Tomatoes!!!
- Thread starter beskinny
- Start date
JeanneMarie
Cathlete
We have a lot of home grown tomatoes too! I give them out to my friends and neighbors! They love it!
I absolutely LOVE home grown tomatoes. I could actually live off of those alone I think!
I absolutely LOVE home grown tomatoes. I could actually live off of those alone I think!
banslug
Cathlete
Somebody from these forums suggested to me last year, when I asked this same question, to freeze them whole, as-is. Wrap them up really well in plastic wrap and place in your freezer. When you want to use them, just run the tomato (out of the plastic wrap) under warm water and the skin will peel right off. Chop and use. They are PERFECT in soups, stews, chilis and any other dish that needs to be baked. I swear, I doubted you could do this, but I did and IT WORKS!
Gayle
Gayle
gettingfitmom
Cathlete
Here is a goos salsa recipe. Easy but time consuming:
12 C. chopped tomatoes(skins offlace tomatoes in hot water for about 45 seconds,remove and place in cold water,skins should peel right off)
Chopped onions and sweet peppers(as much as you like up to 10 C.)
1C. apple cider vinegar
2TBS> honey
Parsley
4 cloves garlic (chopped)
3 hot peppers, chopped(if deisired)
1 smallcan tomato paster (to thicken)
Add all indredients to large pot. Bring to slow boil. Ladle into jars(i don't heat the jars, I heat the lids) place lids on jars, invert 5 minutes(my mom's secret) and turn upright. allow to sit about one week. Enjoy. The time consuming part is all the chopping, but this is an excellent recipe.
Try it and let me know what you think
12 C. chopped tomatoes(skins off
lace tomatoes in hot water for about 45 seconds,remove and place in cold water,skins should peel right off)Chopped onions and sweet peppers(as much as you like up to 10 C.)
1C. apple cider vinegar
2TBS> honey
Parsley
4 cloves garlic (chopped)
3 hot peppers, chopped(if deisired)
1 smallcan tomato paster (to thicken)
Add all indredients to large pot. Bring to slow boil. Ladle into jars(i don't heat the jars, I heat the lids) place lids on jars, invert 5 minutes(my mom's secret) and turn upright. allow to sit about one week. Enjoy. The time consuming part is all the chopping, but this is an excellent recipe.
Try it and let me know what you think
gettingfitmom
Cathlete
I did freeze alot last year. works great but they are mushy when thawed.
bostonwendy
Cathlete
you must be far, far from new england! its a bummer, the local tomatoes have been doing terribly due to all the rain we had this spring and summer.
I second blanching and removing the skins before freezing. if you freeze them whole, as is, they will defrost quite mushy anyway (as someone else mentioned) so to me it makes more sense to do the work up front. I would blanch, remove the skins, and then freeze some chopped and some pureed lightly in the food processor. This way you have them in different forms as called for in diffferent recipes. I like to freeze in plastic bags rather than containers so that I can freeze flat and then stack to save space. Also, when flat I find things defrost very quickly!
Besides freezing, here is a recipe from Ina Garten I love that uses a bunch of fresh tomatoes. Her cooking is not known for being low fat/low cal but this recipe happens to be healthier just by nature of the fresh ingredients. I just use less cheese than she calls and half the olive oil. no one misses the oil and ppl can put more cheese on at the table if they desire (just not me!).
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/pasta-with-sun-dried-tomatoes-recipe/index.html
I second blanching and removing the skins before freezing. if you freeze them whole, as is, they will defrost quite mushy anyway (as someone else mentioned) so to me it makes more sense to do the work up front. I would blanch, remove the skins, and then freeze some chopped and some pureed lightly in the food processor. This way you have them in different forms as called for in diffferent recipes. I like to freeze in plastic bags rather than containers so that I can freeze flat and then stack to save space. Also, when flat I find things defrost very quickly!
Besides freezing, here is a recipe from Ina Garten I love that uses a bunch of fresh tomatoes. Her cooking is not known for being low fat/low cal but this recipe happens to be healthier just by nature of the fresh ingredients. I just use less cheese than she calls and half the olive oil. no one misses the oil and ppl can put more cheese on at the table if they desire (just not me!).
