how to make ten dollars last six months
Wednesday, September 7, 2011 Someday I’ll learn canning. And when I do, I’ll get over this fear I have of poisoning Myron or myself with the results. In the meantime, I freeze things. And when I say things, I really mean the only things I bother preserving from the summer bounty: corn, berries, and tomatoes. The corn and berries are simple, and I’ve heard you can throw whole tomatoes into the freezer if you’re going to make sauce out of them eventually, but they take up too much space. And, um, that bushel of tomatoes I showed you a little while ago? That’s way, way, way too much space. There are still only two of us here! And in the meantime, we’ve eaten a lot of roasted tomato soup and more than a few Gruyère grilled cheese sandwiches.
I’m actually running out of pans, so I had to resort to the nonstick pizza pan to keep the flow of tomatoes going. This batch is not peeled, seeded, or anything! Just really ripe and hefty romas/plums, with olive oil, sea salt, pepper, and a mix of a little thyme, rosemary, and summer savory. One of the other trays included two heads of garlic, treated the same way. These stayed in the oven at 250 for about four to five hours, and sometimes you have to remove the littlest tomatoes if they get too wrinkly. For this batch, I still want some moisture in there.
To make soup out of these, I put a bunch of the roasted tomatoes into a medium pot with water or light broth (not stock) to cover. Squeeze some of the softened garlic out of its papery covers, and add a big shallot. Bring to a boil and simmer about fifteen minutes, and then puree. It won’t be silky smooth unless you’ve removed the seeds and skins in advance, but the rustic texture doesn’t bother me in the least. You can gild the lily with cream or milk, but it’s not necessary; the sweetness of the tomatoes and the deep garlic flavor is enough for me.
Um, speaking of gilding the lily. There’s smoked Gouda and some cilantro on there. Good thing my grilled cheese are tiny little things.
Two more ways to get that box emptied: Tomato puree, which I keep in a flat freezer bag. Because it makes a nice flat hard block, it’s easy to break off chunks of it to throw into vegetable soup (edit: oooh, or a vegetable curry!) over the winter, and we eat a lot of that here. You can pour it into an ice cube tray, too. Finally, I’m doing two triple batches of marinara. I KNOW. But one of them is this one from Bella Eats, with bacon and garlic. I can cook two pots of marinara while more tomatoes slow-roast in the oven. The freezer will be groaning by the time I’m done, but I’m pretty sure that’s the only complaint I’ll hear.
Reader Comments (12)
OMG Fall foodgasm, I has it. I picture you eating a bowl of that delicious soup wrapped up in comfy sweaters & socks, all bundled with warmth and love. It's a good picture.
HOLY AWESOMENESS. I didn't realize roasted tomatoes could get any better. I have a MEGA love for tomato and basil soup (probably from my mother) so seeing your picture just made me gasp.
P.S. I love your food photography. It's always spot on.
so, myron won't mind if i steal you away to new york and keep you? forever? right?
seriously, awesome ideas. there are beautiful tomatoes at the greenmarket every weekend aaaand i think i have just figured out the perfect way to use them. thank you, as always.
Brandi, the sweaters are coming soon... and the socks are already in profound effect. I should have worn a coat to go to the store today!
Heather, yay! Go light on the seasoning when you roast the tomatoes (at 250, not 350--oy, that could have been dangerous!) and throw your fresh basil either on top or in the broth to simmer. You'll want the whole schlemiel to be lighter if you're playing with the prince of herbs. And thanks for the photo compliment--I'm still never quite happy with anything I photograph that's red, so I'm thinking I'm going to really have to learn how to tweak them in photoshop and make them look like what I see. Unless you have advice? I'm tearing my hair out.
Dominique, you were here when I was! There's going to be a tear in the fabric of the universe. And YES, if you can get superfresh ones or local ones, all the better. The skinning process isn't too bad, either. I'm doing it today for the marinaras. As for coming to New York, I am SO in. Although your bouncer might be a little confused. Certainly the dog will be.
This is so perfect for fall and the cool weather we're having! Love it.
yum!!
I wouldn't want to give you advice with food photography because you clearly have it cornered. I'd just say play with the hue/saturation a bit and see what develops. That's typically what I do when I'm looking to amplify a color.
Hiya Kim,
If you need freezer space, you can *store* (ahem) some of that soup at my place. I think the drool may permanently damage my keyboard.
I should do a roast tomato thingie. We're awash in tomatoes right now and I look guiltily at them piled in a bowl on the bar being circled by fruit flies.
And your fear of canning? Perfectly natural. I remember a Carole Shields novel in which the heroine accidentally poisons her mother-in-law with her canned green beans. I think it was Carole Shields. Or maybe it was an Alice Munro story. Please pardon my lack of short-term memory. It fell out with the placenta.
Are you working on your 7 links post? I'm casting about for it.
Um, Kim? How can you casually say "there's some smoked gouda and cilantro in there?" Do you not realize this may mean I'm on the next plane -- fine, six planes -- over? So much goodness in this post... And now it's 11.23 AM and I want cilantro, tomato soup and pop-corn. Sounds like a magnificent Saturday lunch in the making for me...
absolutely perfect!
Yes! I am about to roast a huge batch myself. I already roasted a couple pans of cherry tomatoes and have them in the freezer now. I like to make roasted tomato pies with zucchini, cheese and onions. Love love love tomatoes! :) Love this time of year!