It’s that time of year. Tomatoes coming out your ears.
If you’ve got a garden (or you know a friend who does), you’ll have your share of free, ripe red tomatoes. So many that you won’t know what to do with them.
This presents a dilemma. A good dilemma, but nevertheless you must find some way to consume, freeze, refrigerate or share all those extra plump, juicy, healthy pickings.
We faced this last week. A friend in northern Wisconsin dumped a bucket-load of tomatoes in the back of my car, along with banana and green peppers, cucumbers and pickles. I think my car tilted to the side with all the extra weight deposited.
The easiest and quickest way to use the tomatoes was to make salads. That took place day one.
Day two, we pulled together a summer treat for vine-ripened greatness: Basil and mozzarella mixed with sliced tomatoes. Yummy.
Slice up the fresh mozzarella and layer around tomato slices, place slices of fresh basil on top. Sprinkle some olive oil and a bit of pepper over it. You have a tasty, fresh, nutritious salad for dinner. Feel righteous.
Then there is the pizza without (or with) a crust that you can create on day three. Another simple dish. Slice the tomatoes, add any other ingredients you might like (sautéed mushrooms, green peppers, Italian sausage, etc.). Season with oregano and garlic. Coat with shredded mozzarella and Italian cheeses. Microwave or bake until the cheese is melted. It’s a unique pizza.
Salsa is another great invention for the farm fresh tomato. Dice up a handful of them. Add a diced onion, jalapeno pepper and bunch of fresh cilantro. Use the blender to sauce it up, but leave some chunks in it. Season with some lime juice and perhaps a touch of salt or sugar depending on your taste buds. Stick the chips in there and see how it tastes. Pretty good, isn’t it?
You usually get enough salsa to save some for later. It’s a great sauce to use on a meat. For example, you can take a chicken breast and ladle the salsa mixture over it. It’s a nice quick dish with a bang.
Tomato grilled cheese sandwiches are another favorite. Toast an English muffin, or brown a piece of bread in butter in the frying pan with the cheese on top. Cover the pan to melt the cheese. Add tomato slices. Close the English muffin or toasted bread up after adding the sliced tomato and you have a sweet sandwich to go with a cup of soup.
Everyone weighs in with recipes when you have fresh tomatoes. Gazpacho seems to be the favorite. Many appear to like it, though I’ve never tried making it from scratch. I’m not a super big cold soup person, but if you have some hot fresh bread with butter along with the cold gazpacho, I’m sure the combination would go down well.
Then there is that Greek-type salad that includes sliced green cucumbers, a red onion, tomatoes, chunks of feta cheese, blended with Italian or vinaigrette dressing. Toss it all together along with fresh parsely. Add olives if you like. Great for a meal or side dish.
There are still a few big red ones left. The soup is calling.
Now we’ve got to pull together some additional recipes for the cucumbers.
If you’ve got a garden (or you know a friend who does), you’ll have your share of free, ripe red tomatoes. So many that you won’t know what to do with them.
This presents a dilemma. A good dilemma, but nevertheless you must find some way to consume, freeze, refrigerate or share all those extra plump, juicy, healthy pickings.
We faced this last week. A friend in northern Wisconsin dumped a bucket-load of tomatoes in the back of my car, along with banana and green peppers, cucumbers and pickles. I think my car tilted to the side with all the extra weight deposited.
The easiest and quickest way to use the tomatoes was to make salads. That took place day one.
Day two, we pulled together a summer treat for vine-ripened greatness: Basil and mozzarella mixed with sliced tomatoes. Yummy.
Slice up the fresh mozzarella and layer around tomato slices, place slices of fresh basil on top. Sprinkle some olive oil and a bit of pepper over it. You have a tasty, fresh, nutritious salad for dinner. Feel righteous.
Then there is the pizza without (or with) a crust that you can create on day three. Another simple dish. Slice the tomatoes, add any other ingredients you might like (sautéed mushrooms, green peppers, Italian sausage, etc.). Season with oregano and garlic. Coat with shredded mozzarella and Italian cheeses. Microwave or bake until the cheese is melted. It’s a unique pizza.
Salsa is another great invention for the farm fresh tomato. Dice up a handful of them. Add a diced onion, jalapeno pepper and bunch of fresh cilantro. Use the blender to sauce it up, but leave some chunks in it. Season with some lime juice and perhaps a touch of salt or sugar depending on your taste buds. Stick the chips in there and see how it tastes. Pretty good, isn’t it?
You usually get enough salsa to save some for later. It’s a great sauce to use on a meat. For example, you can take a chicken breast and ladle the salsa mixture over it. It’s a nice quick dish with a bang.
Tomato grilled cheese sandwiches are another favorite. Toast an English muffin, or brown a piece of bread in butter in the frying pan with the cheese on top. Cover the pan to melt the cheese. Add tomato slices. Close the English muffin or toasted bread up after adding the sliced tomato and you have a sweet sandwich to go with a cup of soup.
Everyone weighs in with recipes when you have fresh tomatoes. Gazpacho seems to be the favorite. Many appear to like it, though I’ve never tried making it from scratch. I’m not a super big cold soup person, but if you have some hot fresh bread with butter along with the cold gazpacho, I’m sure the combination would go down well.
Then there is that Greek-type salad that includes sliced green cucumbers, a red onion, tomatoes, chunks of feta cheese, blended with Italian or vinaigrette dressing. Toss it all together along with fresh parsely. Add olives if you like. Great for a meal or side dish.
There are still a few big red ones left. The soup is calling.
Now we’ve got to pull together some additional recipes for the cucumbers.