Tomato send-off

Too many tomatoes? Too little time? It didn’t seem possible just a few months ago as tomato lovers yearned for hot weather and the chance to savor that tangy, just-plucked-off-the-vine juiciness.

But now, in the final flash of summer, fresh tomatoes seem to be everywhere – in backyard gardens, where they’re all ripening at the same time; in baskets at the farmers’ markets, where they’re abundant and affordable; in the produce section of grocery stores, where they’re plump and sweet after that end-of-the-season growth spurt.

Despite the glut, too much can still be a good thing.

Just ask Susi Faville, also known as the “Tomato Lady” at the Kootenai County Farmers’ Market. The Hayden resident never gets tired of the delectable fruit, even after harvesting as much as 100 pounds of tomatoes a week in addition to picking enough cherry-size ones to fill roughly 80 baskets.

“Tomatoes are special because good ones are only around for such a short time,” said Faville, who grows more than 30 varieties. “Each kind also has its own distinct flavor and taste.”

With the nip of fall now in the air, the owner of Mountain View Farm on North Ramsey Road remains awash in tomatoes – succulent Beefsteaks, full-flavored Bloody Butchers, Chocolate Cherries with their sweet, almost wine-like tang.

Inevitably, Faville has come up with all kinds of ways to use up the tomatoes blooming from the web of vines in her greenhouse. She makes baked-tomato spaghetti, green tomato mincemeat and even several batches of old-fashioned chili sauce. She slices them up for scrumptious BLT sandwiches and mixes them into salads and soups. Sunsugars – her favorite cherry variety – rarely make it into her house, however. Faville picks them right off the vine and pops them straight into her mouth. No salt needed for this tasty treat.

So don’t throw those extra tomatoes in the compost just yet. And don’t wait until they rot into a gooey mess on the kitchen countertop. With help from Faville and other local tomato fans, we give summer a happy send-off by offering a few ways to relish the season’s finest fruit:

Mash up some salsa

Sergio De Leon, who practically survived on his grandmother’s salsa during his childhood in Tamaulipas, Mexico, suggests using a molcajete – mortar and pestle – for this no-fuss salsa concoction: Take two or three tomatoes, soften them up on the burner until you can peel the skin off, then mash them up. Add a chili pepper – serrano or jalapeño, although De Leon recalls his grandmother using a pepper known as chile de monte – throw in some diced onions and a splash of water, and there you have it: Quick, easy salsa.

As a kid, the owner of De Leon Foods in Spokane would spoon the salsa out of the lava-rock molcajete and spread the mixture into a warm tortilla. “Back then, that was our meal,” he says. “If you came from a poor family, you got a couple tomatoes and chilies from the garden and make salsa.”

Dry tomatoes

Roma tomatoes are best for dried tomatoes, according to several tomato Web sites. Slice them in half and place them in the hot sun to dry with a sprinkling of salt and some herbs. Since milder September temperatures don’t always guarantee sun-dried tomatoes, several tomato experts suggested using the oven or a food dehydrator at a low heat for several hours. After the tomatoes are dry, store in air-tight containers, or pack in oil.

Mix up some tomato jam

Cooks.com describes this savory treat as “a cross between a chunky tomato preserve and thick tomato sauce puree.” Its many uses include: as a sandwich condiment, as a glaze on chicken or fish, as a spread on buttered toast or a bagel with cream cheese, as a crepe filling along with goat cheese, and yes, meatloaf.

Here’s one of several tomato jam recipes available on Cooks.com:

Tomato Jam

1 pound plum tomatoes, stem ends removed

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, or to taste

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper, or to taste

1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons white wine vinegar

2 tablespoons light brown sugar, firmly packed

Coarsely chop tomatoes keeping skin and seeds intact.

In a medium-sized sauté pan melt butter over medium-high heat. Add tomatoes and season with salt and pepper. Cook about five minutes until tomatoes have softened.

Add white wine vinegar and light brown sugar and cook five minutes or so longer until tomatoes are very soft and their juice has thickened. Cool and serve slightly warm or at room temperature.

Tomato jam can be made ahead and refrigerated in an airtight container for up to five days.

