Caprese salad

Margherita pizza

Panzanella

Cut in half, and into wedges but not all the way through, stuffed with tuna salad

Gazpacho

A member of our cookbook club made this Gazpacho this summer. It may have been the best I've ever had. It is from the Birmingham Junior League cookbook, Tables of Content

GAZPACHO

Yield: 4 cups

1 cup chopped peeled tomatoes

1/2 cup finely chopped green bell pepper

1/2 cup finely chopped celery

1/2 cup chopped seeded peeled cucumber

1/4 finely chopped onion

2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley

1 teaspoon minced garlic

2 cups tomato juice

2 or 3 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar

2 Tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 to 1 teaspoon Worchestershire sauce

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon pepper

Combine all vegetables in a large bowl and mix gently. Stir in the tomato juice and remaining ingredients. Chill, covered for 6 hours or longer before serving. Vegetables can be chopped in a food processor.

Um; and get them out of the fridge!

Tomato Pie

1 9" pie shell

1/2 onion, chopped

3-4 plum tomatoes, cut in half horizontally and seeded and squeezed of excess juice; coarsely chopped (3 cups)

1/4 cup sliced basil

2 cups grated cheese

3/4 cup mayonnaise (I use 1/2 cup)

1 tsp hot sauce, or to taste

Preheat oven to 350° and cook pie shell 8-10 minutes until lightly golden. If using a frozen crust, cook longer.

Squeeze as much moisture out of the tomatoes as you can using a colander or towel.

Saute onions until nicely caramelized and sprinkle in pie crust. Spread tomatoes over, then basil. Combine the mayonnaise and shredded cheese and hot sauce It should be the consistency of a gooey snowball.

Spread over the tomatoes and bake 25-40 minutes until bubbly and heated through.

I have garden tomato diced up with cottage cheese or farmers cheese every day while we have a supply. Also serve as a side most nights sliced fairly thick with good blue cheese or feta crumbled on top. The gazpacho recipe is my favorite also. A few dashes of red pepper and juice of a lemon brighten it up.

When I have nice fresh garden tomatoes, I prefer to eat them fresh -- and I never refrigerate tomatoes unless they've been cut. My 'go to's using fresh tomatoes are things like pico de gallo, tabbouleh, marinated tomatoes, and endless variations on tomato salads or salads with tomatoes. I also love a good marinara sauce and make spezzatino when I have enough good cherry tomatoes!

My farorite is Yesterday's Salad (so called because meant to be eaten the next day):

Chop tomatoes and some yellow onion. Add salt and some raw tahini. Mix. Stick in the fridge in covered/sealed container.

No need for lemon juice or vinegar because the juice that the salt draws from the tomatoes replaces them for acidity in this salad.

This salad sort of creates its own sauce. Next day you have a flavorful concoction.

I usually make it in the evening for a packed lunch for work.

I did not want to put them in the fridge but they were rotting. I know the fridge is death to fresh tomato taste. The ones in the fridge are destined for cooked canned salsa. I'm going to try a gazpacho type salsa to can this year. But they still keep coming!

I do not like refrigerating tomatoes either (except of course ones that have been cut). However, Serious Eats did some testing and came to the conclusion that there wasn't a great deal of difference between refrigerated tomatoes and room temp tomatoes. Here's a link to the article.

When I was trying to find the article, I ran across a suggestion that you store tomatoes in your wine fridge. Apparently the 50-55 degrees in the white wine section is better for tomatoes than the 35-38 degrees of a refrigerator.

I notice a change in texture and flavor just from a cold night in the garden. And tomato flavor is always watered down after the garden gets a lot of rain. :p

Early in tomato season, I make a big container of peeled and sliced tomatoes and cucumbers, thinly sliced onion and green peppers in a homemade vinaigrette dressing. I keep them in the fridge and we have some as part of one or more meals nearly every day.

When they're done, I save the dressing, now infused with additional flavors, and add more tomatoes and the other ingredients. Although we use fresh tomatoes in many other ways, we always have our favorite mix on hand throughout the summer.

I love cooked tomatoes, but the only way I like raw tomatoes is in bruschetta. Funnily enough, a good friend is the same :-)

Great article BBSTX. It confirms my belief that a fridge-stored home grown ripe tomato is better than a rotten one from the countertop.

I'm thinking about putting some of mine in some cabbage soup, sort of like a deconstructed cabbage roll. And a salad nicoise sounds good too!

Anyone have a good recipe for a cooked tomato sauce using fresh tomatoes. I usually wing my tomato sauce. I'm thinking something I could maybe freeze.

Salsa. Also, cubed mozeralla, chopped tomato, oregano, basil, and salt is a great appetizer.

Old school broiled tomatoes are pretty yummy - loved them since I was a child = )

This is pretty much how I do it, often other herbs like marjoram &/or rosemary or basil:

http://www.food.com/recipe/moms-broiled-parmesan-tomatoes-439635

(from America's Test Kitchen)

Ingredients

• unbleached all-purpose flour, for work surface
• 1 box frozen puff pastry, (Pepperidge Farm, 1.1 pound), thawed in box in refigerator overnight
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 2 ounces grated Parmesan cheese, (about 1 cup)
• 1 pound plum tomatoes, (about 3 to 4 medium), cored and cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices
• table salt
• 2 medium cloves garlic, minced or pressed through garlic press (about 2 teaspoons)
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• Ground black pepper
• 8 ounces whole-milk mozzarella cheese, shredded (2 cups)
• 2 ounces prosciutto, thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees. Dust work surface with flour and unfold both pieces puff pastry onto work surface. Following illustrations below, form 1 large sheet with border, using beaten egg as directed. Sprinkle Parmesan evenly over shell; using fork, uniformly and thoroughly poke holes in shell. Bake 13 to 15 minutes, then reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees; continue to bake until golden brown and crisp, 13 to 15 minutes longer. Transfer to wire rack; increase oven temperature to 425 degrees.
2. While shell bakes, place tomato slices in single layer on double layer paper towels and sprinkle evenly with 1/2 teaspoon salt; let stand 30 minutes. Place second double layer paper towels on top of tomatoes and press firmly to dry tomatoes. Combine garlic, olive oil, and pinch each salt and pepper in small bowl; set aside.
3. Sprinkle mozzarella evenly over warm (or cool, if made ahead) baked shell. Arrange prosciutto in single layer on top of mozzarella. Shingle tomato slices widthwise on top of prosciutto (about 4 slices per row); brush tomatoes with garlic oil. Bake until shell is deep golden brown and cheese is melted, 15 to 17 minutes. Cool on wire rack 5 minutes, sprinkle with basil, slide onto cutting board or serving platter, cut into pieces, and serve.

Wowza LR!

I saw a recipe today for roasted salsa. Fresh tomatoes, onions, garlic and jalapeno, all roasted under the broiler. Whizzed in a food processor. Now I can't find the recipe, but it sure sounded good. Would oil be added to it? I can't remember. Tomatillos can also be used to make a green salsa. I've never had tomatillos, nor can I find any here. Funny, someone on a local chat group was looking for some too, and wondered where to buy them.