In the Garden – Tomatoes Part 2 of 2

So, after all your hard work all summer, now you have a bumper crop of tomatoes in various stages of ripeness staring back at you. What to do?

The obvious one is to let them ripen and just eat them. As much as possible! Nothing beats that fresh-from-the-garden sweetness. A slice of beefsteak tomato sprinkled with flaky sea salt cannot be beat. Tomato sandwiches, Caprese salads, salsa, bruschetta, tossed into hot pasta, BLTs, Greek salad … I could go on for days.

I have included a few easy recipes, but there are so many possibilities. Puff pastry spread with Boursin, covered in tomato slices and turned into a rustic galette. Peeled and pureed into an easy pasta or sweet and sour sauce. To peel, cut a small x in the bottom of the tomato and put into a deep bowl. Cover with boiling water and let stand one minute, then drain and rinse with cold water, drain again. The peels will come off easily. You can dry tomatoes in the oven or dehydrator for use as sundried on pizza. Roast them with garlic and puree, then jar them up and freeze for a myriad of uses. I have tried all of these.

The recipes below all have similar basic ingredients, along with tomatoes – olive oil, basil, salt and pepper. I have included an appie, a salad, and a main.

A final note: If you just cannot get through all those ripening tomatoes fast enough, throw them whole into a freezer zipper bag. Freeze and take out when you want to add some to sauces, soups or stews. The skins will slip right off!