August 28th, Tomato Invasion

My family and I were on vacation for nearly three weeks in August, peak tomato season here in southern Wisconsin. I came home to find hundreds of tomatos ripe and ready to be eaten or made into sauce.

This is only a small fraction of the tomatos:

My brother's girlfriend, Alyssa, and her mom, Diane, were staying with us for a week. Diane used our peppers and tomatos to make salsa and with the help of some avocados from the store, some guacamole. We ate bags and bags of tortilla chips, and everything was so delicious. I'm kicking yself for not taking pictures of the goodness.

I also tried a few different things. I grow tomatos every year, but have never made sauce. Don't shoot me. We usually eat the tomatos in salads or salsa. This year I made something I think I am supposed to call a spread. I followed the instructions of my foodie friend Leena. I sliced the tomatos in half, and them face down in (jelly?) pan into a small amount of olive oil, and tons of fresh herbs from my garden. I tossed in rosemary, basil, and thyme from the garden. I also added some garlic salt. I left them in the oven until the tomatos were soft, and the skins just fell off when I touched them. I scooped the contents of each tomato in a bowl, and what I didn't eat right away (spread on warm french bread), I put in freezer bags in single serving quantities. I don't know if I did it right, but it tasted good. :) I'm thinking it'll be great for pizza later.


I used the remaining miz of tomatos to make sauce. I left the skin on the tomatos, and pureed them all in the blender after it had simmered for hours. I froze the sauce in freezer bags by individual servings also. Fresh onions and herbs from the garden were also used in the sauce, too.

I grew several varieties of tomatos this year, but I got the best looking fruits from Goliath, and Roma. Next year I plan to grow the same as this year, but add some heirloom varities.

I still have some tomatos outside to harvest today, despite the frost last week which affected only a few things in the garden, like the impatiens.