Tomatoes Galore

So here we are in the middle of July and our tomatoes are in full force.  Last year was a terrible year for tomatoes because the weather turned hot so early in the summer that, even though they bloomed profusely, the blooms did not set fruit and hardly anyone at our farmers' market had  tomatoes.   As a result, I think everyone OVER planted this year and it seems the whole market is flooded with them.   In fact, we have had an over-supply and have been selling them wholesale to Nature's Supply which is a small, local whole-foods store located in Stillwater, OK.


We are having a much hotter summer than is good for the garden, though, and we need rain badly.  This is taking a toll on our tomatoes.  In many cases where the tomatoes are exposed to the sun, they get what we call "sun scald".  Here is a picture of what I'm talking about.

It is such a shame to find big nice tomatoes damaged like this.  However, all is not lost.  Usually, the other half of a tomato with this type of damage is still usable.


Since we save our best tomatoes to sell, I normally inherit the damaged ones.  Here are some that I have sitting on my kitchen counter.

We've had tomatoes at almost every meal recently, but some of them are still going to waste.  


In past years, when I had an over supply of tomatoes, I have canned them.  But, I am reluctant to fire up my canner and heat the kitchen up for prolonged periods of time.  So, I've been freezing them instead.   As it turns out, tomatoes freeze nicely.  Here's what you do.


Steps to Freeze Tomatoes


1)  Wash and core them.  Then, cut out any bad areas.
2)  Throw them in a food processor and pulse them a few times.
3)  Drain some of the liquid from them.  To do this, I line a colander with a thin dish towel.  Pour the tomatoes into the colander and let them drain for about 15 minutes.   If you wish, you can save this liquid for soup.
4)  Put the drained tomatoes into freezer bags and freeze.


This is so easy and they work great in chili, soups, spaghetti sauce and just about any recipe that calls for canned tomatoes.