Favorite Vegetable To Grow - LOH Contest # 81

Image from private file of @mers

Tomatoes amaze me every time I grow them, no matter what variety... They are my favorite vegetables. Whether in pots or in soil, they are nature's gift to all gardeners. I pick them freshly when they are ripe and use them in salads.

Successful gardening in pots

Container gardening has become a passion. Each season I grew my own tomatoes, in particular, cherry tomatoes. Year after year, I get 3 varieties and see the difference in each of their tastes. I had been successful in growing them in the past even if only in pots. I Used to have a garden 2 years ago... we moved to a flat in a newly built complex near the Donau-Auen National Park and this is my second season to plant them.

Image from private file of @mers

My Favorite veggie, cherry tomato...

In our former house, the top terrace had been used for my container gardening because as I have said in my many posts, I preferred to have the veggies in pots, placing them on the rooftop terrace where the slugs could not reach them. My recipe is called Garlic Roasted Tomatoes that serves as antipasti. We also use this to top a dark bread or Baguette. I have been making this again and again because it is delish and we love it!

Note: Below is the process on how I roast the cherry tomatoes. This recipe was published 5 years ago and underneath is the "source" of my blog where it was posted .

Garlic Roasted Cherry Tomatoes Source

Ingredients:

800 grams cherry tomatoes, washed and dried-up
3 cloves of crushed garlic
1/2 tsp dried thymes
1/2 tsp dried basil
2 leaves bayleaf, each cut half
1 tbsp soy sauce
1/3 cup olive oil
salt & pepper
1 pinch of fine sugar

How to roast:

Preheat the oven to 200°C.

1...
Line an oven tray with baking parchment/sheet.
Arrange the tomatoes on the tray, add the crushed garlic,
sprinkle the olive oil on top of the tomatoes and add the rest of the ingredients.
I use my hand to mix everything so that all other ingredients coat the tomatoes.

2...
Place the oven tray on the lowest rack of the oven and roast tomatoes in the preheated
oven with temperature of 200°C for the first 20 minutes,
then reduce heat to 180°C and roast for another 30 minutes turning tomatoes every
now and then. the skin should get crumpled as in the pic below.

3...
Remove the bay leaf and place the tomatoes in the sterilized jar, add the olive oil just to cover the tomatoes. Close the lid tightly and store in the refrigerator. Once opened, consumed within 3-4 days.

2nd Season of Container Gardening in 2022 (In my new home)

This is my second season of container gardening in the new flat and recently, I have gotten various newbies namely; 1 cherry tomato, 1 Beefsteak tomato, and a variety called Prince Borghese and all were planted in pots in our 16 sqm balcony.

I always have a good feeling whenever I see the potted plants growing everyday. Now at the moment, the cherry tomato has buds and flowers already as well as the cucumber with those tiny cukes thriving. Also one of the three peppers has buds now.

I have posted my garden journal where you can see the spices I planted in my container garden for your reference here.. And another tomato recipe can also be found here.

Many thanks to @elizabethbit for suggesting the contest theme of favorite vegetable to grow. And in this post, I would like to reach out to @sisterhood2 to join the challenges of the Ladies of Hive Community.

All images in this post are owned by me, @mers including the sourced ones.

GIF by @gremayo