What to do with all the tomatoes
If you love tomatoes, this is the best time of year. With our wacky weather patterns, not every region has fab tomatoes this season, but still – it’s TOMATO TIME.
Things we love to do with lots of tomatoes…
Eat them * There’s nothing like warm, ripe tomatoes from the vine. Okay, wash them first. Please. But yum. This is the best reason to grow cherry or grape or pear tomatoes. There are always plenty of ripe ones left for salad even after you’ve snacked on the vine.
Quick and easy * Sandwiches and salads are the defaults, aren’t they?
- Put sliced tomatoes in sandwiches. Use whole-grain or flourless bread, or whole-wheat pitas. Fill with all your favorite veggies – cucumbers, avocado, alfalfa sprouts, spinach, arugula, etc. Add soy bacon or turkey bacon (no nitrites or nitrates, please!) once in awhile. Serve with a soy or turkey or portobello burger.
- Add tomatoes to salads – or make a salad of tomatoes. Sliced tomatoes (any size or shape) drizzled with balsamic vinaigrette or reduced balsamic vinegar (syrup) are delish. We like to serve tomato halves stuffed with tuna salad, mock tuna salad, chicken salad, or eggless salad.
Freeze them * Some people can tomatoes – more power to them. If you love canning, and you do it right, it’s a wonderful way to save the bounty for the coming winter. We’re lazy – we freeze them.
- Score the blossom end with a small X, and then blanch them for about 1 minute to remove the peel.
- To seed them, cut across in half (equator cut, if that helps) and squeeze to release most of the seeds.
- Give them a rough chop and toss into a freezer weight zipper bag.
- We like to lay the produce bags flat to freeze them, and then stand them up in a cardboard shoe box like files. So easy to find what you’re looking for in the middle of February.
Roast them * The best. And you can freeze the roasted tomatoes, too (see above). Roasting works best with Roma (also called plum) tomatoes.
- Score the blossom end with a small X, and then blanch them for about 1 minute to remove the peel.
- Cut them in quarters lengthwise (pole cut, if that helps).
- Lay the quartered tomatoes on a parchment lined, rimmed baking sheet. Use the parchment because the acid of the tomatoes reacts with the metal pan, and changes the flavor.
- Cut a bunch of garlic cloves into slivers. Insert one sliver into the seedy part of each tomato quarter.
- Lightly drizzle the whole pan with extra-virgin olive oil.
- Sprinkle with a little sea salt and freshly ground pepper.
- Roast at 425F for 20-30 minutes, or until the tomatoes have blackened edges. Cool on the baking sheet. To freeze for later use, put the tomatoes (with any juices) in freezer-weight zipper bags as described above. Or toss with hot pasta, carmelized onions, spinach and parsley chiffonade, and little non-dairy parmesan or nutritional yeast.
Photo by Linda DuBose
