Summer Tomatoes and Tasty Recipes!

Oh, the things you can do with a fresh homegrown tomato!

Summer is in full swing here in Georgia and believe me, right about now we surely all feel the heat and humidity that this time year brings to the South.  Heat is really good for growing crops, as long as there is plenty of rain too and thankfully, we are getting those late afternoon thunder showers quite a bit this summer, so the gardens are still doing pretty well.

Since my love of tomatoes knows no bounds, I thought I’d share some yummy tomato recipes with you all today.  I’ve shared plenty on my blog over the years and I reached out to some bloggers for their faves too, so enjoy and I hope you have plenty of tomatoes in your life right now and you may get to try some of these out. If you love tomatoes like I do, you’ll be craving some by the end of this post!

There is simply nothing better in my opinion than a home grown tomato.  I’m so very blessed that my daddy has been growing them my whole life.  I don’t think I had any choice but to love them.  I remember taking the salt shaker outside during summer when I was little and picking tomatoes off the vine and chomping down with some salt.  Got to have salt on mine!

Caprese salad is one of my most favorite ways of preparing tomatoes and I just discovered this delectable treat a few years ago.  I shared my recipe last year, using any home grown tomato you have and there are countless recipes for this online.  But, it’s so simple and easy to prepare and enjoy with fresh mozzarella and fresh basil.  So good!

Here’s an alternative Caprese garlic bread that looks really good from Wife In Progress!  I want to eat them all!

Here’s another Caprese salad variation from Oh My Creative, very much like mine, but the presentation is really wow!  The flavors of a Caprese salad are so tasty and delicious. She said she gets pre-sliced mozzarella at Costco which would be great for a party platter like this.

I’ve made brushetta many times over the years too and there again, are countless ways to make it.  I just slice up fresh French or sourdough crusty bread, drizzle it with a little olive oil, broil in the oven on both sides until golden brown, take it out of the oven and pile it high with fresh cut tomatoes, chopped basil, fresh garlic, salt and pepper and a little olive oil.  That’s it!  The freshness of the tomatoes, bread and basil combo just explode with flavor!

I shared my simple version of Fried Green Tomatoes on the blog before too, golden brown and tasty.  Even better if you make a homemade sauce with it, but I didn’t do that.

Year ago, not long after I started blogging, I shared how I made my homemade pasta sauce using canned tomatoes, but you could also do it with fresh.  It’s a simple and easy recipe I learned while I was in Italy over 20 years ago and came home and started making it. I watched the local women make this simple but tasty sauce and have been hooked ever since. You can add whatever you want to it, including meat, but it’s just a simple recipe, which only simmers for 30 minutes or so.  I sometimes add fresh mushrooms, kalamata olives, and other things to spice it up.  It’s very yummy! You can kick it up or down with dried red pepper flakes.  I never buy pasta sauce in the jar anymore, when this is so easy to cook.

Excuse that bad pic from years ago, it would be nice to update them all!

With all the fresh tomatoes in season, many people opt to can them. My parents are famous for their canning and I went over there a couple of years ago and watched them can.

Here’s a good post from Walking on Sunshine on how to peel tomatoes for canning.  Good visuals!

My daddy’s hands peeling those tomatoes skins off, getting ready for canning.

And these are the beautiful canned tomatoes my mom puts up.  We use these in fresh tomato pasta sauce and soups during the winter months.  She has been canning tomatoes for years!  That link will take you to the canning post, showing their method for canning. It might not pass a safety inspection, as others do different methods for sterilizing their jars, but this has been working for years and years with no problems at all.  Can at your own risk!

My Southern friend, Jane, from Cottage at the Crossroads, shares a homemade Creole sauce that sounds SO good.  She freezes it and adds shrimp later on when cooking the dish.

Bruschetta with 2 colors of tomatoes and parmesan cheese from Garden Matter.  No matter how you make bruschetta, it is delicious!! One of my favorite summer treats.

From Jen Rizzo, Summer Garden Pasta with Tomatoes.

Pasta with roasted fresh tomatoes and spinach from Love of Home looks SO good!  I just love spinach in pasta, a great way to add veggies in a one pot meal.

This bowtie pasta salad from Meegan Makes looks so delicious too, perfect for not heating up the kitchen during summer! Look at all those fresh veggies.

I make my fresh salsa just about like this one from Savvy Apron. There is nothing like fresh salsa and chips, made from homegrown tomatoes.  We have some in the fridge most of the time after tomatoes come in.

Salsa is always a hit and Beckie shares how she makes Sweet Onion Salsa from canned tomatoes, great during the winter months when you don’t have fresh ones.

From Love my Simple Home, a fresh tomato and olive fetticine recipe.  Yum, this looks good!  Anything with tomatoes and olives has my vote.

Amy shares Pesto Pasta Salad with fresh tomatoes and basil. That is a winning combo no matter how you put it together!

Amy also shares a beautiful Gourmet BLT.  Be still my heart!  I think I could eat a BLT every single day. It’s that good!  I’ve been putting sliced avocado on mine too and that takes it up another notch.  This one looks delicious too!

Last, but not least, the lowly tomato sandwich, truly the po’ folks summer sandwich.  I grew up on these too and they still make me so happy! The first one of the season is cause for rejoicing, that is for sure. I use wheat bread, because I just don’t buy white bread with mayo, sliced tomatoes, salt and pepper.  I know everyone has their own version of tomato sandwiches, but that’s mine.

You can keep your Miracle Whip! I hate the stuff!

Hope this gave you some tasty ideas for using those fresh tomatoes at your house!

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