Great thread to resurrect! One of my faves for Romas or other plum, fleshy tomatoes comes from "The Wednesday Chef" blog. Luisa has awesome recipes on there. This is SO good if you are home on a weekend and have the time. I also put these on toasted bagels with cream cheese. Add the tomatoes on top and put under the broiler for a few minutes, OMG, YUM! I always make double the recipe- two big glass casseroles because they never get to the fridge for the 5 days. Gone, baby, gone!
Hope you try them, they are out of this world delicious!

Shore

Great thread to resurrect! One of my faves for Romas or other plum, fleshy tomatoes comes from "The Wednesday Chef" blog. Luisa has awesome recipes on there. This is SO good if you are home on a weekend and have the time. I also put these on toasted bagels with cream cheese. Add the tomatoes on top and put under the broiler for a few minutes, OMG, YUM! I always make double the recipe- two big glass casseroles because they never get to the fridge for the 5 days. Gone, baby, gone!
Hope you try them, they are out of this world delicious!

Shore

Great thread to resurrect! One of my faves for Romas or other plum, fleshy tomatoes comes from "The Wednesday Chef" blog. Luisa has awesome recipes on there. This is SO good if you are home on a weekend and have the time. I also put these on toasted bagels with cream cheese. Add the tomatoes on top and put under the broiler for a few minutes, OMG, YUM! I always make double the recipe- two big glass casseroles because they never get to the fridge for the 5 days. Gone, baby, gone!
Hope you try them, they are out of this world delicious!

Shore

Great thread to resurrect! One of my faves for Romas or other plum, fleshy tomatoes comes from "The Wednesday Chef" blog. Luisa has awesome recipes on there. This is SO good if you are home on a weekend and have the time. I also put these on toasted bagels with cream cheese. Add the tomatoes on top and put under the broiler for a few minutes, OMG, YUM! I always make double the recipe- two big glass casseroles because they never get to the fridge for the 5 days. Gone, baby, gone!
Hope you try them, they are out of this world delicious!

Shore

Here is a link that might be useful: roasted tomatoes for pasta or your way

I had the same problem at the end of last summer, and I don't can either (although I might delve in this year).

Anyway, I solved the problem by making huge batches of a very plain marinara that was very quickly cooked, cooled and frozen. I went with marinara sauce because it's the most versatile and I figured I could use it as a base for meat sauces (meatballs, sausage, bracciole), puttenesca, Fruitti di Mare, or other tomato-based sauces. Great for eggplant or chicken parm as well.

Keep it very lightly seasoned--maybe a little S & P. When you actually bring it back to life, then add whatever seasonings that recipe calls for.

I froze it in one gallon freezer bags. Fill each bag, zip it locked, and lay flat on a cookie sheet. You can make smaller batches, too, if a gallon is more than you need at once (it sounds like a lot but really isn't). Anyway, stack a few bags flat on the sheet and freeze. When frozen solid, you can stand vertically in the freezer without taking up much room at all.

A nice plus is that when they're frozen flat, they defrost really fast--much faster than a container. You can even cut a slit in the bag and zap it like a bag of frozen veggies. This is how I do my pesto, too.

Anyway, just an idea.

Prof

PS: I have a ton of tomato-based sauce recipes like those I mentioned above. Shoot me an email and I'll be happy to send along.

Tomatoes don't need anything more than a hot bath for canning. They are acidic enough that they will last many month using a large pot that covers the jars. I have a soup pot that I will be using to can a few varieties.

As for recipes, I can't help you there. My favorite is to pick a tomato, wipe it off, slice off the "top" and sprinkle with salt, right there in the garden. :)

Salsa or just tomatoes and peppers like the rotel canned tomatoes from the grocery store. I make big batches of salsa and can it (like token said very simple hot water bath for few minutes)or freeze it (like prof. said) If you like salsa it is great to make it yourself because it can be expensive. I also cook with it. It is great to put in ground beef and cook some of the liquid out of it to make taco's or mexican dip with refried beans.

"Tomatoes don't need anything more than a hot bath for canning. They are acidic enough that they will last many months using a large pot that covers the jars."

Sorry, token, I've got to speak up on this in the interest of safety. Your statement is true for some, but not all tomatoes. Acidity in tomatoes varies widely, not just by variety, but as a result of growing conditions. This is not just a matter of spoilage, it's a matter of harboring potentially deadly botulism. While the risk is generally less with tomatoes than with say, green beans, this isn't really a time to speak in general terms. Your life may depend on it. I'm not trying to be overly dramatic, but only to emphasize to someone new to canning that a hunk-o-seedlings, plunk and run approach is ill advised.

Anyone who plans to can anything should spend some time at the Harvest Forum. There are countless posts and many links there addressing safe canning practices. Here's a link to get you there.

Seedmama, feeling very protective this morning.

Here is a link that might be useful: Harvest Forum

Thanks Seedmama. I was going by this site from VA Tech. They do say "Acidified" tomatoes. Now which ones are those?

I think I'm just going to be freezing all mine this summer. I'd rather risk freezer burn than death.

It's easy enough to acidify tomatoes by adding nominal amounts of lemon juice. I've intentionally left out specific quantities to encourage my beloved friends here to go read COMPLETE instructions. I love you guys!

I now have four freezers, and a generator to back them up. But I've come to the realization that it simply is not enough to preserve a year's harvest of everything for my whole family. I'm simply going to have to can more this year, and I'm not particularly happy about it. Freezing is just so easy.

My freezer space this year will be for pecans, mixed berries, peaches, corn, okra, deer, fish, sugar snap peas, strawberries, dehydrated items, freezer jam, melons, peppers and the weekly-baked loaves of bread. And whatever else I haven't thought of.

