Meals here have revolved around the tomato harvest since early May. I'm down to a small daily harvest of Sun Gold cherries. Probably my favorite.

I don't care for fried tomatoes and only had a couple BLTs this year. We've eaten many fresh and smashed (lightly sauteed Sun Golds) sauces along with burgers and a couple pasta casseroles. I also made a few marinara sauces for the freezer.

Enjoy!

ETA: also made a tomato jam

Tomato jam, tomato sauce, dehydrated ("sundried,") BLT salad, sliced and salted as a side, caprese, grilled, topped with mayo and parmesan and broiled..... The sungolds go dtraight from being rinsed to our mouths......

My favorite new-to-me variety is an old Virginia heirloom called Lynnwood.

I've been having fresh ripe tomatoes from my yard since I returned from Italy in mid June, and I have many uses for them, but one of my favorites is a Caprese Salad, since I always have fresh basil when tomatoes are ripe. I do not make BLT, but I do add tomatoes to my regular sandwiches and omit pickles when I do. Normally my sandwiches are made with smoked turkey breast (which we smoke in our smoker or BGE), smoked ham, Swiss or Provolone cheese, and Italian salami or Mortadella. I bought two salamis at the Rome airport, but I have been buying Mortadella at Bristol Farms since I've been back, and it is a new favorite.

The last tomato sauce I made (with fresh tomatoes) included zucchini and onions, sautéed in olive oil, and not much else, except for some fresh oregano and/or basil. I served it with Calamaretti pasta and finely grated Asiago cheese. My oregano plant peaked back in April, and so I may need to replace it, and I think I need some new basil plants.

I do not fry tomatoes, green or ripe, but Kevin likes fried green tomatoes, and he will cook those himself. He makes them the way I make fried okra.

I love tomato season, but this year I only planted seeds (back in March), and I am happier with the results than when I bought plants. I might plant some more seeds this summer, as tomatoes are also a winter crop here, and I have gotten good crops in January.

Wish I had a problem like that. Our tomatoes ripen late July, early August. Can't wait. Here's an ode to homegrown tomatoes...

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1-QzLIjL1u4

My MIL would go out to her tiny 5'x5' "garden" in her subdiv of wall-to-wall houses in LA county, with a salt shaker. She would go to la-la land tasting them and at the time I (at 19) thought she was a little coo-coo. Many years later, in the wastelands of other countries, I had the same reaction to fresh, warm from the sun, salted, juicy ripe home grown tomatoes. We do tend to take for granted the supreme pleasure of them. We can buy tomatoes all year from the grocery store. They will never taste the same, nor even close to, "local". Backyard local is way beyond describing to someone who only knows grocery store's. Seeds are cheap, time is relative, taste is heaven when it is backyard local. Middle of winter when I re-hydrate those jewels, not quite but close to, heaven.

BLTs are the greatest and I'd love to have one right now. Due to our horrible weather this year, I didn't get the garden in at the regular time so everything is late, late, late. I do have blossoms on all of my tomato plants. I fry only totally green tomatoes. All I do to them is make sure they are completely covered in corn meal and fry them up. Pure heaven.

Madonna

And I got all excited last weekend because I saw our first tomato blossom. BLTs.....sighhhh.....

Anytime I can pair tomatoes and basil together is what I love best with garden-fresh tomatoes. Sliced tomatoes, basil, and fresh mozzarella cheese, or even cottage cheese or kefir cheese, and I'm good-to-go. That's often my lunch during tomato season.

There's not a gluten-free bread good enough for a BLT, so I make a lot of BLT Salads and I top it with homemade gluten-free croutons from a seedy g-f bread I make.

I help a friend can tomatoes and I get the tomato skins in return, which I dehydrate and use for making tomato powder. Tomato skins dry very quickly in a dehydrator (in a single layer), and once crispy dry, place them whole in a jar with a tight lid. When you need tomato powder, pulse in a spice/coffee mill. Use in a 1:1 ratio with water for tomato paste; 1:2 ratio with water for tomato sauce. Just be sure to store the dry skins in the jar - whole, not the blended powder. Because there aren't any ingredients to keep the powder free-flowing, it will end up being a tomato powder "brick", so blend to a powder as-needed.

These are two recipes I make all the time in the summer that use fresh tomatoes.

ZUCCHINI CAPONATA

1/3 c. olive or vegetable oil (I use about 1-2 T.)

1 c. chopped onions

1/2 c. sliced celery

1/4 c. chopped yellow bell pepper

1/4 c. chopped red bell pepper

3 c. cubed zucchini

2 cups seeded, chopped tomatoes

2 T. chopped fresh basil OR 2 t. dried basil

1 t. salt (or to taste)

1/4 t. pepper

2 T. lemon juice

1/2 c. small pitted ripe olives

2 T. capers, drained (can omit, and I omit the salt if using capers)

Heat oil in a heavy 2-qt. saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onions, celery and peppers. Cook and stir 5-10 minutes stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat; stir in remaining ingredients. Refrigerate 8-12-hours, or overnight. Serve with pita bread wedges. Makes 4-cups.

