Last Days of Indian Summer

or, what to do with lots of tomatoes... :)

Mid-September, and our garden was still going (or growing?) strong! Now that it's mid-October, it's starting to finally slow down, but there was a time when I had more tomatos than we could eat up as salad or in sandwiches. I mean, they were coming from our garden, our CSA, and friends who knew we liked tomatoes! I didn't really want to make the mess of salsa, or spend the time nursing the stove while I cooked them down into spaghetti sauce (which I'd already done twice). I wanted to use what we had without going to the store, so dinner it would be. Here are three recipies we loved (of course the massive, vine-ripened juciness of our tomatoes added to the flavor...):

Baked Whole Eggplant, from The Joy of Cooking

1. Preheat oven to 375.

2. 4 oblong eggplants, ~6 oz e. (halved lengthwise)
Score the cut curface with a knife without cutting through the skin.

3. Heat in a large skillet unitl hot: 1/4 c. EVOO. Add eggplants cut side down. Reduce heat, cook until golden (~5 min). Turn and cook on other side for several minutes.

4. Remove & arrange cut side up top to tail in shallow baking dish. Sprinkle with ground black pepper, 3 oz. crumbled feta cheese.

5. Wipe out skillet and heat 2 t EVOO. Add 4 plum tomatoes, (peeled- I didn't) & chopped. Cook, stirring until broken into a rough sace (5-10 min). I added fresh rosemary and chives at this point. Season with real sea salt & ground black pepper.

6. Spoon tomatoes over eggplants. Cover and bake until eggplants are tender (about 35 min). Uncover and sprinkle the tops with 1/2 t dried oregano. Bake for 5 min. more

Tomatoes Broiled with Feta Cheese, adapted from Joy of Cooking

Preheat the broiler. Lightly oil glass pie plate.

1. Halve crosswise (across the equator) 4 med. ripe tomatoes. Arrange cut side up on dish.

2. Sprinkle with 4 oz. crumbled feta (blue, gorgonzola or other veined cheese would work too). 1 t dried oregano (or 2 t fresh, or marjoram). Drizzle EVOO on top.

3. Broil about 6" from heat until cheese has begun to brown (~7 min.) Serve hot! :)

Fried Green Tomatoes, Gluten-Free Version

1. Cut 6 large green tomatoes crosswise into 1/2" slices.

2. Combine rice flour (1/2 cornmeal if you have it on hand- I didn't), dried or fresh parsley, dried or fresh thyme, paprika, ground pepper and sea salt.

3. Dip slices 1 at a time into milk, then coat both sides with the cornmeal mixture..

4. Heat (a lot) of olive oil. Add as many tomatoes as will fit into a single layer. Fry until golden and crisp, turning once. Repeat with the remaining tomatoes, adding oil as needed. Serve immediately with garlic mayonnaise. ENJOY!! The garlic mayo makes it. Crush a clove into 2 T of mayo (safflower for me), more or less depending on how strong you want it.