baked red tomatoes

[flummoxicated]

I went a little nuts with the tomato plants this year. Well, I only planted three, but considering my spouse doesn't often eat tomatoes and tomatoes grow with amazing ease in my front yard, three was perhaps a bit excessive. And really, there's only so many BLT sandwiches I can eat. So with the first batch from the plants I made a simple salsa when we had a few friends over for Labor Day - just tomato bits, onion, cilantro, salt and pepper. I was happy with the results. But then tomato production went off the scale. What to do? I don't think you can freeze them. The solution that ultimately came to me? Tomato sauce, specifically Alton Brown's recipe. Wow, so good I ate a small bowl with no pasta! Baking the tomatoes really brought out the sweetness. And Jeff even had high praise for the results, which made me feel extra good because, as I said, he's not really a fan of the fruit - tomatoes are fruits, right? I never took botany.

(Hey, can you pretend that the pot is all clean up in that second picture? Those fancy cooking magazines make everything look perfect, as if cooking wasn't a somewhat messy process.)

Home grown and cooked. I'm ready for survival in the event of complete socio-economic collapse! :)

Comments

[noxcat.livejournal.com]

I decide to grow two tomato plants in containers this year. I got like 5 tomatoes back in June. :( I get blooms, but nothing seems to come of them.

[flaming-mo.livejournal.com]

Actually you can freeze tomatoes, but it's preferable to blanch them first. The only thing is that it does alter their texture so no "fresh" tomato sandwiches or salads.

Yep, ain't homemade sauce awesome?

[indywind]

Any time you have surplus tomatoes you may feel free to fedex them to me.

Other cool things to do with them: slice thickly and bake at lowest heat until pseudo-sundried, store in the freezer, or covered with oil in a jar in the cabinet.

Can them or the sauce.

Freeze, as Mo mentions--fine for cooking afterward.

What?

[bghsmith.livejournal.com]

You can NEVER eat too many BLT'S! Blasphemer!

I love homegrown tomatoes. We've gotten 2 this year. :(