[Grainlady note: I usually make a 1/2 recipe.]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Black Bean Taco Salad

(An easy no-cook recipe when it's too hot to cook. I usually make 1/2 the recipe.)

2 cans (15-oz. each) black beans, rinsed and drained (or make your own)

1 can (2-1/4 oz.) sliced ripe olives, drained

2 medium tomatoes, seeded and chopped (about 1-1/2 cups)

1/3 c. shredded Cheddar cheese

1/4 c. chopped green onions (3 medium - I generally use fresh chives)

1/4 c. chopped fresh cilantro (I use parsley because I think cilantro tastes like soap)

2 T. lime juice (I keep True Lime packets on hand to make lime juice if I don't have any fresh limes on hand.)

1 t. ground cumin (I use less - so to taste)

1/4 t. black pepper

4 c. chopped spinach (6-oz. - or other greens of choice)

Mix beans, olives, tomatoes, cheese, onions and cilantro. Mix lime juice, cumin and pepper; toss with bean mixture. Serve on spinach.

-Grainlady

I like fried green or blush/green tomatoes but not the Southern way (deep fried)... I've adapted what i had in Rome thirty yrs ago in a very nice restaurant.

I dredge tomato slices and baby zucchini with their flowers in corn flour, then egg white, then panko but just one side. One minute naked toms cut side down, then flip and crisp. The tomato slices are too pretty to coat and fry. I just use a bit of avocado oil and butter. The zucchini gets the same corn flour egg panic and not flipped in the pan.Just dredged on the bottom side only. Once i remove the tom slices i fan out the zucchini and press with a spatula to cook a few minutes longer. The herbed stuffing in the zucchini flowers gets warm and soft and is the 'sauce' for the tomatoes served together. (usually with a steak, sometimes seafood like shrimp or salmon)

For gluten-free i've done it the same way but use corn 'meal' instead of panko.

Avocado oil is neutral, butter is just good. The egg yolk i leave out to keep the flavor clean...pure flowers and the tomatoes.

I have poured 4-5 whipped eggs over the same cast iron for a fritatta with parmesan but a different dish altogether. With a few more ingredients...

Wish i had a pic of the final dish...

How do you do your fried green tomatoes? A gal at the Farmer's Market says a slice of fried green tomato on a BLT is heavenly.

Wow Sleevendog! That looks great! I've got tons of green tomatoes. We opted not to plant zucchini because we can't keep up with them. You have inspired me for next year!

Last night I made Deep dish pizza, and for the sauce, I just skinned the tomatoes, boiled them till done, and squished them over a strainer to get all the water out. I had to do this about 3 times to get all the water out, but the sauce was superior with a little oregano and salt. So sweet and fresh tasting with various sizes of tomatoes and thick puree. So much better than the canned San Marzanos I usually use.

I like a good BLT but have become somewhat of a vegetarian so... Here is my favorite recipe using fresh tomato.

put pasta on to boil-I use linguini or fettuccine

Chevre goat cheese. Slice a 1/4-1/2" or so, round piece off the log of cheese. Flatten slightly and dredge both sides in bread crumbs and cracked black pepper or use just one or the other, your choice. I use both...

About 5 minutes before the pasta is done, fry the cheese in olive oil, a few minutes on each side-med. high heat- until a brown crust forms and the cheese is softened.

Drain pasta and put in single serving bowl. Add the cheese, top with chopped fresh tomato and torn basil leaves, salt, pepper and a drizzle of olive oil to taste. Stir and eat.. this is delicious!

I use about 1/2 tomato and 5 basil leaves for one serving.

A quite compact variety of zucchini exists that pumps out flowers non-stop. My seeds are not near me right now...

Wondering when to pick a green tomato to fry it? Does it have to be turning color, or can it be a good size, but still green?

I don't like a fried green tomato that has even a hint of pink. A real green tomato has a wonderful sour pickle-ish taste that is missing if there is even a hint of pink.
And I just dredge slices in salt and peppered flour and fry in a mix of butter and oil

sliced cherry tomatoes (black cherry and sungold) in plain yogurt....

Am JEALOUS of anyone who can plant even just a few plants and pick their own! I live in NJ... home of the BEST tomatoes (IMNSHO)... and CAN'T plant in ground cuz of darn GROUNDHOGS!!

My grandmother would fry RED tomatoes... cast iron skillet and bacon grease. Thick slabs of tomatoes pushed into bread crumbs to make them stick well. You had to fry HOT and FAST or tomatoes started wanting to become sauce, iykwim. After a flip or 2, she'd top with slice or 2 of cheese... YUM!

