Although I am behind on posting about Gavin, family vacation, and the start of preschool, all I really want to talk about tonight is tomatoes. Everything else seems like too much work. Or maybe I am just hungry?
We have been enjoying a huge bumper crop of late summer tomatoes from our garden. I was careful this year not to overwhelm myself by planting too many varieties of things that produced more than we could eat or store for the winter. And with a new baby and the garden feeling a bit more like an extra chore than a hobby this year, I'm thankful I kept it simple. But nonetheless, the kids still come in from "harvesting" in the back-yard with armloads of tomatoes, peppers, strawberries, and greens nearly every day that need to be eaten.
We have been canning jars of pickled peppers (John's new passion), making big batches of fresh salsa weekly (John's food addiction), storing away homemade marinara sauce in the pantry, and freezing ziplocks full of creamy tomato soup for the cold months ahead. The kids really love to help with all the preparations and it's been fun to have the whole family involved with and enjoying the garden this year. And its cheap family entertainment that keeps us all hanging out together in the kitchen, so the stored food is just a bonus to me.
Here are two of my favorite tomato recipes I've found this year that are oh-so-delicious and way too good not to share.
Creamy Tomato Soup: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/michael-chiarello/homemade-tomato-soup-recipe/index.html
(don't let the stock photo sway you from making this...it turns out so much creamier and melt-in-your-mouth good than the picture implies. Is that even a picture of tomato soup or is it a meat marinade?)
Roasted Roma Tomato Sauce: http://kitchengrrrls.blogspot.com/2011/09/homemade-roma-tomato-marinara-sauce.html
I promise you will like it or I will eat your leftovers. Roasting the tomatoes before making the sauce=brilliance. Why didn't I think of that?
Now go get cooking!!
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