What to do with all those tomatoes??

I planted only 4 tomato plants this year, but they sure gave me a large bounty all summer.
Since I am leaving this week for vacation, I needed to pick off the rest of my tomatos and do something with them. I have given the neighborhood their share all summer, so decided cook these up for later use.

I have read about the Roasted Tomato Sauce that many DG members have talked about, so decided to give it a try. WOW, this is so good and easy to do too. I peeled the skins off (used hot water then cold) and the skins came off easily. Rough chopped them, rough chopped 1 onion and 4 cloves garlic added a little olive oil and a little S&P. Roasted them in a 9 x 13 in. pan @ 475 deg. for 1 1/2 hrs (check it at about 1 1/4 hrs) don't want it to burn. I stirred them a few times during cooking. It comes out nice and thick to use as stewed tomatoes or you can puree it for a nice tomato sauce. I then froze it in several baggies for later use.

My house smells so good right now. :-))
Donna

Before roasting

After cooking....see all the steam?

I'm writing the recipe down in case I get some tomatoes...which doesn't look good ...as our plants have shriveled. Darn.
Good job, Donna.

Yum, Donna! I can't eat much in the way of fresh, but love fresh tomato sauce. Maybe I'll watch for some cheap romas.

Oh MY! Those pics are incredible. I am addicted to tomatoes. I want some of that.

I am so sad, I missed both my usual farmer's markets this weekend so I have no tomatoes. Woe is me.

Mmmmm I can almost smell them tomatoes from here. Looks so good, my tomatoes didn't do much this year, darn it. I'm going to have drip system for sure next summer. DH ran pvc pipes from house to back fence and to shed so I'll have easy excess to water and he is going to set up the drip soon. Hope he gets the trench filled in before doggies fall in. Finally after several years of telling me he was going to do this.

My Mom used to grow so many cherry tomatoes that we were heartily sick of them and used them to fight in the neighborhood cherry tomato wars. I always wonder what people thought when they saw those seeds all over the road. LOL!
My Beefsteak tomato finally bloomed. Sigh.
I'd never do that now. I can't eat fresh tomatoes much, but when they've been cooked, it doesn't seem to bother me. Do you have grass allergies, SoCal? The Dr. told me that was why I have trouble with things like raw tomatoes and citrus.
Thanks for sharing the recipe. Looks delicious!
WIB,
SW

Never heard the connection between the grass, tomatoes and citrus, SW - I have the same problem! Any more than a little bit bothers me. The one exception is Borrega grapefruits, which I can eat with no problem!

I was told by an acupuncturist friend that arthritis and joint pain was connected to nightshade plants.

The only time in my whole life that I was able to eat citrus with no problems, was when I was pregnant with my ES. Never broke out, nothing. I kinda craved fresh citrus. I have a kid who loves citrus too.
Now his brother, I had no cravings, but that was not an easy pregnancy.
It may be too, that Mom overdosed us on tomatoes. She was trying really hard to feed five kids on a very limited income, and she worked especially hard to provide a balanced diet. We learned to get by and cut around the bad spots. By golly, she could grow, and can and freeze tomatoes. She has since bequeathed her pressure cooker to my SIL, who will actually use it. So inadvertently, she may have sensitized me to them.
Now if only I could convince people that Vinegar works as well as ammonia (commercial window cleaners), and when dried with recycled newspapers, does a better job. Doesn't damage the mirror backing either. Plus I can breathe. Always a good thing. Works on windows too.
I still hate the smell of tomatoes growing, and picking off those yucky tomato worms. I accidently rub up against them and my skin breaks out in a rash. Needless to say, I don't roll around on DH's lawn either. The dog does, but I'd be happy in reducing the amount of lawn to only that piece under the hammock, but hey, who listens to me. AaaahChoooo! LOL~
I can eat small amounts of raw tomato, but can eat tomato sauce and paste because it has been cooked a couple of times. Same with pineapple in an upside down cake. I can eat it if it has been cooked, canned and cooked again. Go figure.
I do like the recipe above, and would like to freeze them, then puree them for cooking with, if I ever get any to actually ripen. I remember scalding the tomato skins off too. You are really skilled if you can peel them without damaging the tomato underneath. I spent hours helping Mom, and Gma peel mater's.
Just remember to keep some ice water handy.
WIB!
SW

Regarding an overabundance of tomatoes..... I found out by accident ( necessaity is the mother of invention) that just putting the abundance of tomatoes in a zip lock bag in the freezer works very well. When you take them out and defrost them, the skins come off very easily for canning whatever or for just cooking up to a lovely stewed tomato side dish with onions, green peppers celery and small amount of sugar. Singingwolf....I totally agree with you on window washing, been useing vinagar water and newspaper for years, or rather my DH has.
Best wishes to all.................Sylvia

Donna,

That looks so good and I bet it smells even better. Yumm !

