Lynda's Got Tomatoes

I recently visited my friend and neighbor Lynda and Richard, and she couldn't wait to show me the 17 tomato plants they had planted in their yard.  Once tomato plants start producing, they are very prolific.  They planted sweet 100's and Better Boy plants, and are going to have more tomatoes than they know what to do with.  Here are a few ideas on how to use the hundreds of tomatoes Lynda and Richard will soon have.

1.  Freeze them (yes, they can be frozen, but check out instructions for doing so)
2.  Can them
3.  Dry them

                                              Oven Dried Tomatoes

Pick some tomatoes
Cut them in half
Cut out bruises
Take out seeds

Slice them in thin slices
Place on cookie sheet or if you have a dehydrator just place on the racks

Place cookie sheet out in the sun (if out in sun use a cheese cloth on the top to keep out bugs)or in low temp oven (150 degrees)

Let dry till all water has been removed
When done, the tomatoes should be flexible, like a raisin from a fresh bag; not brittle. Most describe them as leathery with a deep red color, without free water or a tacky feeling.

4.  Give extras to nice neighbors
5.  Give extras to a food bank
6.  Make salsa
7.  Make tomato soup
8.  Make gazpacho soup
9.  Make fried green tomatoes
10.  Make marinara sauce and can or freeze
11.  Make spaghetti sauce and can or freeze
12.  Make a caprese salad (be sure and use the best mozzarella or burrata you can find)
13.  Make a tomato sandwich (thick slices of tomato on whole grain toast, sprinkled with lots of coarse salt)
14.  Make salads with stuffed tomatoes
15.  Cook Italian.  Almost every recipe contains tomatoes

Number 4 and 12 above are my favorites.  Lynda is a creative cook, so I'm sure she'll find many additional ways to use her tomato crop.  The dried tomatoes will keep forever and can be rehydrated for use in all kinds of dishes.  Watch out for those cankor sores.  If you eat too many, you may end up with sores from too much acid.  Speaking of acid, for those with GURD, ignore this blog altogether.  Tomatoes are one of the worst things you can eat if you have acid reflux.  With all these tomatoes, though, Lynda and Richard should have no problem fulfilling their daily requirement of Vitamin C.