I wanted to get some tomatoes from my farmers market last Wednesday to make
salsa. I like to get the "soft and bruised" ones (I call 'em scratch &
dents) because even after I cut away the bad spots with a generous hand,
they are still cheaper than unblemished tomatoes, and really ripe tomatoes
make the best salsa.

The booth where I usually get my scratch & dents had only 3 bags of them --
about 6 pounds total, for $3, $1 per bag. I bought them, thinking that
this wasn't going to be enough, so I bought a quart of regular tomatoes at
another stand. I was about to leave the market when I noticed a third stand
had a lot of tomatoes, so I asked about scratch & dents. Talk to the man by
the truck, I was told.

So the man pulls out a box of tomatoes. The box was less than a bushel, but
it was a lot of tomatoes -- probably 50 good sized ones. Five bucks. Did I
want more? He pulled out two half-filled boxes.

Just the one, I said, but then he told me he'd give them all to me for five
bucks since he was going to throw them out anyway.

In all, I could barely fit the tomatoes I bought in the space I had in my
basement refrigerator.

Saturday morning I shopped for the rest of the salsa ingredients and more
jars. Saturday afternoon and on into the night I spent peeling, deseeding
and chopping tomatoes.

Sunday I slept in, still getting over a killer cold. Then I went to the
grocery store to get what I forgot on Saturday (garlic) and the dried
peppers Dominick's (local Safeway) mysteriously didn't stock. Sunday
afternoon and evening were spent making and canning salsa. (Oh, and a few
jars of applesauce, too.)

My salsa-making marathon got me 25 jars of salsa -- 11 or 12 pints and the
rest half-pints. I still have some tomatoes left ove, but I decided today
I'll just freeze them.

Anny

Anny Middon wrote:
> I wanted to get some tomatoes from my farmers market last Wednesday to make
> salsa. I like to get the "soft and bruised" ones (I call 'em scratch &
> dents) because even after I cut away the bad spots with a generous hand,
> they are still cheaper than unblemished tomatoes, and really ripe tomatoes
> make the best salsa.
>
> The booth where I usually get my scratch & dents had only 3 bags of them --
> about 6 pounds total, for $3, $1 per bag. I bought them, thinking that
> this wasn't going to be enough, so I bought a quart of regular tomatoes at
> another stand. I was about to leave the market when I noticed a third stand
> had a lot of tomatoes, so I asked about scratch & dents. Talk to the man by
> the truck, I was told.
>
> So the man pulls out a box of tomatoes. The box was less than a bushel, but
> it was a lot of tomatoes -- probably 50 good sized ones. Five bucks. Did I
> want more? He pulled out two half-filled boxes.
>
> Just the one, I said, but then he told me he'd give them all to me for five
> bucks since he was going to throw them out anyway.
>
> In all, I could barely fit the tomatoes I bought in the space I had in my
> basement refrigerator.
>
> Saturday morning I shopped for the rest of the salsa ingredients and more
> jars. Saturday afternoon and on into the night I spent peeling, deseeding
> and chopping tomatoes.
>
> Sunday I slept in, still getting over a killer cold. Then I went to the
> grocery store to get what I forgot on Saturday (garlic) and the dried
> peppers Dominick's (local Safeway) mysteriously didn't stock. Sunday
> afternoon and evening were spent making and canning salsa. (Oh, and a few
> jars of applesauce, too.)
>
> My salsa-making marathon got me 25 jars of salsa -- 11 or 12 pints and the
> rest half-pints. I still have some tomatoes left ove, but I decided today
> I'll just freeze them.
>
> Anny
>
> How do you freeze tomatoes?...in a freezer zip bag...skinned & cut up?
Aloha...tutu
>
>