I actually bought 2 "green" tomatoes yesterday. Couldn't help but notice difference in color among the "on the vine" varieties at supermarket. I almost NEVER buy supermarket tomatoes, but couldn't think of any other way to get green ones to try.

@kiseiverd, you could put some in BIG containers and grow them. We have gophers here, and I'm waiting for the shoe to drop, but so far so good.

We have a compost pile, and we planted some 6 packs of petunias around our pool deck making sure they all got some of our compost. Strange thing happened. Grocery store tomatoes (composted) started emerging in the petunias. We now have 11 full size tomato bushes and many green tomatoes.

If we would have intended to plant those tomatoes we would have put them inside gopher baskets. Where there is a will there is a way! Try next year in a container!

Yesterday I made Pizza Margherita with tomatoes and basil from my back yard, and it was one of the best pizzas I have made. I did not make a sauce or pre-cook the tomatoes, and so they retained a fresh, fragrant flavor. I did combine some chilies with olive oil to add to the sliced tomatoes, however, but I did not use garlic. Saturday I made dough for baguettes, and I only used half of it to make one baguette, and so I saved the other half for the pizza. I don't have that many tomatoes left on the plants I have now, but I do have some smaller tomato plants that I am hoping will develop into good producing plants. I'm going to have to watch them more carefully and put them into larger pots when necessary. I think the plants I have now would have made more tomatoes if I had put them into larger pots. I bought a new basil plant yesterday and put it into a large pot - the other basil I grew from seeds.

That sounds delicious Lars. Looking forward to my fresh toms. I only have one ripe SunGold, a half dozen BlackCherry and a dozen CubanYellowGrape....week or two before i can make a meal. My basil is ready!

I know my tomatoes. I started over 300 from seed and they are in a dozen different gardens all over NY state and NJ and Newfoundland. Some are in trial and another tray of micros will be potted up next weekend i'm growing for gifts in small felt grow bags for city friends. Another few dozen.

Firm green tomatoes are best for searing/sauteing...a mid-size meaty heirloom or beefsteak. Nothing watery. I absolutely like a pink blush at first color break. Still firm and green and 'pickley'. But so much flavor. No rules. I don't fry. Nothing to do with calories. I just don't like what frying does to fresh food. Especially a good veggie/fruit. Tastes like the fried batter.

Although I live in the south, I have never heard of "deep fried tomatoes." When we sauteed tomatoes in Maryland, they were always half ripe as the end flavor is entirely different from fried when all green. To each his own.

sleevendog, if you don't fry or saute, how do you make fried tomatoes, or don't you? I would be most interested in another method.

I suppose your could call it pan seared or pan fried. A tbsp of avocado oil for its high heat tolerance. I only corn flour, egg white, panko one side, then add a couple tbsp dots of butter for its crispy. I'm just not heating an oil bath with a heavy coating of fry batter. I get a crispy coating on the underside but also get a very 'al dente; pure vegetable flavor on the top.

Not unlike how i would pan sear a cod or crab cake. (those i sear both sides.)

If my garden is the jungle i'm hoping for, i'll be making the dish above tomorrow. First fried green toms and zuc flowers of the season...

Tomatoes we're buying at the Farmer's Market have white, hard, annoying chunks through them. They can be removed with some effort, and we're told the tomatoes are not fully ripe although they are deep red in color. Any ideas?

Must be the variety. You never know about those farmers market vendors. They may have used seeds that were cross pollinated from last years crop. Very often those don't turn out to be amazing.

But we bought a plant from the garden center. Big Boy. Mislabeled. Turned out to be a cherry with skin so tough it will choke you! I have to scald them and peel them so we can use them. Like peeling grapes. Sigh. So, your Market Vendor may have just got a bad packet of seeds.

Just walked out and looked at my abundant supply of volunteers. Don't know what I've got. They came from the compost and are whatever the varieties of grocery store tomatoes inherited in their genes. Some look like San Marzanos, one like a beefsteak, most like your regular plum. Some are sunburned. The dreaded white spot at the top that will never turn red. But I just cut that part off, and we do have an umbrella out there to provide shade now that it's so hot.

Lots of green tomatoes! Might try frying those.

Suzi, we bought from different vendors and the tomatoes were all the same - full of the white, hard spots.

Maybe you should pose this question in the Growing Tomatoes forum on garden web. They might know. Maybe it's the weather around there. Too much rain, etc.

Pinkmama, I found this about the hard white spots:

"I also get calls from
gardeners who cut open a tomato and find hard white areas inside the fruit," he
related. "Warm temperatures during the ripening period cause this condition to
develop. Just cut the affected areas out. Some varieties are more susceptible
to this condition than others."

http://extension.illinois.edu/news/news.cfm?NewsID=13856

Thanks for the help. Have always wondered about it.

Put 3 or 4 not quite ripe tomatoes on the railing of our deck to get a little morning sun and ripen fully. When I picked them up the skin came off and they went squish in my hand. Who woulda' thought? That's how hot it is in Virginia!