hook - 4-10-2013 at 12:39 PM

What'd you buy, Dave? A case of the S & W paste? Probably from some Costco...............

I am in the same boat. A non-cook type took my request for a case of tomato paste when he was NOB. He figured if one case was good, two cases must be better. That was about 18 months ago and I still havent used up one case.

I'm with you. No tomato sauce has rich enough tomato flavor unless you use some tomato paste.

The other thing I learned recently that really improved the taste of my spaghetti sauce was to place homemade raw meatballs directly into the spaghetti sauce and then simmmer for about three hours. No more browning first and then adding near the end. The meat juices impart a middle ground that is difficult to duplicate with herbs, wine or tomato concoctions. I usually do about 12 in a big pot and I can still fish them out and use them for other things if I want.

BTW, paste is also good in chili. Good, American style chili has to be made, down here. The Mexican versions arent "tomatoey" enough, use nothing but ground beef and rarely have beans.

DavidE - 4-10-2013 at 12:56 PM

Never forget going through Uvalde Texas some 45 years ago. Got roadblocked by a cop who said "They're filming a John Wayne Western down the road a piece. Closed for 4 hours. Why dont'cha go to the country fair a few miles north?"

Wandered through steers, rhubarb pies (yum) hogs the size of pianos and came to the "Chili Contest". Good God Almighty! One was hotter than the next. I was drowning in orange soda. Then came a guy in a suit holding a microphone.

"Well young man where are you from? I was wearing a Fillmore West T Shirt. "What do you think of REAL TEXAS STYLE CHILI, you being from California and all?"

"Well, what I think is, it would be real easy to hide lousy cooking behind too much hot chili"

They damned near escorted me off the grounds.

Mexitron - 4-10-2013 at 01:18 PM

LOL!
I've been using a can each of crushed tomatoes and tomato sauce (rather than paste) for my marinara...seems to be fine but I'll try the paste next time to taste the difference

bacquito - 4-10-2013 at 01:18 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by motoged
David,
So....keeping all that for yourself will let you live to be 113? I heard that cooked tomatoes were good for the prostate, but did not know they were THAT good for a guy's longevity :biggrin:

Good luck distributing your bonanza :coolup:


If it is good for the prostate it is good for longevity!

Hook - 4-10-2013 at 01:23 PM

You had a point there, Dave. It's like some hot sauces like Dave's Kickarse, Arsereaper, Armageddon and others. What's the point, if your taste buds are seared?

"Course, most Texans dont want beans in their chili, either. I've had some good chili w/o beans...........but beans would have always made them better, IMO.

bacquito - 4-10-2013 at 01:23 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by DavidE
Never forget going through Uvalde Texas some 45 years ago. Got roadblocked by a cop who said "They're filming a John Wayne Western down the road a piece. Closed for 4 hours. Why dont'cha go to the country fair a few miles north?"

Wandered through steers, rhubarb pies (yum) hogs the size of pianos and came to the "Chili Contest". Good God Almighty! One was hotter than the next. I was drowning in orange soda. Then came a guy in a suit holding a microphone.

"Well young man where are you from? I was wearing a Fillmore West T Shirt. "What do you think of REAL TEXAS STYLE CHILI, you being from California and all?"

"Well, what I think is, it would be real easy to hide lousy cooking behind too much hot chili"

They damned near escorted me off the grounds.


:lol::lol: it has been many years since I was in Uvalde, in fact about 40 45 years. At that time I lived in the Lower Rio Grande Valley-lots of memories

Russ - 4-10-2013 at 01:29 PM

Speaking of tomatoes ....
I read that there are growers that are going back to the real thing because people like the real taste of a vine ripened tomato. I miss really good tomatoes.

[Edited on 4-10-2013 by Russ]

Hook - 4-10-2013 at 02:06 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Russ
Speaking of tomatoes ....
I read that there are growers that are going back to the real thing because people like the real taste of a vine ripened tomato. I miss really good tomatoes.

[Edited on 4-10-2013 by Russ]


I think it's mostly backyard growers and boutique growers, using nothing but heirloom stocks. Dont look for them in the vege bins at the supers any time soon. It is an amazing difference in flavor.

Tomatoes..........they're not just for ketchup any more. :lol:

Many of us had problems with our tomatoes this year, over here. Cold, damp winter, leaf wilt, mildews. Same goes for the squashes. I'm not going to plant toms and squashes until at least January next year.

You ought to give growing some heirlooms a try, Russ. Although you might be too close to the ocean. Probably a lot of salt in the air around you.

DavidE - 4-10-2013 at 02:32 PM

Grew tomatoes last year 200' away from the rollers in Asunción. I think they loved being pampered. Sprayed down the plant with domestic water every morning. Something weird. I put an over ripe whole tomato in the ground then 6'" of dirt. Then stomped on the mound to break open the tomato. Hocus-Pocus maybe but it's supposed to make for more, bigger, stronger, higher yielding plants. I could not prove the Hocus-Pocus bogus.

Udo - 4-10-2013 at 05:03 PM

David is right on about the richer tomato sauce is made with paste.

