TOMATO - Flavor Of The Month.

[JoyfulCook]

Hundreds of years ago the Tomato was called the Love Apple and thought to have an aphrodisiac properties and was shunned.

Today tomato is consumed in many ways including raw or as an ingredient in many thousands of dishes from sauces, pot pies, casseroles, Stuffed, salads or in Curries and Chutneys as well

It would be difficult to imagine Italian food without the tomato, or Mexican food without salsa - a wonderful condiment first enjoyed by the Aztecs.

When there is a glut of Tomatoes its always a good idea to make up pastes and purées which can be kept in sterilized jars or even frozen in batches.
What is the difference between tomato paste, tomato purée and tomato sauce?



To make tomato paste, the tomatoes are first cooked for several hours to reduce moisture, are strained to remove the seeds and skin, then are cooked further to reduce them to a thick, rich concentrate.

In contrast, tomato purée consists of tomatoes that have been cooked briefly and strained, resulting in a thick liquid with a consistency between tomato paste and crushed tomatoes.

Tomato sauce is thinner than purée, often includes additional seasonings, and may include extra ingredients for flavor.

Garden Tomato Paste
Real Authentic Italian Tomato Sauce (No Can's Here)
Homemade Tomato Ketchup



Yemista (Greek Stuffed Tomatoes and Peppers)
Bev's Spaghetti Sauce
Baked Stuffed Tomatoes Topped With Mashed Potato

Tomatoes - we cant have tomatoes without Tomato Juice

Here is a great Homemade Tomato Juice Recipe

Use the ripest tomatoes you can. Added sugar will balance the natural acidity of the tomatoes, use more or less to taste. Tabasco hot sauce is also to taste, depending on your desired level of spiciness.

3 pounds very ripe garden tomatoes, cored, roughly chopped
1 1/4 cups chopped celery with leaves
1/3 cup chopped onion
2 Tbsp sugar (to taste)
1 teaspoon salt
Pinch black pepper
A couple shakes of Tabasco sauce, about 6-8 drops (to taste)

Put all ingredients into a large non-reactive pot (use stainless steel, not aluminum). Bring to a simmer and cook, uncovered, until mixture is completely soupy, about 25 minutes.

Force mixture through a sieve or a food mill. Cool completely.
This makes about 1 quart.



Chicken Breast Stuffed With Feta Cheese, Sun-Dried Tomato
Spiced Tomato Juice (Good for Diabetic )
Salsa

Whats your favorite Tomato recipe? please share yours here and any tips.

[Alisa Lea]

I could eat the whole thing!
Sauteed Grape Tomatoes

An these ain't bad either
Warm Garlicky Grape Tomatoes

[JoyfulCook]

Alisa Lea wrote:
I could eat the whole thing!
Sauteed Grape Tomatoes

An these ain't bad either
Warm Garlicky Grape Tomatoes

Those garlic tomatoes sound great!

[*Parsley*]

Heirloom Tomato Salad
German Tomato Salad
Tomato Casserole
Tomato Salad With Goat Cheese
Eggplant (Aubergine) Tomato Deluxe
Dr. C's Tomato Pie
Tomato Gratin
Olives and Tomato Salad

[K9 Owned]

Alisa Lea wrote:
I could eat the whole thing!
Sauteed Grape Tomatoes

Making these tonight!

[JoyfulCook]

One of my DH's favorite breakfasts for a treat is to cut tomatoes up really thick, cook in a skillet with a splash of olive oil and a good sprinkling of Provance Herbs on the top, turn over and finish cooking then serve on hot toast.

[K9 Owned]

JoyfulCook wrote:
One of my DH's favorite breakfasts for a treat is to cut tomatoes up really thick, cook in a skillet with a splash of olive oil and a good sprinkling of Provance Herbs on the top, turn over and finish cooking then serve on hot toast.

add cheddar semi-melted in and you have my childhood and all time favourite comfort food. My Mum and I are the only ones that love it. I'll confess it isn't pretty but so very yummy. I want some. Now.

[JoyfulCook]

Yes, its amazing you can do almost anything with tomatoes Does anyone grow their own and bottle them?

[K9 Owned]

I started to grow tomatoes 3 years ago. The first years crop was excellent and I did can some. Also oven dried a ton of cherry tomatoes. (mirj's recipe). The last two years have sucked for tomato growing here. Hot then cold then way too hot and then too much rain. I'm hopeful for this year.

[**Tinkerbell**]

Love tomatoes! My most recent creation came from experimenting with the old smoker my mom passed down to me this summer. My plan was, and still is, to copycat a smoked tomato hummus that we eat a lot of, but is hard to find on the shelf. Meanwhile, I've created all kinds of smoked tomato recipes with the tomatoes themselves or with smoked, dehydrated, then ground tomatoes.

Smoked Tomato Chili


A couple of the go-to tomato recipes we love:
Tomato, Bacon, and Onion Quiche


Broiled Tomato Cheese Sandwich


And a couple recent recipes that we'll definitely repeat:
Sausage & Egg Pocket With Tomato Chutney


Summer Tomato-Corn Salsa Cruda (Raw Sauce) for Pasta

[**Tinkerbell**]

Thanks for suggesting recipes for homemade tomato paste and tomato juice. I'm going to try both myself, and sent a link to my BIL for the juice. He drinks it for breakfast every morning, so homemade would be nice. I'll top off my Grey Goose with it.

[JoyfulCook]

**Tinkerbell** wrote:
Thanks for suggesting recipes for homemade tomato paste and tomato juice. I'm going to try both myself, and sent a link to my BIL for the juice. He drinks it for breakfast every morning, so homemade would be nice. I'll top off my Grey Goose with it.

Sounds good - and as for the grey goose lol! Tinks is it worth freezing tomato juice or not?

[JoyfulCook]

K9. Hope that you have success growing Tomatoes this year, I am having to rig up shade cloth over ours because off the extreme heat!

[JoyfulCook]

Tinks, I liked that a recipe the smoked tomato chill but I have need heard of smoked tomatoes here drags! as I wanted to make that

[**Tinkerbell**]

JoyfulCook wrote:

**Tinkerbell** wrote:
Thanks for suggesting recipes for homemade tomato paste and tomato juice. I'm going to try both myself, and sent a link to my BIL for the juice. He drinks it for breakfast every morning, so homemade would be nice. I'll top off my Grey Goose with it.

Sounds good - and as for the grey goose lol! Tinks is it worth freezing tomato juice or not?

Yeah, you can freeze tomato juice. I wouldn't freeze more than I'd be able to use in about a 6 month period though. Freeze it in tightly sealed plastic containers. Often I have a small amount of juice, sauce or paste leftover from a recipe, so I freeze it in ice cube trays and then pop out the cubes and put them in ziplock baggies. Then I have about 1 Tablespoon per cube for next time.