fruits of my labor

every summer SS and i have a garden in our backyard. we usually plant plenty of tomatoes, peppers and herbs. this summer we had an incredible haul of veggies. 

 we have made multiple deliveries to friends, family & co-workers. 

with this indian summer we're having {it was in the 80s today!}, we had another round of tomatoes ripen. homegrown produce is great, but once it's off the vine it doesn't last very long & i did not want to waste any of our hard work {well his hard work- i'm the garden "supervisor"}.

with our tomato windfall, i decided to experiment & freeze them.

i used my tester batch this week and they tasted so fresh even though 

they had been in the freezer for a week or so.

So here is it, my tomato {and $$} saving freezing technique...

cut the top of each tomato off, but be sure to leave all the goo inside.
this will help it "rehydrate" when you thaw them.

line a cookie sheet {whatever size can fit flat in you freezer} with parchment or  foil.
place the tomatoes cut side down & try not to let them touch.
they don't need a ton of space, but if you let them freeze w/ out touching you won't have to worry about breaking apart chunks of frozen tomatoes. 

after about a day or two the tomatoes should be frozen solid.
 you can then remove them from the cookie sheet & throw them in a freezer bag.

if you plan on serving them cold {salsa, salad, etc} just set them out for a little bit and let them thaw.
what makes this hole process worthwhile is if you are cooking with the tomatoes
you can just toss them in the pan with whatever you're making.
as they "cook" with everything else they will retain all their flavor while defrosting.


in my kitchen: before i  freeze the tomatoes, i tuck a basil leaf or
olive oil & garlic{chopped is best} inside the tomato.
it's a super quick & easy way to add a ton of flavor to any meal.

in your kitchen: stuff the tomatoes with any herb or spice you like!

enjoy!