Poems for the heart, Tomatoes for the body
Poetry pop-up shop is open! Plus, easy roasted tomatoes
The Poetry Pop-up Shop is open!
In the shop you’ll find:
Lineage of Heartbeats, my hand-bound chapbook with poems of land, food, body, and love
Only Then, a hand-set letterpress poem printed on gorgeous cotton paper
Fill up your cart (and heart!) with poems in the shop.
It’s open now through Saturday, October 5th.
Every chapbook and letterpress poem sold will support my trip to Ireland for an eight day immersion in stories of landscape, culture, music, activism, and community. I believe in the power of stories and poems to nourish us just as ripe tomatoes and fresh bread nourishes us. I believe that each word can be a seed that holds a spark of connection.
Here’s a poem from Lineage of Heartbeats, one that I hope will bring you a sense of nourishment:
Sustenance
Here, have this ripe tomato,
I grew it for you – taste the sun
in its flesh, hear the hum
of bees that danced
the flowers into fruit
And look at the color!
Blush pink like my cheeks
after pruning for hours,
feel the plump weight
in the open palm
of your hand —
How marvelous is this world
where a single seed transforms
soil into sustenance, vines to flowers to
fruit, juice rolling down our cheeks
On the note of tomatoes, it’s roasting season!
Our favorite way to preserve the tomato harvest is slow-roasting and then freezing them. I came across this method years ago on A Way To Garden, when Margaret Roach interviewed cookbook author Alana Chernilla. We’ve been enjoying the smell and warmth of tomatoes and garlic every September since.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, then line with halved or quartered tomatoes. Keep it simple with olive oil, salt and pepper. Or drizzle some balsamic vinegar, add sliced onions and basil. Whatever calls to you, add it.
Alana calls for a low, slow roast, but I often have so many tomatoes to process that I set the oven 325º and roast for 1-2 hours, depending on the tomato type (longer for juicy slicers, shorter for paste).
Roast until the juices have released, the edges are dried, and the whole kitchen smells like the most delicious sauce. Let cool, then transfer the tomatoes to a freezer bag, label and freeze.
Eat them up all winter.
One of my favorite ways to use roasted tomatoes is to puree them with an immersion blender, add a little parmesan cheese, and pour over noodles.
The Poetry Pop-up Shop is open Saturday, September 21 through Saturday, October 5.
Check out the shop and nourish yourself with poetry. Thank you so much for your support!