Helloooo Fargo and a recipe for Slow Roasted Tomato Bacon Jam

Jake and I are slowly orienting ourselves to Fargo-Moorhead.

Moving absurdities
While our belongings lagged behind in Minneapolis, Jake and I spent our first evening in Fargo, exhausted.  Eating chicken wings and drinking boxed wine on a strange bedspread.

Our new home is filled with boxes of all sizes.  These boxes are stacked to the ceiling in every room and corner.  It seems that I spend the majority of my time frazzled.  In our dark, lampless rooms, I crash into randomly placed chairs, boxes, and unassembled tables.

Each box is filled with paper.  Lots of paper.  Each item, regardless of its size, is wrapped in giant sheets of paper.  I spend hours unwrapping giant wads of paper containing a single Tupperware lid or a nearly empty peanut jar.  We would give anything to locate our shower curtain and phone chargers.

We are without Internet until Monday, so I frantically drive around town searching for coffee shops with parking, food, and bandwidth fast enough to download pictures.  Any pictures.  Please, just one picture.  And I thank God for Atomic Coffee.

In the evening and early morning, I receive strange looks from my neighbors as I bundle up in layers and sit on our balcony, searching for random Internet signals.

My heart pangs each time I automatically punch the button on my car radio set for The Current.  The last time this happened, I scanned for the next available station and heard “All That She Wants” by Ace of Base.  My tears dried a little.

Not that I mean to complain.  Jake’s company generously relocated us to Fargo and we are trying to patiently tackle the absurdities and challenges that accompany the moving process.

Currently, at the High Plains Reader, I am attempting to make connections with local foodies, bring in new voices, schedule established voices, and foster diversity, acceptance, and knowledge of all food cultures.

If you live in the Fargo-Moorhead and love food or are a local producer that supplies food to the community, I want to connect with you.

On October 13th, 2011, the High Plains Reader published my recipe for Slow Roasted Tomato Bacon Jam as follows below (with more pictures of the cooking process):

Slow Roasted Tomato Bacon Jam

Tomatoes linger to the end of our growing season. Though tomatoes may be petering from your own garden, they are still readily available at the farmers markets. Now that it’s nearing the end of fall, you may be experiencing tomato fatigue. After all, how many variations of tomato soup, spaghetti sauce, and salsa do you really want to stomach? Tomatoes may be nearing their winter hiatus, but that doesn’t eliminate the supply you may have jarred.

Place the tomato halves on the greased sheet pan, cut side up. Drizzle with oil and sprinkle with pepper. Roast for approximately two hours. The tomatoes should be shriveled yet juicy.  You can easily remove the flesh from its skin, or leave as is.

In the pot, sauté the onion until translucent.  Add the chopped garlic and stir until fragrant but not brown.

Add the coffee, vinegar, sweetener, hot sauce, roasted tomatoes, and extra black pepper to taste.  Re-incorporate the rendered bacon and stir. Taste and adjust to your preferences.

Gently simmer the mixture for two hours or until most of the liquid is reduced. If the mixture dries-up too quickly, you may add water.

In small batches, pulse the mixture in a blender or food processor until you like the texture.  Place in a container and store in your refrigerator. This recipe makes about 12 oz. of jam.