I'll be following in your footsteps in growing the tomatoes.:tumble:

durrelllrobert - 4-10-2013 at 07:43 PM

I only buy tomatoe paste in the tube. Amore brand imported from Italy and much more concentrated then the canned stuff and with a 4 year shelf life. Just squeeze out what I need. No waste like with the canned stuff.

[Edited on 4-11-2013 by durrelllrobert]

woody with a view - 4-10-2013 at 07:51 PM

grow heirloons only and you'll discover what a tomato really tastes like. the crap you buy in stores are picked green so they will ship safely. :barf:

Can You Get It to Rosarito?

Gypsy Jan - 4-10-2013 at 07:53 PM

I will gladly take it off your hands and use it!

DavidE - 4-11-2013 at 02:54 PM

An 8 pound can. Not a misprint. One can EIGHT pounds! I am going to do the gran abierto tonight and spoon portions into sandwich zip lock bags and freeze it.

When I make something and freeze it it tastes different than commercial stuff. This may sound a little scary or paranoid but I begin to wonder what "commercial" food is made out of?? Food that is supposedly nutritious but doesn't taste so hot.

One recommendation I can make about Asuncion earth: It needs A LOT of cow manure to make it right. Take a six-pack of coca-cola to the CARACOL dairy east of Vizcaino (there are signs to the right 12 miles out of town) drive to the gate, hand the guard an icy coca-cola and say "Esterico. Soy de Asuncion". 5 minute delay then you'll go traight ahead to the office. They'll load the stuff into bags and bring it right to you (more soda passed around).

Mix it 50-50 with Asuncion powdered sand, sprinkle a little 25-25-25 fertilizer in and mix it up to make you feel better and WOW! Whatever all this makes up is dynamite. I cut a huge bowl full of salad greens last night (my first) and the difference in taste between it and commercial stuff was shocking. Tip: Garden plants don't do so good in the wind, and salad greens seem to do just fine hiding behind a west facing wall. The reduced sunlight is more than offset by wind protection.

motoged - 4-11-2013 at 03:41 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by DavidE..... Tip: Garden plants don't do so good in the wind, and salad greens seem to do just fine hiding behind a west facing wall. The reduced sunlight is more than offset by wind protection.


David,
I appreciate your interests in food and food gardening. One question, though: How would salad greens do in front of an east-facing wall? :saint::biggrin:

[Edited on 4-11-2013 by motoged]

Mexitron - 4-11-2013 at 04:43 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by DavidE
Grew tomatoes last year 200' away from the rollers in Asunción. I think they loved being pampered. Sprayed down the plant with domestic water every morning. Something weird. I put an over ripe whole tomato in the ground then 6'" of dirt. Then stomped on the mound to break open the tomato. Hocus-Pocus maybe but it's supposed to make for more, bigger, stronger, higher yielding plants. I could not prove the Hocus-Pocus bogus.


Tomatoes are one of the most salt tolerant food crops. Seen them growing in the saline dump area in Gonzaga Bay and in a saltgrass infested sodic dry estuary in the Sisters. They love hot days and cool nights.

DavidE - 4-11-2013 at 05:00 PM

In Asuncion my opinion is after a week a blowing powder sand they would be playing Death Valley Days. Could be manageable I guess if the wind didn't hammer the plants too bad. But weekly removal of powder sand would be almost mandatory. Potatoes would be great as long as the nights stayed cool (potatoes grow when sap migrates from leaves and stems to potatoes at night when it's cool). The blowing sand would cover ground level buds and keep the spuds from going green (and poisonous) from sunlight. The roots would stay embedded in enriched soil. My spuds were so sweet they were spooky. A firehose type nozzle allows a fine spray to wash crud and salt off of leaves which to me is important. Watch the chipmunks because they burrow into ripening tomatoes to get at the seeds. Finer fishnet solves that issue.

It "seems" like the lavish use of dairy manure makes the difference in flavor. Commercially raised local fruits and veggies seem to get hosed with fertilizer only and there are some ingredients in the manure that are indispensable for a plant to produce superior product. After a year or so, the decomposing manure turns to pure compost. It's nice to dump a high percentage of esterico into the local soil and watch the fun. The intense (and that does not imply heat) sun seems to produce chlorophyll like crazy.

Also talked to a local hydrologist. It seems the area (Vizcaino) is lowering only minute fractions of an inch per year. He also joked and said a cucharita of rattlesnake poop will keep chipmunks and rabbits way away from a garden. So what do I do to get the ex-lax into a three foot diamondback?

Bajaboy - 4-11-2013 at 07:50 PM

Tomatoes grow at my place year round. I have them in a cinder block planter with the walls raised about 12 inches above the soil. My neighbors water them but that is about it. When I'm in town, I give them food and also deposit my coffee grounds as well. I also like to sit on the wall drinking a beer or three. They like it when I talk to them, too.:lol:

woody with a view - 4-11-2013 at 08:30 PM

your a good man....:rolleyes:

motoged - 4-11-2013 at 10:37 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by DavidE
I.....So what do I do to get the ex-lax into a three foot diamondback?



Sneak up on that wascal fwom behind.... vewy vewy carefuwy :lol:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bb11Tz3xVKY

[Edited on 4-12-2013 by motoged]