Tomato Tomahto

Last week I was too late - a lady bought the bushel of Roma tomatoes just as I got in line at my favorite Farmer's Market vendor, Lida Farm.  And oh, did she gloat!

So this week I got there early, and was the first person in line; in fact the booth wasn't even set up yet, so I "helped" display the peppers, cukes, cherry tomatoes, kale, beets, corn, and assorted other beauties.  I saw the bushel of Romas behind the table and told Ryan (the farmer) that I'd take 'em all.  He thought that it was about 25 pounds, but having experience carrying 30 and 40 pound containers of cat litter, I think it was closer to 30 pounds.

He also had some yellow Romas - I couldn't resist those either, but stopped at 2 quarts.  And took two ginormous red onions, a dozen jalapenos, a bunch of basil, and a dozen ears of corn.

So what does one do with 30 pounds of tomatoes?

First up - dehydrating.  I took the yellow Romas and some of the little red Romas and cut them in half and put them skin side down in the dehydrator.  These babies were juicy; I cooked 'em 12 hours yesterday and only some are ready.  Once dry, they'll be vacuum packed and frozen for the long journey back to Texas.  To use, I'll pour boiling water over them and let them reconstitute for about 30 minutes, then use them for pasta, stews, bruschetta, etc.

Next up, I made a batch of basil garlic tomato sauce for the canner.  I can see throwing some meatballs in this sauce and slow cooking it all day.

I still have two large bowls of tomatoes left, so today I'll can some in their own juice, and also make some salsa.  I don't have any cilantro, and I'm feeling very lazy today, so I might wait until tomorrow after I can get to the store.  Since I'll likely be giving all the salsa away, I'll use cilantro even though I can't stand the stuff (apparently I'm genetically special in that regard, as was Julia Child).

I also have a few tomato plants of my own.  The Cherokee Purples are gorgeous and so sweet!  And with the cukes I have growing up a small trellis, I made a delicious and simple salad Friday night.

I added feta cheese just before serving.  The vinaigrette was olive oil and red wine vinegar, with salt, pepper, and a little za'atar thrown in.  Za'atar is a Lebanese spice mix of thyme, sumac, and toasted sesame seeds, which I can't seem to get enough of.  Order it from Amazon.com since you're unlikely to find it in a grocery store around here.  It's also the traditional topping for Labneh, which is nothing but regular yogurt with some salt added that's been strained in cheesecloth for a couple of days until it's the texture of cream cheese, but oh so much better tasting (and better for you).  Top the labneh with extra virgin olive oil and za'atar and eat with Pita bread, veggies, or chips.