Yield: About 1 1/4 cups

Approximate nutrition per 2-ounce serving: 51 calories, 3 grams fat, (1.9 grams saturated, 51 percent fat calories), less than 1 gram protein, 6 grams carbohydrate, 7 milligrams cholesterol, less than 1 gram dietary fiber, 443 milligrams sodium.

Save the tomatoes for those barren winter months

To enjoy tomatoes year-round, check out “Canning Tomatoes and Tomato Products,” a 16-page pamphlet that you can buy for $1 from Washington State University Extension Publishing and Printing. The booklet includes information on equipment, preparation, spices, data for quart and pint jars, pressures and processing times for different canners and other helpful hints.

Another option, of course, is freezing.

“When I get lazy and don’t want to can, I freeze them,” said Elizabeth Casteel, who sold 1,200 tomato plants this spring in a span of only 1 1/2 hours at Spokane’s Garden Expo. Officially registered as “The Tomato Lady,” Casteel canned more than 50 quarts of tomatoes last year, but she also swears by her tried-and-true method of freezing. “You just throw uncooked tomatoes into a freezer bag – skin and all,” she said. When thawed later in the year, the tomatoes are perfect for soups, she said.

Fix up a pot of soup

Speaking of soup, Casteel also shared the following recipe for Cream of Tomato Soup:

Cream of Tomato Soup

4 tablespoons butter

7 to 10 cups fresh diced tomatoes

1 onion, chopped fine

2 tablespoons light brown sugar

1 tablespoon tomato paste

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 3/4 to 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth

1/2 cup heavy cream

Salt and pepper

Cayenne pepper

Melt butter in large pot over medium-high heat. Add tomatoes, onion, brown sugar, and tomato paste. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is softened and the tomatoes begin to caramelize, about 15 minutes.

Stir in the flour and cook for one minute. Slowly stir in the broth, scraping up any browned bits. Bring to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes. At this point, you can puree your soup in batches in a blender or food processor until smooth. (Casteel likes to puree half of it since she prefers soup with bits of tomato.)

Return the soup to the pot and stir in cream. Simmer briefly, then remove from the heat. Season with salt, pepper, and cayenne if desired.

Yield: 8 servings

Approximate nutrition per 8-ounce serving: 127 calories, 6 grams fat (3.7 grams saturated, 43 percent fat calories), 3 grams protein, 16 grams carbohydrate, 21 milligrams cholesterol, 2.5 grams dietary fiber, 124 milligrams sodium.

Use them in a salad, or make tomatoes the main ingredient

Tomatoes add that extra zing to any salad – whether it’s pasta or a fresh green one with lots of veggies. Serve slices of heirloom tomatoes with fresh basil, sliced mozzarella cheese, virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar and a little salt and pepper.

For an assortment of tomato salad recipes, check out Michele Anna Jordan’s “The Good Cook’s Book of Tomatoes.” Some of her recipes are available online at www.globalgourmet.com.

Try some chili sauce

Faville swears by this recipe for old-fashioned chili sauce, which she makes in large quantities each summer. It’s especially good with pork chops or scrambled eggs, she says.

Old-Fashioned Chili Sauce

Boiling water

Eight pounds ripe tomatoes

Four medium green peppers (one pound)

Four medium sweet red peppers (one pound)

3 cups coarsely chopped celery

3 cups coarsely chopped onion

2 cups granulated sugar

1 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed

2 tablespoons salt

2 (3-inch) cinnamon sticks

2 hot-pepper pods, crushed

2 teaspoons whole cloves

1 tablespoon mustard seed

3 cups cider vinegar

Pour boiling water over tomatoes to cover; let stand several minutes then peel and remove stems. Chop the tomatoes (they should measure about three quarts).

Wash and drain peppers well. Halve and remove seeds and ribs. Chop peppers coarsely.

In a 12-quart kettle, combine chopped tomato, peppers, celery and onion with both kinds of sugar and the salt. With long-handled wooden spoon, stir over medium heat until sugar is dissolved.

Bring to boiling; boil uncovered for 45 minutes.