"Anny Middon" > wrote in message
. net...
>I wanted to get some tomatoes from my farmers market last Wednesday to make
>salsa. I like to get the "soft and bruised" ones (I call 'em scratch &
>dents) because even after I cut away the bad spots with a generous hand,
>they are still cheaper than unblemished tomatoes, and really ripe tomatoes
>make the best salsa.
>
> The booth where I usually get my scratch & dents had only 3 bags of
> them -- about 6 pounds total, for $3, $1 per bag. I bought them,
> thinking that this wasn't going to be enough, so I bought a quart of
> regular tomatoes at another stand. I was about to leave the market when I
> noticed a third stand had a lot of tomatoes, so I asked about scratch &
> dents. Talk to the man by the truck, I was told.
>
> So the man pulls out a box of tomatoes. The box was less than a bushel,
> but it was a lot of tomatoes -- probably 50 good sized ones. Five bucks.
> Did I want more? He pulled out two half-filled boxes.
>
> Just the one, I said, but then he told me he'd give them all to me for
> five bucks since he was going to throw them out anyway.
>
> In all, I could barely fit the tomatoes I bought in the space I had in my
> basement refrigerator.
>
> Saturday morning I shopped for the rest of the salsa ingredients and more
> jars. Saturday afternoon and on into the night I spent peeling, deseeding
> and chopping tomatoes.
>
> Sunday I slept in, still getting over a killer cold. Then I went to the
> grocery store to get what I forgot on Saturday (garlic) and the dried
> peppers Dominick's (local Safeway) mysteriously didn't stock. Sunday
> afternoon and evening were spent making and canning salsa. (Oh, and a few
> jars of applesauce, too.)
>
> My salsa-making marathon got me 25 jars of salsa -- 11 or 12 pints and the
> rest half-pints. I still have some tomatoes left ove, but I decided today
> I'll just freeze them.
>
> Anny
>
That's our girl! I'm getting over some illness myself and watching the
'maters on the counter shrivel bit by bit. But I feel great today and I'll
make plans for salsa this week for sure.
It's about time to test that new recipe for pickled cauliflower (with
fennel, coriander, and cumin seed). I made it last week, but waiting a bit
for the flavors to blend.
Edrena

Anny Middon wrote:
> I wanted to get some tomatoes from my farmers market last Wednesday to make
> salsa. I like to get the "soft and bruised" ones (I call 'em scratch &
> dents) because even after I cut away the bad spots with a generous hand,
> they are still cheaper than unblemished tomatoes, and really ripe tomatoes
> make the best salsa.
>
> The booth where I usually get my scratch & dents had only 3 bags of them --
> about 6 pounds total, for $3, $1 per bag. I bought them, thinking that
> this wasn't going to be enough, so I bought a quart of regular tomatoes at
> another stand. I was about to leave the market when I noticed a third stand
> had a lot of tomatoes, so I asked about scratch & dents. Talk to the man by
> the truck, I was told.
>
> So the man pulls out a box of tomatoes. The box was less than a bushel, but
> it was a lot of tomatoes -- probably 50 good sized ones. Five bucks. Did I
> want more? He pulled out two half-filled boxes.
>
> Just the one, I said, but then he told me he'd give them all to me for five
> bucks since he was going to throw them out anyway.
>
> In all, I could barely fit the tomatoes I bought in the space I had in my
> basement refrigerator.
>
> Saturday morning I shopped for the rest of the salsa ingredients and more
> jars. Saturday afternoon and on into the night I spent peeling, deseeding
> and chopping tomatoes.
>
> Sunday I slept in, still getting over a killer cold. Then I went to the
> grocery store to get what I forgot on Saturday (garlic) and the dried
> peppers Dominick's (local Safeway) mysteriously didn't stock. Sunday
> afternoon and evening were spent making and canning salsa. (Oh, and a few
> jars of applesauce, too.)
>
> My salsa-making marathon got me 25 jars of salsa -- 11 or 12 pints and the
> rest half-pints. I still have some tomatoes left ove, but I decided today
> I'll just freeze them.
>
> Anny
>
>

Easiest things in the world to freeze Anny. Just wash and dry them, tuck
into a bag or container and freeze. When you're ready to cook them just
get them out of the freezer, let thaw, skin slips right off, excess
liquid is either thrown out or used as cooking liquid. Do that
frequently here.

George

In article >,
Norma Mastenbrook > wrote:

> > How do you freeze tomatoes?...in a freezer zip bag...skinned & cut up?
> Aloha...tutu

Tutu, you can freeze tomatoes by putting them in a ziplock bag. My U of
MN extension folks want us to blanch and peel first, but most people I
know don't bother. The skin will slip when the tomatoes are thawed. If
you freeze them loose on a cookie sheet before bagging, you can remove
just the couple you might want for a bit of flavor rather than a bunch
of tomatoes in the dish. Your call.

I'm guessing the NCHFP site has info about it, as would any full-service
preserving book. Freeze the salsa, too. Or the juice. Or the sauce.
--
-Barb, Mother Superior, HOSSSPoJ
http://www.jamlady.eboard.com - story and
pics of Ronald McDonald House dinner posted 6-24-2007