I have a green thumb as well as the time to nurture a garden. All summer, I cared for my tiny plot of dirt, amazed whenever a new piece of food appeared. There were a few hot, yellow peppers which when eaten, required minor first aid. There were far too many lettuce plants, including a whole row of raddicio. Pleasant to look at but, yuk. Who likes that stuff anyway? There were herbs: garlic chives, sprawling parsley plants and burgundy-colored basil. And, there were tomatoes.
What can compare to cherry tomatoes, plucked directly from the vine and popped into the mouth? They seem to evoke all kinds of tongue sensations from sweet to tangy to….mmm….I’m salivating just thinking about them. I’d planted a couple of these tiny treat-bearing plants along with a handful of the bigger varieties. So when the summer ended and frost beckoned, I had to decide on what to do with the rest of the tomatoes, some still green.
I read the web sites, learned my options and went for blanching, peeling, coring, squeezing out seeds and liquid, bagging in a ziplock bag and sucking out the air with a straw. I wanted to do it right and enjoy delicious, garden tomatoes in my spaghetti sauce in the middle of winter.
Big mistake.
I’d started out with around 15 tomatoes and ended up with this.
I think my mistake was cooking rather than blanching the tomatoes which resulted in more than peels being lost. And as directed, I’d removed the juice and cores and seeds. These unsavory bits filled a half of a big colander.
As I sit here, covered in tomato splatter, (those suckers can really squirt, can’t they?) , I have to think, “There must be a better way.”
Next time just wash and dry your tomatoes, cut off the stems ends, put them on a cookie sheet and freeze. Then put them in freezer bags and toss in the freezer. When you’d like “fresh” tomatoes for your pasta dishes or chili, just rinse under cool water and the skins will slide off. Toss while frozen into your pan and voila! Fresh as summer spaghetti sauce (or whatever). They do tend to be on the mushy side so don’t plan to slice them up for a pretty garnish or anything.