Any ideas welcome concerning using tomato's?
Question:I had approximately 100 tomato plants come up this year and need some unique and easy ways to use them all other than just plain canning. I will be doing all the work myself and appreciate the help thanks.
Answers:
Home made soup is so good, make it and freeze it.
Meat sauce for spaghetti or lasagna, freeze that too
salads while they are fresh, with boiled eggs, cheese and croutons, so good
freeze them skinned and whole
that is all I can think of right now
Use what you think you will need, try making your own tomato ketchup, tomato chutney or tomato relish.
If you are feeling adventurous, then you could have a go at making your own sun-dried tomatoes, though this will obviously depend on the climate you live in.
How to do these things will be easily available on google.
And if you still have loads left over, then why not look at selling them or giving some to freinds and relatives, or even take a load into work with some small cheap plastic containers (like the ones they pack tomatoes in supermarkets with), and just leave a sign saying help yourself?
You can always trade them with neighbors and church organizations for a little extra help... Might trade (share crop) with young neighborhood kids to help with some of the 'farm.'
Consider boiling a pot of water and placing a batch of ripe tomatoes into it for a couple of minutes to peel them. You can freeze them whole fairly easily... but that's like canning, tho a little easier.
You can find excellent recipes for spaghetti sauce, ratatouille, and zucchini parmesian.
I'm sure your friends and neighbors would be happy to alternate suppers ... that have a tomato theme.
I love homemade ketchup, not like you put on hotdogs. It has onions, peppers, spices, sugar and you put it on butterbeans, butterpeas, blackeyed peas, etc. Also homade salsa is great. With 100 plants you are gonna have way more than you can even think about using, so how about giving them to those who don't have any, or maybe selling them to local market. Don't let them waste, they are too good for that. If you lived close to me, I'd take some. I'm sure there are websites that can give you more ideas. Good luck with your tomatoes and enjoy!!
Other than my Mothers recipe for Tomato salad, I can only think of the one involving lots of tomatoes, habenero peppers, jalapenos and the like that is made up into a paste and spread on the tops of corn plants which is an un-chemical way to prevent corn worms.
Oh, dear, I suppose you want more than stewed tomatoes, sauce and jellies! My favorite recipe for using tomatoes is called Candied Tomatoes. You cut them in half crosswise, drizzle them with olive oil, sprinkle with sea salt and bake at 250 for two hours. They come out kind of shriveled, kind of over cooked looking, but they taste OMG delicious! I love to eat them by themselves warm, cold, used in pasta salads, with fish, in green beans, the list goes on and on!
Another idea is to do produce trading with others in your area. You can also donate some to the food banks in your town or to the local senior citizen's homes, tomatoes are such a nutritious food for everybody!
Try giving some away to shelters and friends.
More Related Questions & Answers...