We went tomato picking on Monday. Did you even know that was a thing? Apparently it is, and it's the best. idea. ever! $1.49/pound for all you can pick, way cheaper than the farmer's market or the grocery store.
Soooo in honor of the 10+ pounds we picked, here are some ideas for how to use that abundance!
Do you see those buckets? They're each 3/4 full of delicious, mostly ripe cherry tomatoes! If you go picking, get a lot of almost-ripe ones too, since the ripe ones tend to split on the way home and will need to be used immediately. The unripe ones can be set aside to ripen in a few days and are a little sturdier.
Dump them in the sink with a cup of vinegar and 10 cups of water, and let them sit for a while before you start sorting. I took all the split ones and set them aside for immediate eating/cooking.
ONE
Roasted Cherry Tomatoes & Garlic
Cut a few cups of those babies in half! Have you seen the trick where you put them between two lids? Not the most uniform/prettiest, but if you're cooking them anyway this is SO much faster than cutting each one individually! I use a serrated knife to make sure I get through the skin without smushing them.
Place them on a baking sheet with a few cloves of garlic and half an onion, cut into wedges.
Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and olive oil. Bake for 2 hours at 300 degrees, stirring every once in a while (I did low and slow because if I had tried high, I would have gotten caught up nursing a baby and they would have burned!).
Eat them straight, as a pasta topper, puree them and can for AMAZING pasta sauce, or use them in a roasted cherry tomato soup (just sub them in for canned tomatoes in this recipe).
TWO
Use that slicing trick again and some fresh corn and make this delicious corn and tomato salad. It was even better as leftovers the next day!
THREE
Pair them with feta and fresh oregano for a tasty side dish!
FOUR
Slice them in half and use them to top a pizza - I love them on flatbread with fresh mozzarella, basil, and just a little olive oil and salt drizzled on top.
FIVE
Well, this isn't one of my favorites... But when I heard the infectious giggles coming from the playroom, I had to check it out:
Looks like he's just eating the tomatoes, right?
Look harder...
Ah yes, he has discovered the explosive power of those seeds!
Of course, Cecilia had to follow suit...
I couldn't help but laugh and grab the camera! They had a stern talking-to afterwards, though!
Linking up with the lovely Hallie and all the others with their Five Favorites!
Yum! YOu are making me hungry!
ReplyDeleteAnd I'll let you in on a secret we learned the very hard, very messy way...set a rule now to only let the kids eat in the kitchen. It will save you years of carpet and couch cleaning later!!
Wow, great suggestions and cute pictures!
ReplyDeleteHelp on the cutting trick; do you lift the top lid off and then cut?
You press down lightly on the lid and cut through the space between the lids. It holds them all in place and you can cut a lot all at once!
DeleteI so wish my family liked the tomatoes! We have a ton but I can't use them in delicious ways like that except when it's just for me and who has that time? I did make some blue cheese stuffed ones to bring to a party the other day that were pretty good. I think I may post later on what I'm doing with the rest of mine :)
ReplyDeleteAndrew used to be skeptical of tomatoes *in* anything and would only eat them straight, but I think I've convinced him by now :)
DeleteYum, all of it!
ReplyDeleteWe grew these in our yard this year, and we are overflowing with tomatoes! I am totally making that corn salad tonight!
ReplyDeleteCan't blame the kids for having such fun with the cherry tomatoes. You would have done it, too, if you had discovered it as a kid!
ReplyDeleteI've been almost totally neglecting my tomatoes, what with the excitement of the pumpkin patch. But today I happened to be out there on the way to getting my tractor so that I could do some pumpkin things, and I had some tomatoes. Green Zebra tastes mealy and boring, IMO. I have some weird comma-shaped tomatoes that don't taste like much. My Black Krims are delicious, and so are the Chocolate Cherries! Yellow Pear doesn't taste much like anything, so of course there are a million of them.
I really had no idea that you could go tomato picking! Now I'm curious what other veggies are available at u-pick farms!
ReplyDeleteThis list is not comprehensive, but it may be a good way to start, depending on where you live. And as it says, call ahead to verify the info first.
DeleteMy mouth is watered! Those roasted tomatoes look delicious!
ReplyDeleteAnd, how have I never heard of tomato picking?! What a great and affordable idea!
Oh what fun! And I'm always so impressed with your kitchen skills! Each of those recipes looks so delicious!
ReplyDeleteImma gonna try your roasting tip!
ReplyDeleteSorry, I took over your comments there! I love cherry tomatoes, but my kids won't really eat them. Your recipes look delicious, though. Last time we had an abundance, I sliced them in half and ran them through the dehydrator.
ReplyDeleteThey won't eat them? Mine used to eat them like candy! Funny how kids are different!
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