The lazy woman's way of taking the tomato skins off! I like it! Thanks Sylvia! I'll give it a try when (or if) my tomatoes get ripe. : - )
WIB!
SW

Singing Wolf................My profession is a cook ( here at ManorCare in Hemet). Through the years I've been shown many shortcuts to preparing food. I attribute that to my Heavenly Father who teaches me so many things each day. My tomatoes have been very abundant, perhaps that's because DH planted 21 plants. If yours do not ripen I have a wonderful recipe (somewhere) for green tomato relish. BTW what does WIB stand for?
Sylvia

i hope some of u ladies realize the tomato skin is what makes the tomato sauce more red in color. yes, true the skin is sometimes, an annoyance. this the reason why certain gadgets like strainer or food meal is used.

i used to take off tomato skin too. i did research and learn w/out the skin, the sauce is dull in color.

if u have abundant supply of cherry tomatoes. make temporary room in freezer. take a cookie sheet, lay cherry tomatoes evenly in one layer. freeze to the point the tomatoes gets frozen. transfer frozen tomatoes in bags . this way u have all the precious space in the freezer that u need. i can not specify how long to freeze tomatoes; similar to oven temperature, freezer temp are different from freezer to freezer.

another lazy way to preserve and make ur own sauce. in cookie sheet, lay evenly tomatoes, quartered onions and peeled garlic in a cookie sheet. roast/bake at 400 degree for 1 hr. place in blender or food processor to puree. store in plastic containers and freeze.

or u can roast/bake tomatoes as they are. freeze in bags after it cooled. this way, u can use ur tomatoes in any recipe that require tomatoes w/no flavor influence from other ingredients. often times, we do not always stew or roast. there are some recipe that require tomato alone.

all these suggestion/s u have option to keep ur tomatoes in the freezer.

on another note... do not store hot or warm food either in freezer or refrigerator. allow to cool at room temperature. often time the cause of spoilage. this happen to me lots of times. i could not figure what went wrong until i made an experiment and found my mistake.

hope this help.

It helpes alot MaVie thank you :o)

always a pleasure Marie :-}

aHAH---now I know what to do with the overwhelming bounty of baby yellow Sungold cherry tomatoes (very sweet and non-acidic) that I am going to have in a couple of weeks. So far we're just eating them, but they're gonna get ahead of us soon. Thanks for the postings, folks!

Hi Donna,
Good job, Donna.

The first year we roasted tomatoes, I just ran them through the food processor once they cooled and my sauce was very bitter.

I learned (on DG) that skins and seeds make the bitterness. So now I just leave the skin on and cut them up, add onion, garlic and jalapenos and roast them at 450 degrees until some of the skin starts to char. Turn the oven off and leave them overnight. Next morning the juices have dried up and I push the whole mess through a food mill. That takes out the skin and seeds but I believe some of the color of the skin gets through. . . . Nice thick sauce to freeze up.

I have read that you can take a whole tomato and just freeze it but I would never take it out and do something with it later. This way you have little power packets all ready to go. When I make chili . . . add a power packet for some punch. I do all the work during the summer so cooking is easier during the winter.

Twin,

As you got a good tip of the food mill as I did make today and sure you are right to not get some seeds and skins.... Yummy! Taste so good like to make soups thru the winter sooner...

I put 5 Ball plastic freezer jar with lid it work for freeze...

Here what I did today...



This message was edited Sep 6, 2009 3:00 PM

And it looks so pretty! We'll appreciate having done the work when winter comes.

Dillansnana, WIB, stands for Walk In Beauty. It is from a Navajo prayer I try to live up to every day.
I'll let you know about the tomatoes, and thank you for the offer.
For those of you whose gardens have been more than bountiful, here is a joke and a suggestion for you.
Joke
How can you tell who doesn't have gardening friends while at the store?
You watch and see who buys tomatoes!
Suggestion
There are food banks, and community cupboards in just about every town and some of them would appreciate any fresh produce you have to share. I was talking to my friend at our local cupboard, they are always happy to get any fresh fruits or veggies. Some of our high school kids even help the seniors harvest their fruit and in return the excess goes to the cupboard. I give them eggs from my chickens when I have them.
Here is the thing that really saddens me. Did you realize that a lot of kids only get meals at school through the free breakfast and lunch programs. I felt so bad for this one Mom, who was starving herself so that the kids were fed, things got bad, she lost her job, her husband just up and left. Makes you stop and think about how many people are truly in need. I'm sure Dillansnana can back me up on that one.
So if you have extra you don't need, please think about sharing with those who don't.
Okay, I'm off my soapbox.
Thanks for sharing all the yummy recipes and ways of cooking tomatoes! : - )
Walk In Beauty!
SingingWolf

Yes when I worked at Oak Grove Institute and other places as a cook, I found out that there are many children that had lived a life of malnurishment. Hard to imagine, but so true. If you have a place to share them, it's a blessing to those who are without.
Sylvia

I remember babysitting for a co-worker of my mother's in an emergency. I arrived to find the baby in a high chair with Coke and Cheetos for breakfast. Never got over that and never went back, either (the house was filthy, too). My mom was shocked - she was such a nice young woman. Ignorance? Laziness? Despair? Who knows the reasons for this kind of behavior? It's not just poverty, that's for sure. Oatmeal would be cheaper than Cheetos!

Our neighbor used to "share" her tranquilizers with her baby....I stopped babysitting for her after I found out about THAT! They moved away shortly after.

Hi all. It's storing time for me now. Thanks for the great tips.