Tomatos

drop them in boiling water just enough to make it easy to skin them... cut out all bad... and freeze them in old peanut butter jars or ziploc bags.

Make Salsa

freeze nice ones whole

we like to eat Fried Tomatoes... we put a little crisco in a frying pan.. then cut or slice tomatoes (add a little salt) and cook until just after you are able to smush them with a fork... then while hot dip bread in and enjoy!

cook them down and make sauce!

Congratulations!
I wish I lived near you and I'd be happy to trade
whatever you'd like for some of your tomatos.
I LOVE tomatos!
I don't know about soup but have you considered
putting some of your tomatos into little baskets (or bags)
and giving them to friends or, even, to local community
feed-the-homeless or needy organizations?
Also, you might want to explore "canning" your tomatos
so you can have tomatos in the winter.
It's called "canning" but it's done with glass jars.
Enjoy!!

What about making a caprese salad using those, mozzarella balls, and some sort of basil or balsamic vinaigrette? My family also loves green beans and grape tomatoes tossed in oil and italian herbs (either a dressing packet or a seasoning) and baking them in the oven until the tomatoes pop. I also wonder if a local food pantry or Ronald McDonald type house would be willing to take some off your hands? Have fun and enjoy!

you can dehydrate them, pickle them, and yes make them into sauce

Hi A.----You've gotten a lot of great ideas. I have one that I stumbled across accidentally. One time I let a container of grape tomatoes get really old on my counter. Funny thing happened. They must have had adequate air flow because they ended up dehydrating and turning into grape tomatoe 'raisins', something very similar to sun-dried tomatoes. So, I now keep those little tomatoes where they can get air, so that if I don't get to them right away, they dry out. We then use those by sauteeing garlic, baby broccoli or broccolini or zuchinni...really, whatever veggie we have in the fridge and then adding the dried grape tomatoes. Then we put that on whole wheat pasta. The dried tomatoes have a more intense flavor. It's really yummy.

So, my advice is to take them and dry them. Haven't tried it with grape toms, but I did have a recipe for slicing and drying roma tomatoes in the oven. I think that I either tossed or brushed with olive oil and then sprinkled with herbs and put them in a low oven until they got leathery. Just take some time and 'google' oven drying tomatoes. I think you get some great ideas. Good luck and enjoy! D.

I'm so jealous. My tomatoes are just now coming on, and they won't last for long!

One of the easiest things I do with little tomatoes is to combine them in a dish with zucchini. I slice the zucchini and cook them in a saucepan with a little bit of water until they are just getting soft. Then I add a little bit of butter, and a little bit of fresh lemon juice, and the sliced tomatoes. Cook them just until the tomatoes are warm. Serve in small bowls. Easy and yummy!

I dehydrated a bunch of plum tomatoes--they're very good! It did take all day in the dehydrator.
I'm sure you have been, but sharing with neighbors and coworkers is a good way to get rid of some of them!

As someone who grew up with tomato plants in her backyard and hasn't had a homegrown tomato in almost 10 years, I have to tell you that my mouth is watering just reading your post and my first suggestion is to box them up and send them to me!
In lieu of that, your grape tomatoes will make delicious sauce or soup. Enjoy!

I'm so sad about my tomatoes this year... I depend on being able to make my own pasta sauce of the year out of them. Instead, I'm only going to get about 25# per plant, and they are mostly going to be green.

Jarring / Canning is actually fairly easy, and there are a lot of good how-to's on the web, so I'll skip that. But, yep, grape tomatoes will make great sauce as well. My fav recipe is below, but there are a lot of great recipes out there. You just make the sauce, ladle it into jars, seal them up, and "can" them like jam.

- Tomatoes, chopped
- Garlic, minced
- Basil, chopped
- Bottle of dry white wine
- Salt & Pepper
- Red pepper flakes
- Feta cheese (optional) If you don't like it, skip it.

You'll notice there are no amounts. Because I wing it each and every time, since I make different amounts each and every time. ESSENTIALLY, the ratio is 6 cups chopped tomatoes : 6 cloves of garlic : 1 cup tightly packed fresh basil : 1 cup white wine : 1/2 cube of feta : 1/2 tsp of red pepper flakes. But it's a loose ratio. Play with it as you like. I just toss things in :)

Ring the bottom of a big pot with olive oil. Saute garlic and red pepper until it smells really yummy. Add ALL of the other ingredients. There should be enough white wine to just barely cover the tomatoes. Bring to a boil and turn down to simmer. Simmer until it's as thick as you want it (1 hour to 3 hours depending on how much you're making). It has to reduce a LOT.

When I have lots of tomatoes, I like to make them into tomato sauce. You can even freeze the tomatoes until you collect enough for a batch of sauce. We bought a tomato press, that squeezes out the juice and discard the seeds and peels. Then just cook it down until it's thick enough.

Tomatoes... are REALLY great, Grilled. Whole.
I just toss them around in extra virgin olive oil in a ziplock... then put it on the grill and grill until nice looking grilled brown marks appear.
Really good.
Sprinkle with sea salt.

all the best,
Susan

Roast them in the oven with chopped garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper, 400 degrees for about 10 minutes or until they start to split, finish with a squeeze of lemon juice and a little fresh basil, delicious side dish!

Congrats on the tomatoes, I wish we were neighbors, I'd take them off your hands!