I'm going to have to can tomatoes, sauce, green beans, potatoes, plum jelly, green peas, and naturally, pickles.

The next thing to go from freezer to canner will be my beloved freezer jam, but I just can't choke down canned peaches.

mmmm, 'fresh' peaches from the freezer in January are like eating sunshine.

I miss those days,making bread,canning,frezzing,nothing better in life than taking good care of your family.
I loved making bread,never used a bread machine,just good old hand power.
cAROL

Prof, you have mail. :-)

Oh, cAROL, I don't even want to think about all the times I tried to make bread.. Finally got a bread machine and tried different recipes and methods for 3 years before I gave up. As much as DH and I love fresh bread, we just decided to make it a once-in-a-while treat that we would purchase from Wegmans. Of course, nowadays, it's a once-in-a-long-while treat.

Pies and cakes now... Those I can do!

Lois in PA

Lois: I got you covered with the recipes. Oh, and if you still have that bread machine, I'll send you a no-fail recipe for Italian bread that just uses the dough cycle. It's easier than crock-pot cooking.

Lois: You have mail ;-)

Prof

PS: Writing that up made me "a-quiver" with tomato desire! I need to put the Chaucer away.

I love cut-up (peeled) tomatoes, garlic and a little olive oil, cooked down until nice and juicy. Over pasta with a bit of feshly grated parmesan - a great, fast meal. But I like 'em like token said too - straight off the vine, with a little salt.

Too bad you don't like them raw, lois.

PV

I'm with token, in the garden with a little salt.
If anyone here plans on canning please go and buy a NEW book with updated canning and processing procedures. There are many old books with good recipes but are using old canning methods. Please be careful.
jim_6b

Hey, do you all really carry a salt shaker to the garden with you? Hadn't thought to do that. I pick them off the plant, polish on my pants or shirt, and eat. In the house my favorite way is fresh with salt and pepper. Can't forget the pepper!

We used to carry salt and pepper in the vehicle when we'd go across the Texas border into Mexico. US Customs doesn't allow avocados to come in with seeds in them. Therefore, cashiers at the grocery stores are equipped with knives to slice an avocado in half and remove the pit. The reassembled halves can be taken back to the US. We'd go buy enough to choke a horse, then have a tailgate lunch of avocados with a side of avocados.

One way I use over-abundant tomatoes is to simmer equal portions of chunked tomatoes and sliced okra. I don't like slimy, boiled okra, but the acid in the tomatoes prevents that. Just season with a bit of salt, pepper, and butter. I cook a big potful and freeze it in two-cup portions. Good as is, added to soup or gumbo, or combined with a salad and bread for a quick, tasty winter meal.

One of my favorite fresh mater recipes uses several other garden yummies. Slice green or yellow zucchinis, 1/8-1/4 inch thick. Layer overlapping 2-3 layers on the bottom of a sprayed casserole pan. Layer slices of tomatoes, a little salt, pepper, and some parmesan or grated romano. Bake until heated through--even the kids love it. This recipe originally called for onions in it, but since I don't like them, I omit and sometimes will do some minced garlic, etc. It's a fun recipe to mix it up--I could see adding a layer of eggplant to this.
Another option, which I use when there is an early freeze and I don't have time to "process" my maters: wash and freeze them, WHOLE, in ziploc bags. Then, you can rinse under warm running water to remove the skins and use in any stewed mater recipe, like marinara, chili, etc. LOVE the salsa idea, by the way. Again, stew it for less of a "pico de gallo" flavor, and it can then be frozen or canned (check acicity, etc. for canning salsa).
Enjoy them 'maters, and feel free to send me any extras! *wink*

Here's a link with a lot of recipies...I haven't tried many of them yet, but hope to this year.

Linda

Here is a link that might be useful: 115 Ways to Prepare it for the Table

Thought this might be a good time of year to resurrect this thread! :- )

I run my extra tomatoes through the food processor and then freeze them in 2-3 cup containers. No peeling, blanching or cooking. I really don't notice the peels when I dump it in a pot of chili - except that it tastes fresher than canned.

As for recipes, I use one (modified) that I found online when I was looking for a way to use up ground turkey I found on sale.

Turkey Pumpkin Chili

Brown one pound ground turkey with one diced medium onion. Then add a can of beans (canelloni beans are my favorite), 2 cups diced tomatoes, 2 cups of pumpkin puree, 1 1/2 T chili powder, salt, and a bay leaf. I add pumpkin pie spice and chopped cilantro to taste. Then serve topped with shredded cheese and sour cream.

The pumpkin doesn't really add much flavor on its own, but thickens the soup and gives you extra veggies. (If you don't like pumpkin, I'd season with something different than pumpkin pie spice, though.) If you get the meat on sale and the veggies from your garden, this is a dirt cheap, hearty soup for fall or winter. Don't expect it to be spicy like regular chili - just a nice fall soup.

Well, my first tomato season was not a roaring success; With 12 plants, I averaged about 2 tomatoes a day until early Sept., when it all shut down. I hear this was a terrible year for tomatoes, though, so I will try again next year.

After discovering pesto, however, I also found some recipes that incorporate pesto for when you have that half jar of pesto left and no more tomatoes. For example:

White Bean Spread

1 15-ounce can organic white beans, such as cannellini (white kidney beans), drained and rinsed
1/2 cup homemade or purchased basil pesto
1/2 cup finely grated Pecorino Romano or other hard Italian cheese
Salt to taste

Combine beans, pesto, and cheese in the bowl of a food processor and whiz until smooth. Salt to taste. Serve with pita chips - improves with age, so make a day ahead.

I got this from the following site:

http://www.foodiefarmgirl.blogspot.com/