Tag: Tomatoes

What I Did With the Tomatoes

Last week I posted about using up the last of the home grown garden tomatoes. As part of the final garden tasks for the year, the plants were removed and the last green tomatoes harvested. These slowly ripen in the garage allowing us the opportunity to have fresh, local tomatoes through a winter freeze.

Attempting to cram too many tasks into a day left me with limited time to do something with the tomatoes. So I resorted to a tried and true, relatively quick method of using up a random quantity.

Placing the tomatoes in a colander in the sink, I poured boiling water over them then rinsed in cold water. This made peeling easier. The next step was to squeeze out the seeds, quarter and place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Sprinkled with my favorite Tuscan Sunset Herb blend from Penzey’s and drizzled with olive oil, these baked at 350º convection for about 45 minutes.

The baked tomatoes were dumped into a stock pot and blended with an immersion blender. (If you do not have one of these awesome kitchen gadgets, you need one. Stop reading right now and order on Amazon. Several inexpensive models are available and it is worth it.) Back to the tomato sauce: season to taste with salt and pepper, then keep warm while making the rest of the meal.

This is a super versatile sauce, but sometimes there is nothing like simple spaghetti noodles with this fresh sauce topped with freshly grated parmesan cheese. I added a quick salad and cheesy bread. Simple, satisfying and fresh.

This meal did not use up all of the sauce; what is left will make a tasty lasagna several days later. I will layer wide noodles with sauce, mozzarella and ricotta. Lasagna always makes enough for leftovers and is even better the second time around in my opinion.

At the end of this round of sauce, which took less than an hour of active time, we will have at least three meals. Not bad for November tomatoes.

I still intend to get out the Julia Child cookbooks, but when you run out of time during the day and just need to get something quick on the table; fix an old favorite and don’t apologize.

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Tomatoes in November?

Yes! We still have a few ripe garden tomatoes.

It has frosted here in Central Illinois and the tomato plants are gone from the garden which means the remaining green and half ripe ones are in the garage to slowly finish ripening. End of the season tomatoes are not sizeable enough for slicing, although diced or quartered onto a salad still tastes fresh and amazing. Most of the remaining will be used as cooking tomatoes. Only a few are ripe at a time, so it becomes a challenge to use up varying amounts. 

The Options

One option I have used is to juice a couple of small batches and store each in the refrigerator until there is enough to justify getting out the canner. Using this method, I canned 6 more quarts of juice. Now we have the base for 6 more pots of chili, or with some additional seasoning, this could be 24 more Bloody Mary’s. 

Now on the kitchen counter awaits another small group of tomatoes. What to do with these? 

A fresh sauce perhaps? Cooked and pureed with Italian seasonings, these will give a taste of summer in a lasagna or some other pasta dish. 

Or maybe chop along with the end of the garden peppers and make a season ending fresh salsa. 

Following the directions in a previous post about Sunshine Mary’s, I could do a traditional, fresh Bloody Mary with these small numbers of tomatoes.

What if I consult the Julia Child cook books and try a French dish with tomatoes? 

The possibilites abound. Any of these will make for a fine meal. 

And the winner is…..

Come back next week to find out what delicious creation I made.

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Sunshine Mary

Are you tired of tomatoes yet? We are not.

It is nearly October and the tomato season is not over. Yes, the tomatoes are smaller and fewer, but it is still possible to have a warm, fresh tomato straight from the garden. It seems the yellow and orange ones are more prevalent now so it is time to concoct a recipe for those.

Sunshine Mary

A Bloody Mary made with all yellow tomatoes becomes a Sunshine Mary. This version is made with freshly juiced tomatoes. A freshly juiced tomato drink has a different flavor than either our home canned Bloody Mary mix or a store bought mix.

The Recipe

Makes 2 drinks.

4 medium yellow tomatoes

2 small hot peppers

1 stalk celery

1/2 lemon

1 Tbsp horseradish

4 ounces gin or vodka

Salt and pepper to taste

Celery sticks and olives for garnish

Using an electric juicer, juice the tomatoes, hot peppers, celery and lemon. Mix thoroughly and add horseradish, salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with olives and celery stalk. For a nice spicy rim on the glass, spread 2 teaspoons of your favorite steak seasoning on a saucer. Dip the edge of the glass in lemon juice, then on the steak seasoning to coat the rim.

You can leave out the alcohol and have a delicious, healthful drink.

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Bloody Mary Mix

What do you make when the tomatoes are still producing and the freezer is full of marinara sauce, the pantry is full of juice and the shelves are packed with salsa?

Bloody Mary Mix

This home made, home preserved seasoned juice is perfect for creating a classic cocktail. If you are not inclined to add vodka (or gin), drink this on a long winter day to remind yourself of refreshing summer days to come. 

For 16 pints of Bloody Mary Mix

7 quarts fresh tomato juice

3/4 cup lemon juice

1/2 cup A-1 steak sauce

3 – 4 Tbsp Tabasco, or to taste

1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce

1/4 cup celery salt

2 Tbsp fresh ground pepper or to taste

1/4 cup prepared horseradish

Simmer all ingredients together for 10 minutes. Ladle into hot pint canner jars leaving 1/2 inch head space. Process in water bath canner for 35 minutes. You can also process in a pressure canner for 15 minutes at 10 pounds pressure. Leave 1 inch head space if pressure canning.

**As always, consult your local home extension or the Ball book of home preserving for safe home preserving practices.

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