Top Ten Ways To Use Tomatoes From Your Garden

Here they are fried and yummy

Home made salsa is great

2 fresh tomatoes (diced)
1 cup bell pepper (mix green and red)
1/2 cup jalapeño pepper
1 cup onion
1 Tbsp cilantro
1 Tbsp lemon juice

Mix all ingredients together and serve with tortilla chips

Cherry tomatoes make excellent cups for fish spread or egg salad. Just scoop out the insides and replace with the spread or salad.

OR....

Take regular size tomatoes and scoop out the insides and add your own fillings

OLD-TIME SUMMER TOMATO SOUP

From "The Splendid Table's How to Eat Supper," by Lynne Rossetto Kasper and Sally Swift (Clarkson Potter, 2008).

Extra-virgin olive oil
3 medium onions, peeled and diced
1/2 cup tightly packed torn, fresh basil leaves
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
3 large cloves garlic, minced
3 pounds fresh tomatoes, cored and chopped (don't seed and peel)

About 4 cups homemade chicken broth or 2 (14-ounce) cans chicken or vegetable broth and 2/3 cup water

FILM the bottom of a 6-quart pot with olive oil and heat over medium-high. Stir in the onions, season with salt and pepper and cook until the onions are golden, 5 to 8 minutes, stirring often. Add the garlic and basil and cook briefly, until garlic is fragrant.

ADD the tomatoes and broth and bring to a simmer. Cover and cook 5 to 10 minutes. Taste and check the seasoning. Cool 10 minutes, then lightly puree in a food processor or blender or in the pot using an immersion blender. Serve hot.

Yield: 3 to 4 servings.

Dry them

You can dry any type of tomato

Pick some tomatoes
Cut them in half
Cut out bruises
Take out seeds

Slice them in thin slices
Place on cookie sheet or if you have a dehydrator just place on the racks

Place cookie sheet out in the sun (if out in sun use a cheese cloth on the top to keep out bugs)or in low temp oven (150 degrees)

Let dry till all water has been removed
When done, the tomatoes should be flexible, like a raisin from a fresh bag; not brittle. Most describe them as leathery with a deep red color, without free water or a tacky feeling.