Not to rub my blessings into the noses of the New England folks, suffering from tomato blight, but we have more tomatoes than we can eat. This is yesterday's harvest -- 7 Paul Robeson's, 6 Brandywines, 6 Bloody Butchers, 41 Romas, and 40 or so mixed cherry tomatoes. We also discovered another half dozen of the huge tomatoes -- the Robeson's and Brandywines -- which had rotted on the vine. They were deep behind the greenery, and dark colored, and we simply didn't look hard enough.
There are only two of us in the house (the cats refuse to help out). We are sharing with friends; the neighbor next door, whose driveway is probably responsible for the heat which is bringing so many fruits to ripen, have been told to help themselves, and they are.
I am trying to remember the last day in which I did not eat tomatoes. Yesterday, for instance, I had 20 cherry toms in a fry-up for breakfast, lunched on leftover pico di gallo, and for dinner we went simple and had a salad with cherry toms in it and a Robeson on the side. Tonight we are having Cypriot Chickpea Stew with Spinach and Tomatoes. So far, I have cooked:
- Ratatouille,
- Cuban Tomato Egg-Drop Soup,
- several batches of gazpacho,
- Tomato and Eggplant Gratin,
- Cherry Tomatoes with Tuna,
- Chicken with Tomatoes in Basalmic Vinegar
- Kebabs of various meats with grilled tomatoes and onions,
- not to mention lots of uncooked tomatoes in sandwiches, as snacks, in salads.
We have already roasted and frozen two batches of plain Romas for sauce, and currently I am roasting another large batch as Oven-Dried Tomatoes (like sun-dried, but chewier, with thyme as a seasoning) and a batch of Oven-Dried Cherry Tomatoes. I'm looking forward to baking a Southern Tomato Pie (when you read "Southern" think butter, sour cream and pastry) when a friend visits, to share the calories. Before then, we'll have Tomatoes Stuffed with Lentils and Rice. I'm saving a Spicy Green Tomato Bread recipe for the desperate last ditch harvest before the first frost, whenever it comes.
We hope, by giving away the entire next harvest (due in a couple of days) that maybe we can go for a day or two without eating any tomatoes at all. Just for a break. The problem is that I know that in December, I'll be longing for some garden fresh tomatoes, so I hate to squander them now. This afternoon I am making two batches of Tomato Sauce, to be used for pizza and pasta, one entirely of Brandywines and one of Robesons, so we can see if there remains a difference in taste once cooked. I really don't like canning, so I'm planning to freeze both batches, and possibly extend September into deepest winter that way.
2 comments:
Why not try oven drying some of them. They are wonderful in a sauce or soup.
We oven roasted some with a little olive oil and garlic on each and threw in a little pepper to. Then, when they were still soft by shriveled, we added some broth and mooshed it all up. Once the broth was hot, we ate it with bread (homemade, natch). A really lovely summer meal. And you can serve it cold, too. Or freeze it for later.
I oven roasted some, about as you did (used thyme and a little salt and sugar, too, on Romas, and just salt and a smidgen of sugar on cherries). The cherry tomatoes are like super-intensified sweet tomato, and I'm using it like a chutney. The Romas I pureed a couple into a tomato sauce, and the rest I froze for deep winter.
Black Bean Charros tonight. Num.
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