Fresh tomatoes?

[cristeen]

I know it's a bit early in the season for most of you still, but these have started making an appearance in our CSA box this week. Large, ripe, fresh heirloom tomatoes. Not enough of them at once to can, but too many for the 2 of us to be able to get through before they rot. What on earth can I do with them? I have about 3 pounds this week and will be getting another 2-5 lbs every other week through the end of the season, it looks like.

Obviously using them all fresh is not going to be feasible... so do I freeze half every week until I have enough to can (I don't have a pressure canner)? Do I turn them into something? Obviously some of them will be eaten as is - but we'll get sick of them really quick if we're eating them every night.

What are your favorite recipes to use up fresh tomatoes?

[crunchy_mama]

I would probably be making a pan of spaghetti sauce and freezing it!

You are so lucky! No tomatoes here and we don't even have a CSA in this area. My own plants don't have any fruit yet, although some people have some, I got mine small though. I have beautiful brandywine and a black krim though ,,,mmmm!

[cristeen]

Nobody else has any thoughts on tomatoes?

[rainbowmoon]

I would make small batches of spagetti/pizza sauce and freeze it! 8-12 tomatoes are all you need to make a medium batch.

If they are going to go bad just cut them up and freeze them until you have enough.

You could also make salsa in small batches to freeze for later.

Sundried tomatoes (you can make them in your oven).

Share them w/ friends!

[Alyantavid]

I have not had fresh tomatoes since the last of mine last summer. They sound so good right now!

Last year, I roasted a huge pan of them with garlic and then froze them. I used those in recipes in place of canned tomatoes. And I froze them in cut up pieces as well. Spaghetti sauce is good and you can freeze in smaller portions.

[lil_earthmomma]

I love tomatoes. They are my favorite veggie. (Ok ok, I know they're a fruit, but they're so veggie like! )

I would also be making sauce. And soup for the freezer.

I would eat them fresh every day, but that's because I already do that when I can.

I love them in salads, I love just slicing them up and eating them. I really REALLY love garden tomatoes in cream. (Sounds weird, but try it! It was my great grandfathers favorite dessert!)

[425lisamarie]

I'm getting tomatoes too. I've LOVE them in cottage cheese wtih salt and pepper, maybe cucumber, too.

Yesterday I baked my spaghetti squash and then made a quickly cooked tomato sauce to preserve the fresh tomato flavor with just chopped tomato a little EVOO and garlic...oh and basil

I like to make salsa, too

[Magelet]

Wow, tomatoes already? yum. well, I would make spaghetti sauce and freeze some, and salsa, and lots and lots and lots of sliced tomatoes with balsamic and olive oil and salt and pepper. I would if I had a huge surplus, perhaps invite my friendly local midwifery student study buddy/friend over to eat tomatoes

maybe a stew with tomatoes? (chicken or meat), chicken cooked in marinara, stuffed tomatoes, roasted tomatoes (or grilled)

Honestly, I'd make spagetti sauce, and can it. It might only be a couple of jars, but slowly that will add up to marinara for the whole year. I would go mild on the seasoning, so it can become any kind (even pizza sauce) with some reheating. Then I'd enjoy the surplus with tons of tomatoes with balsamic and olive oil, and then if I had more, I'd give a few to friends, or freeze them. (ok, and make salsa, since my bf is a total salsa hound.)

[HappiLeigh]

I'd freeze rather than can. A great big heirloom tomato could be the equivalent of a can of diced tomatoes to use next winter in a recipe, if you just chopped it up and froze it with all the juices. I'd also turn tomatoes into snacks--avocado and tomato slices on toast, quick bruschetta with nothing more than chopped tomatoes tossed with balsalmic vinegar salad dressing over toast and topped with cheese, quick salsa.

[cristeen]

Originally Posted by Magelet

Wow, tomatoes already? yum. well, I would make spaghetti sauce and freeze some, and salsa, and lots and lots and lots of sliced tomatoes with balsamic and olive oil and salt and pepper. I would if I had a huge surplus, perhaps invite my friendly local midwifery student study buddy/friend over to eat tomatoes

LOL! I'm free Thurs and Fri during the day - not sure they'll last that long though.

I used 2 in a fresh tomato/mozz/cuke salad and 1 for a snack with some bacon. But I still have I think 4 and they're starting to turn already - they were REALLY ripe when I got them. I'm actually debating adding another box to my order so that I'm getting summer fruits every week instead of every other - none of them will really last the full 2 weeks. Which will just increase my tomatoes, of course.

I'll probably start dehydrating when I start getting cherry tomatoes - but the roasted with garlic sounds great. And some really simple canning/freezing of sauce would probably be great for when I want DH to toss something together after baby arrives.

[Magelet]

sounds good. I'd love to get together again, tomatos or not. I think I'm free friday.... email me or give me a call or I will ok?

[katiesk]

salad with tomatoes, basil, fresh mozzarella and balsamic vinegar and olive oil.

salsa!

pasta salad with lots of tomatoes and other veggies

[BetsyS]

I'm so jealous! I love tomatoes, and ours are never ready before July. I'm missing them terribly now.

I add them to eggs, either in omelets or just mixed into scrambled eggs with a little bit of cheese. Sometimes onions and peppers, most often just cheese and tomatoes.

You can cut them up and eat them with tuna, chicken salad, or cottage cheese for lunch. Salads, either with lettuce or my favorite, tomatoes with cucumbers and onions. Tomato sandwiches (lots of tomato sandwiches). If you get tired of tomato sandwiches (usually by late August, I'm over them), then you can do grilled cheese with tomatoes for variety. Or BLTs.

For supper, I can put them in anything. Pasta sauce (of course), both that raw sauce and spaghetti sauce. Cooked into a sauce for meatloaf. Into soups. In gumbo. Cut them up for tacos or taco salad or tostadas or any Mexican food. Into curries. Pepper steak. On hamburgers. Cherry tomatoes are good grilled. Stuffed and filled tomatoes as a side dish. Tomato gravy. Stewed tomatoes (the one with bread). Panzanella. Chilaquiles. Salsa. Enchiladas.

If you can talk to your CSA, ask for some green ones later in the season for fried green tomatoes. Tomato pie (that one in a pie crust with cheese). Pizza. Caprese salad. Bruschetta. Cornbread salad. Mixed into that black bean/corn salad. In macaroni and cheese. Gazpacho. Warm tomato soup. Homemade hamburger helper (skillet type meal). Tamale pie (uses tomatoes, then topped with salsa--heavy tomato meal). Chicken cacciatore. Okra and tomatoes (my favorite!) Okra, corn, and tomatoes (for a bit of a variation). Okra and tomatoes can be served over rice for a complete meal.

Swiss steak. Into hash of any sort. Sliced on the side of any meal. My dad eats tomato aspic, but this isn't something we enjoy. . Sloppy joes.

We love some tomatoes! When they are making, we eat them 2-3 times a day until they are done. It's a fabulous 2 or 3 months, and then it's over. And, I mourn the loss until next year (I do can tomatoes, and we love those, but not quite as well as the ripe ones).

[Alyantavid]

Bruschetta.

Oh I think I blocked that from my memory! I ate so much bruschetta last summer and can't wait for more. Just garlic, onions and tomatoes sauteed and topped with cheese.