SPROUTS – Getting The Most Out of Tomatoes

What’s growing in the garden? Some tasty treats to eat, bake, blend, and freeze!

Toe-may-toe. Toe-mah-toe. Yummy yum yum.

Now that Summer’s in full swing and my tomatoes are nearly 2 meters into the sky, each day brings me closer to harvesting these glorious red goodies! So far we have had about 15 grape tomatoes to snack on, but it sure is hard waiting for them to turn bright red after so many months of anticipation.

I find myself picking the not quite ripe tomatoes and popping them in my mouth before I can even think about it!!

You know what is so great about tomatoes? You can eat them everywhere and every way! I love the sweet warmth of freshly picked cherry tomatoes bursting in my mouth, or sometimes I slice bigger tomatoes and sprinkle with salt and pepper. From simple snacks to gazpacho, salsa, pastas, salads, and juices, tomatoes can be added to pretty much everything.

And aside from tasting great tomatoes are also rich in antioxidants, Vit A, C, B3, lycopene, fiber and folic acid. Tomatoes are energy boosting, cancer fighting, immune enhancing, viral busting bundles of glory! YAY for the tomato!

Picking them ASAP is not soon enough in my book.

It is just too agonizing knowing how delicious they are, and waiting day after day for the green fruit to turn, that as soon as they are they slightest shade of orange – pop! Into my mouth ! Oh well, I know it is just a matter of days before they become laden with red fruit, and then I will have more work than I can handle!

When I first moved to the island I was shocked to see my tomato plants turn into a bushy jungle that needed constant staking and which grew so thick I couldn’t walk between the plants!

Tomatoes are one of the tallest plants in my garden, and they are also amazing at reproducing and growing in strange positions. Every year I find little plants popping up in between the strawberries and behind the pumpkins. This year we had one beside the sandbox, and one pretending to be a cosmo is the flower garden.

And then they just grow, vining along the ground or up what supports they can find, until, low and behold, one day when I venture out they have produced lovely red fruit for me to gobble up! Ah, my love affair with tomatoes, how I adore these surprisingly abundant growing plants.

In yet they are delicate too.

Whole branches can snap when the fruits grow too heavy, and blight can be disastrous to an entire crop.  Spiral supports are a great way to keep plants upright, and if you trim off dead branches and the season is not overly wet then the plants should be ok, so… Tomatoes also like humus rich soil and at least 6 hours of full sun a day.

I think mine grow so high because they are is the sun almost all day! If your are container planting or greenhouse gardening then, like any plant in a pot, the soil should be changed every year to prevent disease, and to provide fresh nutrients. Tomato plants also like a sheltered location, and need lots of water in the hot summer months. Also, make sure the soil drains well.

There are also as many varieties as spots to put them (if not more)! You should always check varieties to find which ones will grow best in your garden’s conditions. If you’ve had problems with disease in the past then make sure you are looking at the disease resistant varieties. And have some fun! Try growing a few green zebras, yellow pears, or black plums (yes, they are all types of tomatoes)! Not only is it an experience to have these in your garden, but they add such uniqueness to dishes!

If you’re confused about what to call these little guys the term is “vegetable fruits” or “fruiting vegetables” is accurate, because they are treated like vegetables for cooking, but are classified botanically as fruits.

And if frost should threaten before you have the chance to harvest you can uproot the whole plant and hang it upside down to ripen the fruit. Or you can try fried green tomatoes! It’s a whole new taste experience!

Another way (and my favorite one) to save tomatoes is to dehydrate them.

If you don’t have one of those then bake them on a very low temperature in the over for a few hours. Now you have sun-dried tomatoes that will keep all winter and taste so good in dips, on pizza, in pastas, with rice, or in soups. Freezing tomatoes is also good, but I find that the water separates from the fruit, so this is better for pasta sauces that can be mixed back together, and not so great for salsa where you end up losing flavor if you pour the excess water off – or soggy chips if you keep it in!

Now here’s a really fun snack to make with your kids – tomato ladybugs!

You’ll need:

• dates
• raisins
• tomatoes

Directions:

• Slice cherry tomatoes (to make mini bugs) or slice larger tomatoes to make wings.
• Use a date to stuff the body if you desire, and use half a date for the head.
  
• Now tuck six raisons under the “bug” to make little feet, and then slice raisons in half to make spots (place on tomato wings). Hint: if the raisons are sliding off the tomatoes make a little hole in the skin for them to sit in.

Voila!

A tasty tomato treat that kids love to make. And they love to eat it too!

Tags: children, family, fruit, garden, Kendra Quince, Kids, Our Big Earth Media Co., recipe, tomatoes

Category: EAT & DRINK, Food & Your Family