Easy Recipes for Homegrown Tomatoes

July 8, 2010

I’m in heaven!  My first tomato of the season ripened and was consumed this weekend.  The taste of a fresh tomato reminded why I don’t eat many tomatoes the rest of the year.  The aroma and taste are so concentrated compared to the bland produce of winter.  I have had a garden most years of my married life –with varying degrees of success.  This year the tomato plants barely grew, but they are producing – and they are good!

At the beginning of the season, it’s not too hard to figure out what to do with the tomatoes as they come off – sliced on salads, sandwiches and hamburgers really are the best. But after a few weeks, you have more than you can eat for lunch! And you don’t want to refrigerate fresh tomatoes, it destroys the taste.  If you must refrigerate them to make them last, bring them out about 24 hours before use to let their natural flavor enzymes rev up.

 

Easy Weekend Tomato Recipes

So here are my weekend recipes: bruschetta (with tomatoes roasted or not), fresh salsa  – straight or for salads, and of course in our house – grilled!! 

Easy Salsa

Salsa and bruschetta are really first cousins. For simple fresh salsa, just dice the tomatoes, add diced onion and cilantro for the basics. Peppers, garlic, oregano  and fresh corn are up to you –even pineapple and mango are great additions! Beyond chips, salsa is a great topper for fish and hamburgers too!

Easy Bruschetta

Bruschetta you could really call salsa with olive oil! And maybe some extra flavors.  The bruschetta usually goes on toast as an appetizer. Here’s a simple recipe to use.  If you also happen to grow fresh basil, add that in for extra zing!

If you really want to go wild, have some great fresh cold tomato Gazpacho soup for a refresher!

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Easy Spaghetti Sauce Recipe

At the end of the season, I look forward to getting a crate of them to slow roast down to spaghetti sauce.  Just  pile in the quartered tomatoes, onion, garlic, basil and oregano and let it go in the oven all day on low heat (about 250 degrees)- when the water has been largely been cooked out and most things dissolve when stirred – then batch the mixture  in the food processor or put through a food  mill. Then freeze in the size that best suits your cooking. If you tire of spaghetti sauce, you can always add a little milk for creamy tomato basil soup. YUM!

Nothing like fresh tomato taste all year round!

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Tags: : tomato recipes, basil tomato, fresh bruschetta, fresh salsa, salsa recipes, tomato basil, tomato garlic, tomato sauce recipe, tomato soup basil