Show us your tomatoes!!

VeraBlue

Head Mistress
Gold Site Supporter
My restaurant is called Red Gravy http://www.RedGravyCafe.com and in my house, life is all about the tomato! I even did a first planting of 5 tomato plants in my NOLA garden! ( this is big news all by itself. I love to feel the earth in my hands, to smell fragrant, clean dirt. It's exhilarating. This is the first garden I've planted in New Orleans. My last garden was mine for almost 20 years.). Tomorrow begins the Creole Tomato Festival http://www.frenchmarket.org/
and if they are not already, the tomatoes will soon be coming in at a garden close to you!

So, tell NCT what you do with tomatoes. Are these your own hatchlings?? Do you have a generous neighbour? Are you and the green grocer on first name basis?? Any way you slice it, talk about tomatoes!

I'm the type of person that loves to eat a dusty tomato right off the vine, right there in the garden.

My plan this week is to fire roast some of my romas for compound butter.

Pictures will follow.

What about you?
 

Adillo303

*****
Gold Site Supporter
None to show, unfortunately. I have never been much for gardening. Of late, though, I am starting to enjoy it.
 

Leni

New member
I've got somewhere between forty and fifty tomato plants. Nine are here at the house. Five are cherries, two regular tomatoes and two donations that I have no idea what they are. I'll count all of them just out of curiosity when I go to the garden tomorrow. I have a dehydrator and a canner so I'll be using those. I eat a lot of them in salads, make salsa, spaghetti sauce, etc.

I buy the plants at Tomato Mania or the local nursery. I have a friend that owns Tapia Brothers farm stand. We exchange veggies and I buy corn and some other veggies from her when mine aren't ready yet.
 

Sass Muffin

Coffee Queen ☕
Gold Site Supporter
My restaurant is called Red Gravy http://www.RedGravyCafe.com and in my house, life is all about the tomato! I even did a first planting of 5 tomato plants in my NOLA garden! ( this is big news all by itself. I love to feel the earth in my hands, to smell fragrant, clean dirt. It's exhilarating. This is the first garden I've planted in New Orleans. My last garden was mine for almost 20 years.). Tomorrow begins the Creole Tomato Festival http://www.frenchmarket.org/
and if they are not already, the tomatoes will soon be coming in at a garden close to you!

So, tell NCT what you do with tomatoes. Are these your own hatchlings?? Do you have a generous neighbour? Are you and the green grocer on first name basis?? Any way you slice it, talk about tomatoes!

I'm the type of person that loves to eat a dusty tomato right off the vine, right there in the garden.

My plan this week is to fire roast some of my romas for compound butter.

Pictures will follow.

What about you?

Vera,
I was hoping to start a "salsa" garden this year, but sadly this hasn't happened.:bonk:
Until last year and before that, I was free to walk over to my sister and BILs garden and free pick and make soup, tomato sauce...
They had them growing in abundance, and I miss it.
Now, I just buy them at the store, but am waiting for the fresh from the farm stands to open up around this corner of Ohio so I can enjoy the taste of an honest to goodness tomato.
I don't like them chilled either.
Sliced thick from Cherry's in Ottawa, or very near...Gessner's:wink:
 
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There are many Farmers Markets around town, but one I would like to try is held at Yamashiro's in Hollywood. There's a place called Heirloom LA. Apparently, they have a Food truck at the market, as well as doing catering, weddings, etc. Some of the tomato dishes that I would like to sample are:

Lasagna Cupcakes
Shrimp Romesco Shooters (w/ recipe)
Pizza Bread Pudding With Burrata Cheese (?)

Here's a look at all the goodies, menus, etc,:

http://heirloom-la.blogspot.com/

http://heirloom-la.blogspot.com/2011/05/thursdays-5-9-at-yamishiro-farmers.html

http://heirloom-la.blogspot.com/search/label/Menus
 
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VeraBlue

Head Mistress
Gold Site Supporter
Bruschetta is one of my favourite uses for tomatoes.

4 C seeded and diced garden tomatoes
1/2 c chopped fresh basil
1T minced fresh garlic (don't use prechopped or jarred)
1/4 c minced red onion
1/4 c olive oil
fresh cracked blacked pepper

Simply toss everthing together and let it sit on the counter for 1/2 an hour till ready to use.

I serve a daily special burger topped with fresh mozzarella and bruschetta.
l use it as a topping for vegetarian omelets
I make a daily special crostini plate with two bruschetta crostinis, a meatball, ricotta salata drizzled with honey, and fresh melon wedges.
 

