Tasty Tuesday – September 4, 2008

I’ve had Tasty Tuesday on hiatus for a couple of weeks while I worked on replenishing my well of ideas. Then, Cara emailed in dire need of culinary help. It seems that she, along with others who garden or have green-thumbed neighbors, is knee-deep in fresh, home-grown tomatoes. What to do with all of them? she wondered. My first response was “Send ’em to me!” since nobody in my neck of the woods seems able to keep a tomato past the green bulb stage, thanks to deer and squirrels.

But then I thought we could all share ideas on how to put those delicious summer fruits to good use.

I’ll start. A couple of months ago, I posted my recipe for homemade salsa. You’ll use a half-dozen tomatoes or more, and people will snarf it down. Get out your blender, switch up the ingredients a bit, and you’ve got gazpacho for dinner.

A nice caprese salad is another great way to enjoy fresh tomatoes. All you need is some mozzarella, some fresh basil and olive oil. Or layer your tomatoes with bacon and lettuce on toast. Mmmmm… BLTs! Of course, my favorite way to eat tomatoes is simply to slice them into circles and sprinkle them liberally with salt.

Now it’s your turn. What do you do with that end-of-summer tomato bounty? Do you make spaghetti sauce from scratch? Do you can yours? Do share. (And if you have a few extra tomatoes, feel free to share those as well!)