Tomato Overload!

I was surprised by a gardener's gift of green tomatoes: her plants were at the end of their growing season, and she'd already put up 40lbs? 60lbs? (A WHOLE LOT) of cooked tomatoes. Sounds like she's tired of them by now! So when she uprooted the plants while I was visiting, I got the green globes -- and a few half-ripened ones -- that were still clinging (instead of them going to compost). Now what to do with them?



I have never actually had fried green tomatoes, but I'm willing to try them if my wife will make them. One of her neighbors tipped me off that they'd ripen off the vine (although they won't get any bigger), so I'm going to experiment and see how long they take -- and how they'll taste! Depending on the results, there might also be a batch of green tomato-apple salsa or relish for the freezer as well. Those little ones, all added up, will make a few cups of chopped green tomatoes.

I ate a couple (ripe ones!) with lettuce fresh-picked from her yard, and have plans for a mini-batch of pesto with her big handful of basil. The neighbor also gave me a fully-ripe yellow tomato (see below) with red-marbled flesh; he mentioned it was a hybrid, but not what type. It was huge and delicious!

This week we will be eating a lot of juicy ripe tomatoes. Thankfully, they go with just about every meal!