Category: Help! I planted too many Tomatoes!

We always make pizza with our fresh heirloom tomatoes.  We’ve done it on a pizza stone in the oven and outside, on the grill.  Both are wonderful!  But, I came across an idea to bake them in a cast iron skillet, which I had to try.  When I bake on the pizza stone, it takes a long time to bring the stone to temp, and the whole process usually makes a big mess.  This recipe only baked for about 20 minutes, in a cold skillet, once the oven came up to temperature.

I will be honest: the crust does not come close to the crust I get following my usual recipe.  But, the delicious sweetness of the heirloom tomatoes makes this dish a winner for quick summertime suppers!

To make the crust:

• • Dissolve 1 Tbl yeast in 1 cup warm water.
  • Combine 2 cups flour and 1-1/2 tsp salt.  Add the water and yeast mixture and 1-1/2 Tbl olive oil.
  • Form a ball and knead, adding an additional 1/2 flour, or more, as needed, until dough is smooth and elastic.
  • Cover and let rise for about an hour.

• Cut in half to make 2 pizza crusts.
• Preheat oven to 500 degrees.
• Lightly grease a large cast iron skillet.  Roll out 1/2 the dough to fit.
• Add toppings, as desire.
• Bake 18-20 minutes.  Cool 5 minutes before slicing.

What I did:

• Brush crust with olive oil infused with crushed garlic.
• Top with some freshly grated Parmesan cheese.
• Slice a variety of fresh heirloom tomatoes on top and sprinkle tomatoes with Italian seasoning.
• Top with an Italian cheese blend, some hot pepper flakes, another sprinkle of freshly grated Parmesan and some fresh basil.
• Bake for 20 minutes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

These were so good that we ate them many times throughout the season!

 

 

 

 

 

 

When I was canning this year’s pizza sauce, I had enough left over to try the skillet method using my own sauce.  It was delicious!  I did precook the crust a little bit, because I’m not happy with the doneness of the crust after only 20 minutes in the oven.  I’m still experimenting with the crust, but I’m sold on this method of having fresh, homemade pizza in less time than I can send out for pizza delivery!

 

This was another new addition to my canning list this year, and I am very excited about it!  I came across a recipe that was described as something one particular woman’s grandmother used to make every year, that sounded very much like the chili sauce that was a staple in our pantry at home.  My father disliked ketchup, but went through bottle after bottle of Heinz Chili Sauce.  He put it on burgers, hot dogs, fried bologna (yes, we ate fried bologna), hash brown potatoes, ham sandwiches, and my mother put it on top of her meatloaf during the end of the baking time, — something that I do myself!

I read the list of the ingredients (tomato puree, distilled white vinegar, high fructose corn syrup, salt, corn syrup, dehydrated onions, spice, garlic powder, and “natural flavoring”, — whatever that is), and knew I had to try this grandmother’s recipe!  I have made a few adjustments, to allow for personal taste (and to use what I had on hand), but kept the ratios the same, for canning safety.

My recipe:

• 20-30 medium tomatoes, a variety, to fill my largest baking tray
• 3 medium onions
• 2 large green bell peppers
• 1 large red bell pepper
• 2 cups apple cider vinegar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 Tbl celery seeds
• 1 Tbl mustard seeds
• 2 Tbl salt
• 1 tsp allspice
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp cloves
• 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Cut tomatoes in half and remove core.  Blacken under the broiler to remove the skins.

Combine tomatoes, onions, bell pepper, vinegar, sugar, garlic, celery seed, mustard seed, salt, and pepper in a large saucepan.  Use a potato masher or an immersion blender to remove any large pieces of tomato.  Bring to a boil, stirring frequently.  Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sauce begins to thicken, about 1-1/2 hours.

Add allspice, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves.  Continue to simmer, gently stirring, until it reaches the desired consistency, about 30 minutes.  The sauce should be thickened and begin to mound on a spoon.

Ladle the hot chili sauce into hot jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace.

Process the jars in a boiling water canner for 20 minutes.

This is something new I’m trying this year.  We have been growing Black Cherry tomatoes in a container along the front walk for several years, which is a favorite for everyone who walks by!  The plant produces very well, and we usually have plenty for snacking and for salads.  But, this year, I wanted to try and dry some, to preserve some of that delicious sweetness beyond the season.  I plan on drying some and storing some as is, in a vacuum sealed jar.  But, I also wanted to experiment with storing the dried tomatoes in oil.

