Classic Wines

Giving Tomatoes a Fond Farewell

Oh, no! The end is coming - I can feel it! The weather is growing cooler and drier, and the yellow school buses are rolling about... It's the end - of New Jersey tomatoes, that is. For those not from the Philadelphia/Jersey area, the flavorful, summery New Jersey tomato is juicy and ruby red inside, and a big, somewhat irregularly cool shape on the outside.

I'm sure that many a local reader is fed up with the fruit by now, but I'm sitting here, upset and hyperventilating over the thought of winter tomatoes - yuck! Maybe it's because I didn't eat all of my garden tomatoes that I morn the coming of the tomato-less winter months. I hate the winter fruit - it's pale, juiceless and flavorless. But I don't want to tear over this fruit! It gave me and everyone near New Jersey much happiness all summer, so why not bid the fruit good-bye with a bang?

Earlier today, my mother and I stepped into a supermarket, and while on the deli line (a labor exchange, food for work), I witnessed the sorriest looking bruschetta mix these big, ol' brown eyes have ever laid sight upon. In a discussion with my mother, I told her that anyone can make a "perfect" bruschetta. We all cook according to our own personal tastes, and who knows your own taste better than yourself?

The bruschetta mixture is kind of like an Italian "salsa." You have your diced tomatoes, garlic, basil, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, and finely diced red onion (this is optional, I happen to love it, though). My hubby and I tend to prefer to make a garlic oil a day in advance for this tasty, Italian treat. We feel that it makes the garlic less intrusive and that the overall mixture is more well-rounded in the end, plus, you can use this same oil to brush on the baguette slices. In contrast, the Mexican salsa has no oil, but we gain some heat with hot peppers. The onion and garlic are present, as are the tomatoes. The basil is replaced with cilantro, and the balsamic vinegar is replaced by lime juice - all you need to do is add salt and voila! One hour later, it's salsa time!

So maybe you don't want to party with tomatoes no more - maybe you need a break. At this point, I'd recommend storage (why get rid of your tomatoes?). You could peel them and freeze them for later use (they keep for up to eight months, so why not?). A quick guide to freezing tomatoes is as follows: scour with an "x" at the bottom, place in boiling water for 15 seconds, immediately place in ice water, peel off skin with paring knife, squeeze and remove liquid and seeds (liquid can be saved for drinking or cooking), place in freezer bags, remove all air out of bag or vacuum seal, and freeze. It sounds like a lot, but it's not that much - if you have kids, get them to help with certain parts. For more information, please visit this link.

Another tomato happy thought is that of oven roasted tomatoes, where you toss the fruit in olive oil, and then bake it until the skin comes off easy. Those tomatoes make for a delectable pasta sauce!

In the end, the last bit of tomato season doesn't have to be painful. Throw the food a party! Make tomato jams, jellies, salsas, and let your imagination go wild - a feast for the almighty tomato! Make it the fruit's grand finale.