The weather seems to be wreaking havoc on many of the tomatoes that we see in local gardens, but for those who tied up their tomatoes early, used mulches, sprayed early applications of copper and serenade, and used other disease prevention methods the harvest is looking as good as ever. We know the typical ways to preserve tomatoes in sauces, salsa, and paste, but what are the many ways that you can use your fresh tomatoes every summer? Tomatoes are the ultimate summer favorite of so many gardeners and with the never ending variety of tomatoes that you can grow there also seems to be never ending ways to enjoy fresh tomatoes. Whether they are big, small, sweet, or sour, yellow, red, or purple, there is always a great recipe to make use of them; so get adventurous and try something new or just take a bite while standing in the garden!

Maggie and I like to try and get creative with the many ways we use tomatoes, and because one of us claims not to like tomatoes and the other just learned to like them several years ago I think we have managed to find some pretty tasty ways to use tomatoes across the board that just about anyone would find tasty. Here are a few recipes, some that I have tried and some that are still on my list to make in the coming weeks. Hopefully they will get everyone inspired to do some cooking with tomatoes!

 

This tomato jam is delicious, tomatoey sweet with a bit of spice it is the perfect stand in for regular ketchup. 

I haven’t made this beautiful tomato galette before but it looks wonderful and comes from a trusted recipe blog. 

Here is a great recipe for roasted tomatoes. Roasted tomatoes are great in many different ways, mixed into pasta, topping a pizza, scrambled with eggs, or just eaten as a side by themselves. Roasted tomatoes are also great to freeze, just pour the tomatoes olive oil and all into ziplock bags, and freeze for later use.

This tomato frittata is quick, easy, and can be enjoyed for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

These tomato hand pies look perfect for a picnic; I’m going to take them to a potluck this weekend!

Do you have any interesting tomato recipes that you use every summer? Share them with us before summer is over!