Garden Tomatoes are our favorite to roast, blend and freeze for our very own delicious naturally gluten free and sugar free marinara, spaghetti sauce, and tomato soup.
First Ripen All the Green Tomatoes
Every summer's end I lament the vines full of green tomatoes that will never ripen. Thankfully this year we learned a trick that actually worked. It ripened every last one of them! Who would have though we'd still be eating ripe tomatoes from our garden just days before Thanksgiving! It's so simple, I think in the past we must have been trying to get too creative and complicated? All you need to ripen your green tomatoes from your garden is a shallow cardboard box and few ripe tomatoes to help kick start the process... and several weeks. Here's two progress pictures. I didn't capture the fully green box, because I honestly wasn't expecting it to work.
Every week we'd pull out the really ripe tomatoes for roasting, and then move the rest around a bit to freshen up their surroundings and to find any that had gone bad. Then I'd leave a few orange ones and at least a few red ones to set the mood for the green ones to ripen too. Close the flaps half heartedly so that air can still get in and out and put it some place, cool and dry. We left ours on the end of a kitchen counter. Just make sure not to stack them too deep. It seems that the *shallow* box is key to this endeavor.
Roast, Blend, and Freeze!
Rather than write a long ridiculous life story about how my great grandmother used to roast tomatoes, I'm actually really excited to share this video that my son made. You'll be a pro in less than 30 seconds!! We used the very last of the ripened tomatoes from the magic box to make this video, and that made my 'lil heart so happy!
Here's 5 tips that didn't make the cut:
You can use the ugliest of tomatoes. If its not rotten, throw it in!
You can add in fresh basil as long as its at least blanched before you freeze it (otherwise it turns black). I tend to add it once I'm ready to cook.
You don't have to freeze it. Go right into whipping up an amazing soup.
Blend to your preference and plans. If you're not sure? Just rough it up enough to be chunky. You can always give it another whirl after you defrost it.
Freeze in quart size bags. I made the mistake of doing gallons and it's just a pain to portion out.
Bonus Tip for novice soup makers. Add milk instead of water. The natural sugars in the milk help to balance the acidity in the tomatoes.
Comentarios