What do you do with nice, fresh, ripe tomatoes?

[Stinky The Clown]

We LOVE them very simply done. We cut them into wedges and then cut the wedges into chunks. Add chopped fresh parsley, basil, and oregano in about equal volumes, but to taste. Then slice some sweet onion. Add salt and pepper (the salt is very important) and some olive oil.

Mix this up and let it sit for at least an hour. Room temp is fine. In fact, refrigerating it will congeal the olive oil and you don't want that.

We have been buying local tomatoes for a while now and they've been quite special this year.

Grow 'em or buy 'em ...... what do you do with fresh, ripe tomatoes?

[Tangerine LaBamba]

1. Same thing we do when we fine some

really fine cucumbers:

Cut them into wedges/spears, have the salt handy, and eat until we're ready to explode.

This time of year, it's a true pleasure.................................

[eridani]

2. Slice, put a slice of mozarella and a fresh basil leaf on top

Drizzle with olive oil. Or cut them into smaller pieces, add sliced cukes, kalamata olives, feta cheese and olive oil.

[cbayer]

18. Agree with this. Get the best, freshest mozzarella you can afford and make caprese.

:hi:

[The empressof all]

19. My Trader Joes is now selling Buratta

Buratta is a fresh mozzarella ball filled with creamy oozy goodness. I've never seen them in this country before and alas I didn't get one when I saw it as I wasn't heading right home and didn't want to keep perishables in the car for long. It's even richer and creamier than regular Mozz.

[cbayer]

20. That's the one I buy at TJ's. Yummy, yummy. I went to an Italian restaurant that

makes their own every day. Had it on a pizza. To die for.


:hi:

[Stinky The Clown]

21. Have you ever had bufala mozz?

Rich and creamy and ohsodamnedgood.

You can get it imported from Italy or there are now two US companies (at least) who are making it from the same breed of water buffalo's milk. One company is up in NH or Vermont and the other, remarkably, is down near Dallas, TX.

[The empressof all]

23. The buffallo mozz is really really good

I also think the stuff they make in NYC is by far the best in this Country. Even the commercial cheese is better than commercial cheese I can get in WA. And a friendly reminder to everyone...Home made Mozz is really pretty easy. When I was eating cheese as part of my regular diet I made it weekly. Once you get the hang of it there's nothing to it.

[Stinky The Clown]

24. There used to be a guy who rode his bicycle to various restaurants and made mozz daily for them

He'd start out very early and be done with his rounds by 8 or 9 in the morning. Each restaurant had a set up for him. he had the keys to each of them and went there, made it, and moved on to his next stop.

But he was making fior di latte, not mozzarella. The difference is the milk. Fior di latte is from cow's milk and mozz is from water buffalo milk. It is, in the US, acceptable to lump the two together.




When you made your mozz, did you use regular, homogenized, pasteurized, suoopermarket milk?

[The empressof all]

25. I use organic whole milk

You need to have milk that is not ultra pasteurized. I was able to find that in the "natural" refridgerated section of my grocery. Raw milk is the best however I needed to drive too far to get it on a regular basis. Now I have a closer source but I'm rarely doing the cheese now. I think I'll be making some around Thanksgiving if I wind up cooking. Then I'll use the Raw Milk. Ricotta is far easier and that's also a little more forgiving with the milk.

[susanna]

3. I grow 'em; and it's Panzanella (sp?) for us.

I'm not Italian, though I am Heinz 57 in terms of genetic variety. Italian just wasn't of my background....that said...I adore the mixture of good bread, tomatoes, onions, garlic and vinegar and oil.

I may be an addict. I know hubby is! And goodness help us, but he's Polish. ;-)

[Gormy Cuss]

29. I love panzanella too..

That's one of the frequent uses for our perfectly ripe garden tomatoes --we also eat them sliced and layered with basil.

Do you use fresh parsley or basil in your version? Either is very good.

[Paper Roses]

4. I stuff myself, especially this year. There are only a few tomatoes

on my plants but now have tons of blossoms. It was not a good growing season here this summer.

I will savor the tomatoes I am able to eat but I always have a loaf of good, crusty French or Italian bread.

Grew up with Italian grandparents. Learned young that bread and a bowl of tomatoes is the perfect meal, served just as you described. And the juice left in the bowl? That is what the bread is for. Sop that up and enjoy.

[Tesha]

5. I hate tomatoes...

I have all my life - until I found out how to eat them..

Now I hate tomatoes except when they're grown nearby - and you take out the (pardon me here...) snot with the seeds in it.

Now I peal and cube the meat of the tomato, add sliced cukes, sliced garlic, capers, grated parm and an italian dressing, and let it sit a while to meld.

This I could eat every day of my life... mmmmm

[Stinky The Clown]

6. That's a classic way to deal with tomatoes. The cut is called a concassee

KON kah say

Rough chopped with seeds and "snot" removed.

[Inchworm]

7. I'm simple.. tomato sandwiches

a light coat of mayo, tad of salt and pepper.. heaven. :9

Even simpler.. I tend to eat them like apples as I pick them from the garden.

