08/12/2022
August brings the dog days of summer, but the upside are the bushels of bright red tomatoes piled high at the farmstands. There is nothing like a summer sun ripened tomato fresh off the vines. This is when I indulge in all things tomato – tomato soup, ice cold gazpacho, sandwiches, tomato salads in many variations, baked stuffed tomatoes, tomatoes in savory pies for a delicious light lunch, the perennial favorite of tomatoes and fresh mozzarella, and a favorite chopped ripe tomatoes heavily sprinkled with fresh herbs and sizzing oil for a room temperature pasta sauce – perfect for that hot evening when even the thought of cooking is too much.
Despite the hot weather, I scan the forecast for a cooler day when I will freeze a bag or more for the winter. I used to blanch, peel, and seed my tomatoes, and run them through a food mill for canned sauce, but as I mostly cook for one these days, I just freeze bags of the peeled tomatoes and mash them down when I use them. I know I will taste summer in every bite when I simmer them down for my simple sauce in the middle of winter.
Thanks for reading Rosa’s Writes a Newsletter! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
Subscribe
