Need help with Tomato Options

[cbayer]

I have about 8 heirloom tomatoes that are going mushy on me. They still have great taste, but the texture is really deteriorating and I have had to refrigerate them.

I was thinking about making a fresh tomato soup. I also have some basil that is going downhill due to some kind of bug (don't buy basil plants at TJ's, btw).

Any thoughts or ideas about this would be much appreciated. Keep in mind that I can't make a big batch of something then freeze it and that my other ingredients are limited right now.

Thanks in advance.

[opiate69]

1. Hmm.. tomato + basil...

Might just be the Italian in me, but that just screams "spaghetti sauce" to me...

[cbayer]

2. Could do that, but

no onion, peppers, ground meat.

It would be so plain that I doubt we would want to eat it more than once.

I will, however, look around and see if there is anything I have that would liven it up.

I do have quite a bit of different cheese.

[opiate69]

4. Ah.. ok... let's see...

Depending on what cheeses you have on hand, maybe a cheese stuffing with basil (and whatever else you forage out of the pantry)... stuff the tomatoes and bake?

[cbayer]

5. I am liking that. I love baked tomatoes. I think that's a go, at least for some of them.

Thanks!

[opiate69]

7. quite welcome! I'm looking forward to hearing how it goes!

[Warpy]

3. I'd be more inclined to make a fresh tomato sauce

Onion, then garlic, then chopped tomatoes and a little wine to help them cook down, throw in the basil and allow it to cook down and flavor the sauce, put it over pasta with a few scrapes of cheese on top. It's a half hour supper that is really fantastic.

[cbayer]

6. No onion, but I do have some garlic and wine.

I made cacio e pepe last night (absolutely delicious, btw) and could do something similar, but with a very simple tomato sauce.

Thanks!

[MiddleFingerMom]

8. The best soup I ever made in my life was Tomato l'Orange Soup.

.
.
.
I've since lost the recipe (IDIOT!!! IDIOT!!! IDIOT!!!), but remember that
it was truly from scratch (blanching, peeling and seeding the tomatoes).
.
Onions, chicken broth, basil(???) and 3-6 oz frozen OJ concentrate with a
finishing dollop of sour cream on top.
.
No onions in your kitchen?
.
.
.
WATTSAMATTAWITCHOO?!?!?!.
.
.
.

[cbayer]

9. I only get groceries every 3-4 weeks and I am out of just about everything.

A friend brought me these tomatoes, as kind people often do when they come this way.

Unfortunately, I spent a couple of hours squeezing all my remaining citrus the other day and used it up in adult beverages. But that soup sounds delicious.

If you come across the recipe, let me know.

[MiddleFingerMom]

11. I'm pretty sure I got the recipe from one of MiddleFingerMomSis' cooking mags in the 80's.

.
.
.
I used to visit her up in CT every 3-4 months and, after I lost the recipe, would spend the majority of
all my evenings there flipping through the magazines (even reading all the advertisement recipes).
The treasure sought was more than worth all the effort and time spent looking for it -- MUCH more!!!
.
Alas... it was not to be.
.
I've found quite a few tomato-orange soups online (none of them called "Tomato l'Orange", though) but
none of them have looked anywhere CLOSE to the original floating around JUST beyond the reach of my
increasingly-dim memory.
.
If I ever DO find it, you'll know.
.
.
.
That'll be me hootin' n' howlin' from the rooftop!!!
.
.
.
I used to cook fairly often for a group of friends in Pennsylvania. None of them were very interested
in cooking so, although I was a pretty good cook, they thought I was a "gourmet cook". Not even in
the same county, bubba -- but I must admit that I never tried to dissuade them of that amazingly
false opinion.
.

.
When I'd serve that soup, I'd go out to the kitchen to work on the rest of the meal and hear the
extremely gratifying sound of absolute silence... broken only by the clink of soupspoons on the
dinnerware and the eventual sound of EVERYBODY licking their bowls clean.
.
.
.

[cbayer]

14. I spend almost all my time around single guys who live on boats and they think

I'm a gourmet too, lol. I give my dishes fancy names and plate them well. Honestly, most of these guys are just loving a home made meal and one they don't have to pay out the wazoo for.

My dear one loves my cooking, but he would eat just about anything. But when he licks the plates, I know he really, really liked it.

Love cooking, but find it challenging when I am running low on supplies. Won't get more until this Thursday.

[The empressof all]

10. Slice them now

Make a tomato galette or simple tomato pie (quiche) I also like the fresh tomato soup idea. If they are so far gone...you can always make fresh tomato bloody marys....

[MiddleFingerMom]

12. BLOODY MARY'S!!! BLOODY MARY'S!!! BLOODY MARY'S!!! BLOODY MARY'S!!!

[cbayer]

13. Mmmmmm... fresh bloody marys!

Had to look up galette. I don't like egg dishes, but I have in the past made a tomato pie that has parmesan and basil. Not parmesan, but I could use some of the other cheese I have. Loving that idea.

Thanks!

[Jazzgirl]

15. Thanks for the comment on the TJ's basil plants!

I had a nice healthy one and kept it nicely watered but suddenly it started turning brown and drooping. I knew it should have lasted for quite a few weeks or more but 3 weeks later and its all but dead. I got it for $3.99 and it was a nice size plant too. I thought it was just me.

[cbayer]

16. That's exactly what has happened to mine.

Happened last year as well and I got that one from Home Depot.

I've gotten some from it, but I expected it to last me the rest of the summer.

[locks]

17. Spaghetti sauce

Good recipes online for spaghetti sauce made with fresh tomatoes. Need nothing but onion, garlic, basil and red wine. You need to skin them, chop fine, cook slowly. You might add a little canned tomato paste if it doesn't cook down enough. It will keep 2-3 weeks in the fridge.