3 Easy Recipes for Your Summer Tomato Harvest

In so many parts of the country, ripe tomatoes are hanging on vines waiting to be made into salads, sauces, and snacks.  Tomatoes are nutrient-packed treats that boost our body’s health just as much as they delight our taste buds. They’re one of the only ways we get a dietary source of lycopene, an antioxidant that is associated with reduced risk of heart disease and cancer, healthy skin, and anti-inflammation.

Tomatoes provide us with so many important dietary needs:

• Fiber
• Vitamin C
• Potassium
• Folate
• Vitamin K
• Beta carotene

These colorful delights are so versatile, but sometimes we forget that there are more ways to eat them than just in salads and on burgers (although those are brilliant ways to enjoy a tomato!).Do you have an abundant tomato harvest in your backyard garden? Let’s get slicing!

Check out True Organic Tomato & Vegetable Food. It’s one of our most popular plant foods!

 

Stuffed Caprese Tomatoes

Inspired by Delish

Elevate your tomato salad with this creatively designed “compact-salad.” Sometimes called Hasselback Caprese Salad, this stylish dish is perfect for parties and barbeques — and impressing your friends.

What you need:

• Dense, medium-sized tomatoes
• Fresh mozzarella cheese
• Fresh basil leaves
• Olive oil & Balsamic reduction
• Salt and pepper to taste

 

 

How to make it:

• Pick the largest, densest tomatoes you can find.
• Slice vertically about two-thirds of the way through, so that the tomato still holds together.
• Slice fresh mozzarella into thin slices and insert into tomatoes.
• Add fresh basil…preferably from the garden!
• Dress with a drizzle of balsamic reduction, a sprinkle of salt, and fresh-ground pepper.
• Dig in! This one can be messy 😉

 

 

Baked Stuffed Tomatoes

Stuffed veggies are an ideal summer dinner dish for all occasions: dinner parties, busy families, or date night. Tomatoes can be trickier to stuff than peppers, because of their soft texture, but the ooey-gooey deliciousness is worth it! Just be sure to give your dinner guests plenty of napkins.

The best part? No measuring needed! Just gather these ingredients, plus any additional goodies you’d like to add, and build your own tomato creation.

What you need:

– Big tomatoes!

– Bread crumbs

– Fresh oregon & basil (dried works, too!)

– Cheese that melts nicely (provolone, mozzarella, or parmesan is perfect)

– Any other stuffing that sounds good to your taste buds!

How to make it:

– Slice tomatoes in half horizontally.

– Scoop out tomato seeds and pulp.

– Stuff tomatoes with breadcrumbs, cheese, and herbs, etc.

– Place on a non-greased baking sheet a few inches apart.

– Bake at 350° for 10-15 minutes; tomatoes should be soft and shriveled but still holding their shape.

– Remove from the oven, allow to cool, and enjoy!

 

 

Homemade Ketchup

Inspired by NatureFresh

Who doesn’t love ketchup? Store-bought ketchup is certainly yummy, but making your own ketchup will forever change your standards for everybody’s favorite condiment — and may inspire you to become your own home sous chef.

Store-bought ketchup typically contains lots of sugar, preservatives, and other additions, distracting from that “true” tomato taste. Make your own ketchup from scratch and you’ll never go back to store-bought.

 

What you need:

• 4-5 medium tomatoes
• 1 tbsp. sugar
• 2 tbsp. white balsamic vinegar
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. smoked paprika…or other spices like oregano, rosemary, etc.: get creative!

 How to make it:

– Place tomatoes and ½ cup of water into a pot.

– Cook over medium high heat.

– As tomatoes start to soften, add remaining ingredients.

– Simmer for 10 minutes, or until tomatoes are mushy and skin is falling off.

– Remove from heat and place in blender

– Puree until smooth.

– Place blender in refrigerator for a few minutes. Be careful, the blender is hot!

– Pour puree through a fine strainer to remove seeds and skin.

– Return to medium heat for 5-7 minutes, simmer to desired consistency.

– Pour into a heat-safe container.

– Cool before serving!