Harvest Time

[Tarp2]

Wow, over night the tomatoes (tomatos? your choice!) are ripening. I started with 8 plants and nothing all summer. Now, I have more than I can use.

Mmmmm, Blts' , Garlic and tomatoes, .....

Help me out here. What are some good ways to use the tomatoes, other than giving them to neighbors and friends?

I know, problems, problems.

[Knothead]

mmmmmmmm, fresh tomatoes right out of the garden!

Stew 'em! Then put them up in Mason jars....super homemade spaghetti sauce in December!

You can also make some flat racks and sun-dry them, sundried tomatoes are awesome on lots of dishes!

If I thought it would work, I'd send money for postage and ask you to send some over...the tomatoes from the market don't have much flavor. Enjoy!

[jmebonner]

I like fried green tomatoes, put 'em in eggwash them dip in flour w/ all kinds of spices added and fry in 1/4 inch of oil. Also just tomato sandwiches. Toast w/ mayo (not Miracle Whip!!!!!) and tomato slices. A slice of tomato on a grilled cheese is also great.

[novadragoon]

DID YOU SAY TOMACO?????? no....... uuuuuuuuuhhhhhhhh..... need to feed my addiction

[Tarp2]

White bread with Tomatoes and Mayo, sliced diagonally. Wait, I'm geeking out.


Knothead, can you point me toward a tomato canning process? Safety has always concerned me in this process.

I would show y'all my plants, but I don't know how.

Tarp

[OuTpaTienT]

You know you've spent too much time in California when you hear someone say, "Harvest time." and the very first thing that comes to mind is pot.

[Theophylact]

This has been a pretty sad year for tomatoes in the East. Normally, in DC, we start getting the Hanover tomatoes (from the Richmond, VA area) about the Fourth of July; this year, because of the cool, rainy weather, they were about two to three weeks late. And they just haven't been as tasty as usual, either; they just need more sun.

I live for fresh local tomatoes. I don't eat tomatoes from the supermarket, so I only get to eat fresh ones between July and late October. The rest of the year, I use canned ones to cook with (or frozen tomato purée; I'm planning to get a bushel of canning tomatoes at the Eastern Market next weekend, and start putting some up).

Knothead, can you point me toward a tomato canning process? Safety has always concerned me in this process.

The easiest way I've found is to freeze them. I blanch them by dropping them into boiling water for 15-20 seconds, take out the stem end, cut them in half along the equator, and put them in a big pot, covered, over moderate high heat. When they get soft enough, I put them through the medium blade of a food mill to purée them and remove the skins and seeds. Then I bag it in one-quart ziplock freezer bags (let the purée cool before you bag it) and put them in the freezer.

If you don't have a food mill, you should get one. For details, check out my posts in this thread.

[M_Six]

I'll eat fresh tomatoes like they were apples. Drives my wife nuts. I like 'em sliced with cukes, feta, black olives, and olive oil.

Also sliced on dark bread and butter. Just add a pinch of salt and feast away.

[Tarp2]

My wife cuts up tomatoes and marinates them in vinegar and tons of garlic. Then she gets out the Italian bread to soak it up. If I don't eat some of it with her, I cant be in the same room because the garlic knocks me out.

[korgul]

Originally posted by Theophylact
This has been a pretty sad year for tomatoes in the East. Normally, in DC, we start getting the Hanover tomatoes (from the Richmond, VA area) about the Fourth of July; this year, because of the cool, rainy weather, they were about two to three weeks late. And they just haven't been as tasty as usual, either; they just need more sun.

Theo - I am not too far from you and my tomatoes have done extremely well. So well in fact that I have submitted my one plant into the Guiness Book of World Records. I don't know if it will make it or not, but the plant is that big that I had to try. I have gotten atleast 400 tomatoes from this one plant. Check out my record attempt thread for pics of it.