Mama

Queen of Cornbread
Site Supporter
My tomatoes are just now beginning to turn red. I made some fried green tomatoes out of some of them so far. I only planted 8 plants but it looks like I'm gonna have an abundance of tomatoes. I see a lot of tomato sandwiches and BLT's in my future :lol:. I also plan to make pasta sauce, pizza sauce and tomato basil soup. When my okra ripens later on, I gonna make some stewed okra and tomatoes...I could live off of that. Then there's the neighbors who keep commenting on how good my garden looks and how I'm gonna have a lot of tomatoes.....hmmmm....I wonder what they want? :lol:
 
One of my favorites is a Caprese salad. Add grilled slices of eggplant, & overlap the slices with the mozzarella & tomatoes slices in a circle on the plate.

I grab & save recipes that catch my eye for a rainy day, or I need some inspiration. A few that looked interesting:

Gazpacho salad topped w/ shrimp, croutons & avocado

Gazpacho sandwiches

Greek Tomato Pie - w/ feta red onions & black olives

Tomato/gazpacho granita

M. Bittman's Tri-Tip w/ Romesco sauce

Cherry Tomato clafouti
 

VeraBlue

Head Mistress
Gold Site Supporter
We're getting great eggplant, California cook...and would be great with the calabrese salad.

What's your method for grilling? Do you marinate first?
 
We're getting great eggplant, California cook...and would be great with the calabrese salad.

What's your method for grilling? Do you marinate first?

I slice a globe eggplant in discs/circles. You can salt or unsalt - it's up to you. Brush the round slices w/ olive oil (or cooking spray). S&P, if you like. I put the slices on my indoor grill, & rotate them for grill marks, then flip them over & grill the other side.

It's a pretty salad w. a variety of colored heirlooms, with the mozzarella & tomato slices cut in rounds/discs & overlapping a bit. Hope that makes sense. You could sprinkle w/ fleur de sel and a drizzle of oil or vinagraitte - whatever you like. Top w/ fresh basil leaves.
 
I was just looking through my recipes for the tomato granita (remembered your tomato dessert request). Here are two (one w/ mascarpone), but the granita method looks faster in the other.

http://projects.washingtonpost.com/recipes/2007/08/15/caprese-granita/

http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/heirloom-tomato-salad-with-tomato-granita-10000001823326/


I love the presentation in verrines:

Greek Caprese Salad

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129104081&ft=1&f=4578972

Another that grabbed my interest:

Chilled tomato Vodka soup topped w/ scallops or shrimp

I guess I got carried away w/ tomatoes. lol
 

Mr. Green Jeans

New member
I have A Victorio juicer that is one of the best kitchen gadgets for processing tomatoes for juice or sauce. This recipe is one from a very old cookbook circa early 1900's that we really like. It makes for one awesome Bloody mary.

TOMATO JUICE COCKTAIL

1 qt. tomato juice

1/2 cup orange juice

3/4 tsp kosher or sea salt

Juice of 1 lemon

3 tsp sugar

1 tsp finely grated horseradish

Pour into sterile quart jars and process in a hot water bath for 25 minutes.
 

lilbopeep

🌹🐰 Still trying to get it right.
Site Supporter
Does tomato as a garnish count? I just made Macaroni Salad and I like to garnish with a tomato rose made from the peeled skin (parsley for the leaves) and add the chopped tomato meat to the top.

mac_salad.jpg


mac_salad_close_up.jpg

 

Cooksie

Well-known member
Site Supporter
Does tomato as a garnish count? I just made Macaroni Salad and I like to garnish with a tomato rose made from the peeled skin (parsley for the leaves) and add the chopped tomato meat to the top.




:applause: I would day that counts! So very pretty!
 

Mr. Green Jeans

New member
Growing tomatoes in western Orygun is a bit of a challenge. Planting them in black plastic pots provides that additional warmth to the soil that keeps my plants happy. However, we have to wain until sometime in August before anything is pickable.
 

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Sass Muffin

Coffee Queen ☕
Gold Site Supporter
Does tomato as a garnish count? I just made Macaroni Salad and I like to garnish with a tomato rose made from the peeled skin (parsley for the leaves) and add the chopped tomato meat to the top.

mac_salad.jpg


mac_salad_close_up.jpg


:bouncy: :w00t:

THAT IS SIMPLY AWESOME Peeps!!!!
:applause:
 

QSis

Grill Master
Staff member
Gold Site Supporter
BEAUTIFUL garden, Mr. Green Jeans!

Did you build all that?

Lee
 

loboloco

Active member
31 plants, cherry, grape, better boy, brandywine, pink girl, beefsteak. I freeze or can a lot to last through the winter. However, I am going to try canning soup this year which has a large tomato component.
I love taking the cherry type and just eating them like candy as I walk through the garden checking other things.
 

luvs

'lil Chef
Gold Site Supporter
haven't planted my own, as i live in the city, though if i choose @ some point to get a place w/ a yard, i'll plant many. there's many various types available for purchase nearby, though, so that's great
 
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