:hi:

[hippywife]

8. In just about all the ways mentioned above.

I love to have a tomato, cuke, onion, salad floating in vinegar, oil, garlic, S&P in the fridge to have with a good crusty bread and butter on a hot day. Nothing compares. And I never remove the snot and seeds, ever. There's lots of flavor to be had there that is otherwise lost.

One of the unusual ways I enjoy them is a nice thick salted slice on soft wheat or whole grain bread with smooth peanut butter. I know it sounds odd, but I got this from my mother, and even Bill is a convert altho he balked at first and for a long time.

:hi:

[beac]

9. Every post in this thread has me drooling.

The weird weather here has made my slicers almost completely unproductive, but a favorite sandwich is open-faced on very-thin rye (or marble rye) toasted, good mayo, slices of tomato and pan-toasted capers*. Topped with generous grinds of salt and pepper, of course!

Stinky, try taking your recipe and throwing it over piping hot pasta for a yummy hot/cool supper.




* drain capers, heat skillet to high, add a drop of olive oil to prevent sticking (or use a non-stick pan), add drained capers, stir/shake pan keeping capers moving until they have dried and "popped." Really tasty on salads too! Can be stored at room temp for a few days (make sure capers are truly dry before storing.)

[Warpy]

10. If you heat that mixture and mix it with pasta

it sounds like you'd have a wonderful fresh tomato sauce.

However, the less you do to an exquisitely fresh garden tomato, the better. They need to be kept at room temperature then sliced with maybe a little salt and pepper. They can be lightly broiled with a little olive oil brushed on, then served with salt and pepper. They can be sliced and alternated with sliced mozarella and basil. The cheese should always be a mild one so it doesn't overshadow the fresh tomato.

Fresh tomato salsa really needs to be made with real tomatoes. Those California cardboard tomatoes in the supermarket just won't work.

Still, the very best way to eat a garden tomato is hot from the sun, out of your hand, juice running down your chin, with maybe a little salt.

[hippywife]

11. My dad has a favorite story

of me when I was little more than two or so. He had taken me with him on a quick errand to a friend's house back in the day when the whole neighborhood knew each other. They had left me in the backyard and when they came out he took one look at me and asked, "M. did you reach through the fence and take some of Burton's tomatoes?" He said I stood there with tomato seeds running down my face, chin, shirt and said, "No daddy, I didn't eat Burton's tomatoes." :rofl:

[grasswire]

14. hey, I always blamed things like that on the kitty.

No, mama, I didn't pick your begonias. The kitty did it.

[hippywife]

17. Awwww. Poor kitty.

I 'spose you were standing there with them in your hand, tho, huh? :rofl:

[Vinca]

12. This morning I picked some Montserrat Pink tomatoes to have for supper

and all I plan to do is slice them and serve them with an optional balsamic vinaigrette.

[grasswire]

13. remember broiled tomatoes?

topped with crumbs and stuff?

I need to make some of those soon. They used to be commonplace.

The best tomatoes coming out of the garden here are the orange cherry ones. They are just scrumptious, and I eat great handsful every day and use them in everything.

The other varieties here have much less flavor. Huge orange ones, and some dark ones and some red zebra types, and big romas, etc. etc. None of those seem to have a lot of flavor. I don't really know why.

[The empressof all]

15. I have a great crop this year too

What I'm not using raw I've been roasting with garlic and EVOO. The flavor is rich and complex. Whir it up in the blender and throw in some fresh herbs and you've got a great sauce for pasta, fish or chicken. Honestly though I just love them plain right out of the oven with some Parm or hot over some fresh mozzarella to help it get slightly melty...like grilled cheese...no bread.

[flamin lib]

16. Try this:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=236&topic_id=66787

Serve hot, cold or make pasta sauce with it. Freezes well. The ONE BEST use of over-ripe tomatoes I've found.

[livetohike]

22. I take one perfect tomato and a shaker of salt and sit in the sun

and eat it whole :-). It reminds me of going out into my Grandmother's garden with her when I was young.....we would pick the ripest tomatoes and just eat them standing there.

[Lugnut]

26. We got a nice crop of oxhearts this year.

They are meaty, juicy and sweet. Other than biting into one like an apple we love grilled cheese and tomato sandwiches. When they come off the griddle I peel open one slice of the bread and slather the contents with mayonnaise. It's pure heaven.

Last week I salvaged what I could from some blemished tomatoes, chopped them up, seasoned and sauteed them in garlic and olive oil. Some cooked campanelle and shredded romano tossed in finished it off. Delicious.

[NashVegas]

27. I've Been Making a Lot of Catalonia Sauce This Year

mash up the insides with a little bit of olive oil, garlic & a pinch of salt. I could almost drink it. I have drunk it.

[april]

28. I made fresh cream of tomatoe soup ..yum !

the first ..it was soooo good and all of the tomatoes were from my garden ..check out the barefoot contesa for recipe

[Brewman_Jax]

30. Gazpacho

my mom got some tomatoes from a friend's garden and I remembered gazpacho. It's great on hot days. :9