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/pasta-with-sun-dried-tomatoes-recipe/index.html
kathryn
Cathlete
Do you have a dehydrator? If so, you can make your own 'sun-dried' tomatoes.
Romas work best, but any 'meaty' tomato will be good.
Slice the tomatoes into even slices about 1/4 inch thick.
Remove as much of the seed bed as you can.
Prepare marinade: (this quantity is for 6# of tomatoes)
3 Tbsps olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 tsp sea salt
1 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
2 1/2 tsp dried Italian seasoning
(I recommend going lighter on the seasonings, then tasting. The marinade should be a bit light on garlic and salt flavor, as it will become more concentrated when dehydrated)
Stir tomatoes and marinade together until coated and let marinade overnight or 6-8 hours.
Put on non-stick sheets in dehydrator and dry about 8-10 hours at 105 degrees.
Romas work best, but any 'meaty' tomato will be good.
Slice the tomatoes into even slices about 1/4 inch thick.
Remove as much of the seed bed as you can.
Prepare marinade: (this quantity is for 6# of tomatoes)
3 Tbsps olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 tsp sea salt
1 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
2 1/2 tsp dried Italian seasoning
(I recommend going lighter on the seasonings, then tasting. The marinade should be a bit light on garlic and salt flavor, as it will become more concentrated when dehydrated)
Stir tomatoes and marinade together until coated and let marinade overnight or 6-8 hours.
Put on non-stick sheets in dehydrator and dry about 8-10 hours at 105 degrees.
kathryn
Cathlete
You can also make raw soups with tomato as a base (gazpacho is the best known, but if you do a web search for 'raw tomato soup', you can find quite a few recipes.
Here's a recipe I used from Vitamix that makes a V-8 like drink (or soup, if you reduce the ice cubes---I've actually made it without ice cubes, just adding as much water as needed to make the consistency I wanted). If you don't have a high-powered blender like a Vitamix or Blendtec, the carrots might not work well (at least not unless you grind them up first in a food processor).
"Garden Fresh Cocktail" Makes about 1 3/4 cups (if you double or triple the recipe, don't double the salt and spices. Start with about 1 1/2 times, then taste and adjust as needed).
Blend together until smooth:
1 cup fresh tomatoes
1/2 cup spinach
1/4 c carrots
1 Tbsp onion (I often use onion powder--about 1/3 the quantity of fresh onion---as it tastes a bit less raw)
1 sprig parsley
1/4 c bell pepper (red..if you mix red and green, it makes an unpleasant color, and green peppers are unripe anyway)
dash of salt
1 cup ice cubes (I just used cold water)
(you can also add 1/8 tsp hot sauce if you like it spicey).
Here's a recipe I used from Vitamix that makes a V-8 like drink (or soup, if you reduce the ice cubes---I've actually made it without ice cubes, just adding as much water as needed to make the consistency I wanted). If you don't have a high-powered blender like a Vitamix or Blendtec, the carrots might not work well (at least not unless you grind them up first in a food processor).
"Garden Fresh Cocktail" Makes about 1 3/4 cups (if you double or triple the recipe, don't double the salt and spices. Start with about 1 1/2 times, then taste and adjust as needed).
Blend together until smooth:
1 cup fresh tomatoes
1/2 cup spinach
1/4 c carrots
1 Tbsp onion (I often use onion powder--about 1/3 the quantity of fresh onion---as it tastes a bit less raw)
1 sprig parsley
1/4 c bell pepper (red..if you mix red and green, it makes an unpleasant color, and green peppers are unripe anyway)
dash of salt
1 cup ice cubes (I just used cold water)
(you can also add 1/8 tsp hot sauce if you like it spicey).
hriacobacci
Cathlete
You can also use your oven on the lowest temp to dehydrate. It might take longer than using a true dehydrator, but this is how we do it. Also, we just add a tiny bit of salt and nothing else. So it can be as easy as slicing, placing on cooling racks on top of sheet trays, light salt and let them sit in the oven, or spice and flavor as you wish. YUM!
Heather
Heather