I have done a lot of research, and believe I am convinced that they should hold up well in olive oil, without refrigeration.  It is my understanding that this is a safe practice, as long as nothing else — such as garlic or basil — is added to the jar.  Dried tomatoes, enough olive oil to cover, period.

I look forward to using them in several recipes I have that call for sun-dried tomatoes in oil, but I am most anxious to try them on garlic-rubbed bruschetta, and topped with fresh basil.  Stay tuned for pictures!

Marinara sauce is a new addition to my canning list this year.  We do eat a lot of it, but usually just purchase a jar from Trader Joe’s which has no unnecessary additives on the ingredient list.  But, this was a very good season for tomatoes in our garden, so I decided to try a batch of Marinara.

Most Marinara sauce recipes call for some type of paste tomato, only, such as Roma or San Marzano.  I used both, but added some of my sweet heirlooms, as well.  When the tomatoes are ripe and ready to process, I process!  I did purchase a freezer recently, so I can try holding tomatoes until I get enough of one kind for a specific recipe, — but I do love to experiment with variety combinations and see what each year’s garden “tastes like”.  It really does vary from year to year!

I find that the most important part of any canned tomato recipe is respecting the ratios suggested between the acidic tomatoes and the other non-acidic ingredients, such as onion, garlic and herbs.

I believe I used:

• 20# tomatoes, blackened under the broiler and then peeled
• 1-1/2 cups chopped onion
• 4 large cloves garlic
• 1 cup white wine
• 1 Tbl salt
• 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup finely chopped basil
• 1/4 cup finely chopped Italian parsley
• 1/2 cup bottled lemon juice

Run the peeled tomatoes through a food mill, then add the remaining ingredients.  Simmer, reduce by 1/3 to 1/2.

Fill quart jars and process 40 minutes.

 

I admit it.  I have a love-hate relationship with pizza.  While it may not be my favorite food, it may be the food I would pick if I could only have one to eat everyday, for the rest of my life.  I grew up loving it, in every form and only ever had one pizza I did not like.  Ever.  I even loved “Pizza Day” at our high school,  which meant the cafeteria was serving canned tomato sauce on hamburger bun with melted processed cheese.

I loved it all!  Until now.  Until fast-food pizza, frozen cardboard pizza, pizza that doesn’t taste anything like pizza is supposed to taste pizza. When I was a teenager/young adult, the only pizza that was publically available came from either an Italian restaurant or a local bar.  “Bar pizza” was the best!  Every local family-owned bar had a unique pizza recipe of it’s own — and I can still “taste” many of them, now, as I remember them.  But, sadly, those days are over, destroyed by fast-food chains and the raping of the American diet.

So, I learned to make my own pizza.  And any good pizza needs a good sauce.  A nice, simple sauce made from a few fresh ingredients.   Today, a homemade, basic pizza sauce is something I always have on hand — either canned from my own garden tomatoes, or made in bulk using a good quality canned tomato product and then canned for later use.  No unnecessary ingredients, no artificial flavors.  Simply delicious! Continue reading “Volunteer Pizza Sauce”

This summer has proven to be the best tomato year in a long while!  It has been so wonderful, especially after the extreme disappointment of last year.  Our garden soil is much more dependable now, with our rich chicken-made compost.  The Summer temps have been unusually mild, as well, following a long, productive Spring.  We were able to produce vigorous plants, capable enough to support a bumper crop of fruit while surviving the inevitable Summer heat that we are just now, in late July, experiencing.

There is no better way to capture the taste of Summer than by canning salsa.  We eat fresh salsa all year, but nothing beats the taste of fresh garden salsa in the middle of winter.  My recipes vary a bit, as I use what I am able to produce in the garden.  But, I am careful to follow official canning recommendations (available online) for water bath canning, and always follow a recommended formula for balancing the non-acidic add-ins (such as onions and chiles) with the amount of acid in the recipe to make the salsa safe.

What I did differently this year: I broiled my tomatoes, to peel them and to enrich the flavor.  Wow, Zowie!!

This can be easily done under the broiler.  It only takes about 10 minutes to char the tomatoes.

 

Cool under a kitchen towel for about ten more minutes, and then peel.  The peels come right off, quite easily.  Then chop the tomato pulp and transfer it to a large pot, carefully including all the flavorful juices, as well.

This is the best trick ever!!  If you have never tried it, try it now.  Really.  Stop reading this and Go Try! Continue reading “Summer in a Jar Salsa”