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aashley333 06-17-2021 03:23 AM

Tons of Tomatoes
 
I need ways to use our bumper crop of tomatoes, please! I've made them into sun-dried tomatoes (5 hours at 200 degrees), okra and tomato gumbo, and green beans with tomato. Eating spaghetti sauce more! and tacos! Please share your tomato ideashttps://cdn.quiltingboard.com/images/smilies/smile.png

Onebyone 06-17-2021 04:04 AM

Great recipe for tomato sauce to can.

Blanch to peel whole tomatoes
Fill a pot half full of cut tomatoes
Add a stick of butter and one onion cut in half
Mash tomatoes down occasionally. Simmer until thick.. Add salt to taste. Remove onion.

I use canned whole tomatoes when fresh isn't available or any food that calls for tomato sauce. It's hard to eat jar tomato sauce after having it this way.

Tartan 06-17-2021 04:31 AM

I freeze them whole after washing them. When I want to cook a big batch of stewed tomatoes in winter, I take out a bag, I scald the frozen tomato to peel off the skin, remove the core and cut into chunks to cook with onion and spices.

GingerK 06-17-2021 05:36 AM

If you like tacos, you need to can some chipotle salsa! DH throws a tablespoon into his scrambled eggs too.

Snooze2978 06-17-2021 06:06 AM

I usually make up quarts of my special hot, hot salsa, spaghetti sauce and now tomato soup with lots of veggies from the garden. It's all pureed so you don't notice the veggies and it's one way to use them all up. My soup comes out fairly thick so it can also be used as spaghetti sauce as well.

toverly 06-17-2021 06:59 AM

When I have too many, I make Chow-chow or Nasty Pickle. It's a relish.

15 lbs tomatoes (ripe to extremely ripe)
12 large onions
10 small hot peppers
1 cup salt
1 cup sugar
1 quart vinegar

Chop onions and peppers in a blender. Add all ingredients together, mixing well. Drain overnight. I gather fabric and"hang" a large fabric ball from an overhead cabinet and let it drain into a bowl overnight. Place in jars. You can can them or just keep in the refrigerator.

cashs_mom 06-17-2021 11:46 AM

Oooh, I've using lots of tomato products lately. I'd make up some salsa, enchilada sauce, tomato sauce and vegetable broth that I freeze and use later. If you are into canning, canned tomatoes or tomato paste would be great.

My new favorite recipe site is the Minimalist Baker. You can sort recipes by ingredient so you might find some interesting things there. I will warn you that many of her recipes are vegan. I'm not a vegan but have limited proteins that I can eat so this site has been very helpful.

Iceblossom 06-17-2021 12:39 PM

Bruschetta, the Italian cousin of salsa and dips! If I had an overabundance of tomatoes, I might try chopping, draining and freezing, then draining again after thawing of little bits of maybe slightly less ripe tomatoes to see how a winter version (particularly cooked) might work.

Chopped tomatoes, fresh basil, onions, olive oil and balsamic vinegar. We also add black olives. Serve with nice crusty bread, with or without various cheeses and toasted or not.

Here's a traditional appetizer version from Food Network
https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/...recipe-2120111

You can also use the basic same ingredients as a cooking base in something like this paper wrapped fish I put in this thread:
https://www.quiltingboard.com/recipe...s-t315092.html



sewingpup 06-17-2021 06:08 PM

Ha... No help here. One of my friends said that growing tomatoes in northern minnesota near the big lake is a true test of faith! We seldom have excess tomatoes...at least ripe ones that is. I usually just pick all the green ones right before the first frost and hope they ripen off the vine. I just planted my lettuce a week ago and it is already up. However, it also has been very warm and dry here and there is danger of forest fires. I am hoping for rain but with the way climate is changing, that just may not happening and we will all have to change our gardens a bit. I may order some cactus next year!

recycler 06-18-2021 04:12 AM

When I am done canning the usual spaghetti sauce, salsa and V8 juice, I gather up whatever tomatoes, peppers (hot and mild) and onions that are out there, and give them a whirl in the food processor. I put that mixture into quart ziplocks and stick them in the freezer. Easy and quick! I use that mixture in a lot of my winter cooking..mainly soups of different types.

aashley333 06-18-2021 04:17 AM

Thanks a bushel!https://cdn.quiltingboard.com/images/smilies/smile.png Will try these ideas... can't wait to catch a Redfish!

Doggramma 06-18-2021 06:08 AM

My Italian mother-in-law made a potato salad using: potatoes, green beans, and tomatoes. She made a vinegar and oil type dressing that she poured on it when the potatoes were warm. It can be served warm, room temp, or chilled. It’s perfect for summer.

peaceandjoy 06-18-2021 09:18 AM

I roast tomatoes - Cut in half, put on a parchment covered sheet pan, cut side up. Drizzle lightly with olive oil and sprinkle with a bit of oregano. Roast @ 350° for 1 - 2 hours.

