Not quite ripe, yet no longer green, there are too many tomatoes hanging on my tired, straggly back-yard vines. Like them, I'm clinging to the last vestiges of summer, wondering how to embrace this end-of-season conundrum.
The best source for advice on tomatoes is from Lynne Rossetto Kasper -- her work on tomatoes is downright smart. Long ago, she determined that much of the tomato's flavor is in the gel surrounding the seeds. So don't remove seeds before cooking or making sauce. If the seeds bug you, strain them out after cooking. Freezing fresh tomatoes works pretty well; making and freezing tomato sauce is better still.
To freeze tomatoes, core and cut in quarters, then store in zip-top plastic freezer bags or containers. Know that frozen tomatoes are a bit funky (odd texture and they can sometimes be a bit bitter), but they work well in dishes that require long cooking times. Just adjust the seasonings to taste.
The tomato sauce here is tried and true and easy to make, using a mix of overripe, underripe and just-ripe tomatoes. It yields a lot and freezes beautifully. Store it in serving-sized containers for those cold winter nights when the memory of this bittersweet season is ready for dinner.
Beth Dooley is a Minneapolis author and cooking instructor.
