The tomato plants in the greenhouse were looking sad and almost dead but still with several tomatoes on them and I picked a colander full of the big plum tomatoes before getting all the dead stems and leaves out to the garden waste bin.
I skinned them and added to a large chopped onion which I'd softened in a pan and cooked for a while to get rid of some of the liquid. Then I added tomato puree, garlic puree, a little dried oregano and lots of black pepper and cooked for a bit longer until it looked nice and thick.
It's made all these tubs of pizza topping for next to no cost. Pizza bases made partly in the bread maker are in the freezer and with grated cheese makes an easy meal.
On the other side of the greenhouse the mini plum tomatoes were dripping with redness and that's despite me eating them and giving some to son and family. So I took off most and popped them into bags and put out the front in my 'help yourself' box. Although the plants look virtually dead there are several mini plum tomatoes that are still green so I'll keep an eye on them and bring in either as they turn red or if the weather gets really cold.
Everybody seems to have done really well with their toms this year, I miss growing them. Well done on the pizza toppings and bases, lovely cheap and simple home cooked meals.
ReplyDeleteEasy peasy, good and tasty!
DeleteGreat idea. I used to just bag them up and pop them in the freezer as they are - they take on the appearance and feel of snooker balls but once thawed they are OK to use in cooking.
ReplyDeleteI have been doing that too. I've made a tiny cut in the top which is supposed to stop them splitting. I haven't checked to see if this is trud
DeleteI always take the skins off first - don't like the skin once cooked or frozen
DeleteYou can't beat garden tomatoes in any home made meal - they are so, so tasty!
ReplyDeleteIt's been a good year, plenty to eat all through summer
DeleteWhat a great idea. My tomatoes are all along the windowsill, still ripening. Xx
ReplyDeleteThe greenhouse had got most ripe this year
DeleteI don't think the weather is forecast to get really cold any time soon. It's unseasonably warm.
ReplyDeleteLots of lovely passata there:-)
Makes a good pizza, bit more flavour than just passata
DeleteYou had me at pizza! Someone once said to me a pizza is just a glorified, overpriced cheese and tomato open sandwich. Ha! pizza is so much more than that! Enjoy your home made goodness.
ReplyDeleteMake a nice easy meal when I have all the parts in the freezer
DeleteI picked all mine this weekend, I have a paper bag full of green ones, which will ripen in the next few weeks.
ReplyDeleteIt's been a good year in the greenhouse
DeleteI'm looking forward to a better crop of tomatoes once I have my greenhouse up and running (being done mid-November). Great free pizza toppings anyway.
ReplyDeleteYou will love your greenhouse - I wouldn't be without one now - just added up - 45 years with a greenhouse
DeleteWe had so much rain here in New Hampshire my tomato plants were a pure mess. I envy your home made sauce
ReplyDeleteCathy
I'm glad I have a greenhouse - don't have to worry about the weather
DeleteI used to grow tomatoes and found them quite easy to grow. The best harvest I had were the tumbling cherry tomatoes I grew in wall hanging baskets in full sun. So much so that we got a bit fed up with them, but friends and neighbours benefitted. You could always make Green Tomato Chutney with the unripe tomatoes (my favourite chutney).
ReplyDeleteGreen tomato is my Least favourite chutney!
DeleteI make tomato sauce for Bloody Marys and Virgin Marys by roasting a bowl of misshapen ones in the bottom of the oven when cooking other stuff.
ReplyDeleteThen I skin them and give them a swoosh in the mixer and freeze them in small tubs. It's delicious.
That's something I don't need to do - I dont drink either version!
DeleteYes, it's been a great year for tomatoes hasn't it. I love the idea of DIY pizzas that you now have in your freezer, component parts all ready to go. I was going to take my tomato plants down at the weekend, but somehow even though it feels so cool they are still ripening so they have had a reprieve for a few days. And I just found two delicious blueberries in the garden while I was having a bit of a tidy up, a tasty reward. :-)
ReplyDeleteI gave up on blueberries a few years ago - never had any luck with them
DeleteFresh home grown tomatoes can not be beat. Your pizza sauce will be delicious atop your homemade crusts. Offering free toms to people passing by is a thoughtful and lovely gesture.
ReplyDeleteEasy to put a few veg out and with a path going by there are always plenty of people who take them
DeleteYour energy and ingenuity at making what you call "easy meals" amazes me Sue.
ReplyDeleteI like batch making - makes a meal easy to sort
DeleteWhat a great idea to make pizza topping ready for a quick meal. I sometimes make a lazy pizza using a seeded tortilla if I fancy something hot for lunch. Catriona
ReplyDeleteIt's good to have easy meals ready
DeleteLove the idea of having pizza bases available. I will have to drag out my breadmaker recipe book and have a go :)
ReplyDeleteMakes an easy meal - handy to have in the freezer
DeleteVery clever. I've got a small batch of tomatoes that I need to figure out what to do with. Now I know. Do you know that you can freeze the dough, take it out and let it thaw and then roll it out and let it raise as usual?
ReplyDeleteI make two pizza bases from the dough made in the breadmaker and finished by hand. Then they have just a few minutes in the oven to firm them before going in the freezer. They then only need topping and cooking
DeleteI really miss growing Tomatoes. I used to grow lots and bottled them for winter. I would cook them in much the same way as you then sterilise for about an hour in Le Parfait jars. I would often have around 40 jars.
ReplyDeleteIt was better for us to sell them - a very good income - and buy canned tomatoes in winter!
Delete