You can adjust seasonings to your liking - add garlic or salt, use other herbs. Skins, if you want to remove, will slip right off after roasting and cooling.

I then package into food saver bags and freeze (freeze before sucking air out - or just use freezer containers). They are so much better than anything canned in the store and we enjoy them throughout the rest of the year in chili, soups, goulash, etc. I have only 1 package left in the freezer from last year.

tropit 06-19-2021 01:26 PM


Originally Posted by Doggramma (Post 8491544)
My Italian mother-in-law made a potato salad using: potatoes, green beans, and tomatoes. She made a vinegar and oil type dressing that she poured on it when the potatoes were warm. It can be served warm, room temp, or chilled. It’s perfect for summer.

That sounds good! I'm gonna try that. Thanks.

tropit 06-19-2021 01:28 PM


Originally Posted by peaceandjoy (Post 8491578)
I roast tomatoes - Cut in half, put on a parchment covered sheet pan, cut side up. Drizzle lightly with olive oil and sprinkle with a bit of oregano. Roast @ 350° for 1 - 2 hours.

You can adjust seasonings to your liking - add garlic or salt, use other herbs. Skins, if you want to remove, will slip right off after roasting and cooling.

I then package into food saver bags and freeze (freeze before sucking air out - or just use freezer containers). They are so much better than anything canned in the store and we enjoy them throughout the rest of the year in chili, soups, goulash, etc. I have only 1 package left in the freezer from last year.

That sounds good too!

I'm jealous that you all have so many tomatoes right now. My plants are only 8 inches high. We had a cool, dry spring and all of our starts took their time coming up.

peaceandjoy 06-19-2021 04:17 PM


Originally Posted by tropit (Post 8491795)
That sounds good too!

I'm jealous that you all have so many tomatoes right now. My plants are only 8 inches high. We had a cool, dry spring and all of our starts took their time coming up.

No tomatoes here in the Finger Lakes for another month, at least. We don't put them in anymore; there has been a problem with some sort of blight for a few years. Once it is in the soil, it takes ages to go away. We have a lot of farm stands in the area, as well as a couple of you-pick places. I am happy buy them from others who have more consistent success.

Today I made freezer strawberry jam. Another of those things that will be a nice treat when the winter winds blow.

nature lover 06-21-2021 05:40 PM

Years ago a friend shared a Tomato Jam recipe using raspberry or strawberry jello. It is really easy and was tasty. I can not find my copy, maybe someone on QB has it.

broomstix 09-05-2021 07:17 PM

I just got done canning tomato sauces, whole tomatoes. then made tomato butter.
I think i like it better than tomato jam. but have jam still left from last year that is great on morning toast.

Watson 09-06-2021 04:43 AM

Just finished canning a bushel of San Marzano tomatoes....no, I didn't grow them myself but I'm going to try next year...they are expensive! They are a type of paste tomato from Italy that has more flesh and only half the seeds of a Roma and are bigger.
I made spaghetti sauce (Just tomatoes, basil, olive oil, salt and pepper...add other ingredients when you use it) and quartered in canning jars with sprigs of basil to use in just about anything that calls for canned tomatoes. I have had a huge amount of Roma's from my garden, but not all at once, so I've taken to either drying them or roasting and freezing. (Or giving them away!)

Watson




juliasb 09-10-2021 05:55 AM

I bought in a large number of tomatoes yesterday and today it is the plan to make sauce out of them and can it for the winter season. I put up about 2/3 a bushel just a couple weeks ago and now have these :). I also have enough cukes to make a great lot of pickle relish that too is in the plan for this week as I play catch up on things. I have been gone for most of the week. I got to see my kids and grandkids. So now it is back to cracking the whip so to speak and play catch up on things here.
If you have not canned anything before it is a great way to make use of good foods.

Snooze2978 09-11-2021 07:23 AM

Just watched a youtube video on a gal using her electric roaster to cook up her tomatoes. I like that idea as I bought one of these roaster last year and have only used it 1 time since. Like that I can use it for other purposes. I've been dehydrating my tomatoes as I've run out of room for canned tomatoes. Won't be planting tomatoes next year at this rate. I'm on my 4th batch of tomatoes so far. Now I'm searching for recipes that use sun-dried (dehydrated) tomatoes to make use of them. I can also I found out once dehydrated, grind them into powder too. So far I've made salsa, sauce, soup and marinara sauce. Next I'll try juice.


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