What to do with ALL these tomatoes????

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banslug

Cathlete
OK.....I've got TONS of tomatoes fresh from my garden. I mean TONS! What was I thinking, planting 9 tomato plants when I KNOW they get huge and plentiful? LOL

I've been eating grilled cheese and tomato sandwiches, tomato pizza on flatbread, and tomatoes in my tossed salads. BUT NOW WHAT?

Anybody make homemade salsa?
Anything else?

As clean as possible, too?

TIA!

Gayle
 
I am not exactly sure how to make homemade salsa, but it is great. I am sure you can google it. Be careful once you make it, you just might run out of tomatoes.

Kelli
 
Hi Gayle! Too bad you couldn't have brought them on the road-trip, table 11 could've used them!!!;-)

No really.....

I'm w/Kelli. If you like salsa you could always make it and freeze it!
 
Well, depending on how ambitious you are ... You can freeze or can tomotoes. You can make scalloped tomatoes .. yummm. Stewed tomatoes. Macaroni and tomatoes. Tomato juice. Salsas are great- fresh, canned or frozen! Tomato and cucumber/onion salad. Broiled tomatoes with mozzarella cheese. Just sprinkle with a little salt and eat out-of-hand. Lasagna with tomatoes and eggplant and zukes. Slow-roasted tomatoes can be frozen for a kiss of summer later in the year. Deb
 
I'm about to have this same issue. I actually only have one plant but it is bursting with tons of roma tomatoes and they're all about to be ripe at the same time. I think I might start giving mine away to friends but I'm also going to make some kind of salsa with them and the jalapenos from my also very busy jalapeno plant.


***Lainie***

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You could also make some no-cook marinara-type sauce to toss with pasta. I've done this in the past. I think it's pretty much just throwing some tomatoes in a blender with a bit of olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, and italian seasonings and pureeing it, then throw in another one at the end to add some good chunks to it. Toss it with the pasta and add some mozzarella and/or parmesan and you're good to go!

Mmm...now I'm hungry.
 
What a timely post, Gayle! My neighbor just handed me a BUCKET of tomatoes from his garden tonight. Last week he gave me a big bowl of plum tomatoes that I used up.

I ate - 1/2 of a chopped cucumber + 3 chopped plum tomatoes + 1/4 chopped avocado + 1 tablespoon of Newman's Light Caesar dressing (I mixed it up the night before and let it set). Delicious and I used them all up this way! But now I need some new ideas because I'm getting a little sick of it, lol. :)

Kathy G
 
...or gazpacho. You can find recipes all over the net, and what a delicious way to get a lot of veggies in, especially when you are on salad overload.
 
You talented gardeners! I have 8 plants and a handful of tomatoes. My gardening skills are hopeless.

On the rare occassions that I find myself with a couple more than I can use, I freeze them. Wash them off well and wrap them individually in plastic wrap. Put a couple in a freezer zip lock bag. When you want one, take it out of the freezer, unwrap it and hold it under hot tap water. The skin will peel off and you can use it like a canned tomato.
 
Here's a no-cook pasta sauce using fresh tomatoes. You can use any kind of tomato for this cherry, plum, beefsteak, whatevah. The fresher, the better.

Warning - I don't measure when I cook, so some amounts are approximate :)

- A bunch of tomatoes, coarsely chopped, equaling maybe 3-4 cups (I don't bother peeling)
- 6 oz jar of marinated artichoke hearts with the liquid
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (to taste)
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1/4 cup cheese, any kind feta, Parmesan, Asagio, etc

Pour the liquid from the artichokes into a serving bowl. Chop the artichoke hearts and add those. Add in the tomatoes, garlic, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper.

Toss with hot pasta (any shape) and add cheese.
 
My boyfriend's parents have been loading me up with fresh garden tomatoes, and I made some bruschetta the other day.

Preheat oven or toaster oven to 400.

Chop 2 large tomatoes and 1/2 of a small, sweet onion (like a Vidalia). Toss with 2 tb extra virgin olive oil, 1 tb balsamic vinegar, 1 tsp basil, 1 tsp parsley and 1 tsp oregano.

Spoon tomato mixture onto slices of a whole wheat baguette brushed with a bit of olive oil and lightly dusted in garlic salt. Top with about 1 tb of fresh parmesan cheese.

Bake in oven or toaster oven at 400 for about 8-10 minutes. Delicious!
 
Chop some up with avocado and onion and seasoning. Can be a dip or a salad.
Make gazpacho.
Cut a tomato in half, spread with mustard, and broil (best with yellow tomatoes---I came up with this when imagiining a healthier version of 'fried green tomatoes.'
If you have a dehydrator, you can dry them for future use.
Give some away. I took some to my vet's office, and they were happy to get them.
 
Robin that's a great idea, I don't know why I never thought to freeze tomatoes. Can you slice and dice then freeze???

I would love to freeze tomatoes instead of canning. There are days when it is just too hectic.

Carrie


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Send them to me!!!!

Make a tomato tart, tomato sandwich, tomato pudding, salade caprese, salade caprese sandwich, tomato sauce for pasta, tomato sauce for pizza, pizza marghereta, grilled with other veggies, gazpacho, cream of tomato soup, chopped in veggie soup, homemade ketchup, tomato juice, on sandwiches & burgers, by themselves or with salt & pepper or olive oil and balsamic, baked with herbs and bread crumbs, stuffed with rice & veggies (or meat, if you eat it)..

I LOVE TOMATOES!!!!!!!!

and now I'm hungry.
 
I say go for the salsa! This is the recipe I use:

3-4 tomatoes
6 green onions
3 cloves of garlic
1 T lime juice
4 oz can of jalapenos
4 oz can of olives
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
I mix all the ingredients in a food processor and add salt and pepper to taste...:)
 
Well, I just got done in the kitchen after an hour of tomato-making LOL So far, I've made a big batch of salsa, and now I have Artichoke-stuffed Tomatoes baking in the overn. I'll share that recipe if they turn out as good as they LOOK! YUMMY!

Tonight, I think I'll be roasting a big batch (that's my favorite way of eating them from my garden).

THANKS for all the ideas and recipes! I'll keep ya posted!

Gayle
 
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