Tie spices in a bag (several thicknesses of cheesecloth or muslin). Then add bag of spices to the vegetable mixture.

Boil uncovered and stirring occasionally, 30 minutes longer.

Add vinegar and boil for about an hour or until it reaches the desired consistency. Faville says her batches take as long as three hours.

Meanwhile, sterilize six pint jars; leave in hot water until ready to fill.

Remove and discard spice bag. Completing one jar at a time, ladle hot chili sauce into jars to within 1/2 inch of top. Cap at once and process in a boiling water bath 20 minutes (for altitudes between 1,001 to 3,000 feet above sea level) or in a steam-pressure canner as manufacturer directs.

Chili sauce can be frozen, according to the National Center for Home Food Preservation. Prepare as usual, cool rapidly, pack into rigid containers leaving headspace, and freeze.

Yield: Six pints

Approximate nutrition per 3-ounce serving: 57 calories, less than 1 gram fat (3 percent fat calories), less than 1 gram protein, 14 grams carbohydrate, no cholesterol, less than 1 gram dietary fiber, 243 milligrams sodium.

For the tomatoes that never ripen …

Here’s another standby from the Faville household – green tomato mincemeat:

Green Tomato Mincemeat

Three quarts prepared green tomatoes

Three quarts prepared apples

1 pound seedless raisins

2 tablespoons each of grated orange and lemon rind

5 cups packed light brown sugar

3/4 cup vinegar

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice

1/2 cup water

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

2 teaspoons salt

Prepare green tomatoes by chopping fine or putting through food processor.

Peel and core apples and chop. Combine all ingredients in order in a large kettle and bring to boil, stirring frequently. Reduce heat and simmer about 2 1/2 hours until dark and thick. Stir occasionally and protect from scorching near end.

Pour boiling hot into pint or quart jars, leaving 1/2 inch of headroom. Seal and process in boiling water bath for 25 minutes (for altitudes between 1,001 to 3,000 feet above sea level) or in a steam-pressure canner as manufacturer directs.

It can also be frozen. Cool rapidly, pack into rigid containers leaving headspace, and freeze.

Yield: About four quarts, each quart makes one pie.

Approximate nutrition per 3-ounce serving: 114 calories, less than 1 gram fat (1 percent fat calories), less than 1 gram protein, 29 grams carbohydrate, no cholesterol, 1 gram dietary fiber, 90 milligrams sodium.

Cook up a pot of tomato sauce

It’s the foundation for pizza, pasta and a long list of tasty dishes. Basic tomato sauce, when made from scratch, beats anything you’ll find in a jar. There’s a host of recipes out there – some requiring hours of simmering, others barely cooked, and still others raw. Here’s a recipe for fresh tomato sauce from allrecipes.com that takes only 30 minutes to make:

Tomato Sauce

4 tablespoons olive oil

1 onion, chopped

3 tomatoes, chopped

1 tablespoon tomato puree

Salt and pepper, to taste

In a large skillet over medium heat, cook onion in olive oil until translucent. Stir in tomatoes, cook until juice begins to thicken. Stir in puree, salt and pepper. Reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes more, until rich and thick.

Yield: 4 servings

Approximate nutrition per serving: 174 calories, 14 grams fat (2 grams saturated, 69 percent fat calories), 2 grams protein, 12 grams carbohydrate, no cholesterol, 3 grams dietary fiber, 163 milligrams sodium.

Roast tomatoes

Tullia Barbanti of Spokane – known for her tomato-based sauces sold in grocery stores throughout the Northwest – won’t share her secret family recipe, but she has plenty of other advice as far as tomatoes are concerned.

Born and raised in a small Italian town called Fossombrone, Barbanti’s childhood home had a large garden where tomatoes thrived all the way through November in the sunshine of Italy’s Adriatic coast. One of her favorite ways to eat tomatoes is simply by stuffing them with breadcrumbs, garlic and parsley and roasting them on the grill. You can get the same results by baking them, she said.

“Grandma always picked them in the garden and used them for all her cooking,” recalled Barbanti, who has lived in Spokane for almost 50 years. “Tomato is good in everything.”