Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Seems to be that time of year again when all of sudden you have more tomatoes than you know what to do with. We even had some sprout from the compost and produce fruit over winter which still have another few kilos to harvest...

So what are people's favorite ways of using up all that fruit?

Breakfast - Bruschetta
Lunch - Salad with cherry/grape tomatoes
Dinner - Pasta with lots of tomato.



A friend of mine made some really nice dried tomatoes a while back. Cut them in half and lay out on the tray, drizzle a little bit of Worcestershire sauce over them, then cracked pepper and a little chilli if you're that way inclined. Dehydrate them to as soft or chewy as you like... Made nice snacks while having a beer...

that sounds good EB, was that in a purpose built dehydrator or just in the oven?

Yeah in a small purpose built dehydrator.. Though in our climate I reckon you could make a sun dehydrator without too much trouble.

You can do them in the oven at 100C till semi dried. I do them with a drizzle of oil and mixed herbs, yum

How long do you reckon that would take mantis? do you leave the oven door ajar or close it?

Don't you put them in ajar after they are done... Yeah i know, couldn't resist...

I want to get myself a real dehydrator, one day soon.These are supposed to be the ones to get, the ones all the raw foodies use when they dehydrate stuff almost every day.

I know you guys like fish but when i see that i just see racks and racks of beef jerky

Yes, I wish someone would genetically engineer a fish to taste like beef.

Then you could make a nice burger with those tomatoes

What's wrong with a fish burger??

Put
oven semi dried cherry tomatoes
into google and you will get lots of variations. Some say to sprinkle with icing sugar but homegrown cherry toms will get sweet enough with the drying concentrating the sugars in them.

Cheers mantis, ill have a go at that i reckon, im also going to have a crack at a green tomato pickle

have this issue with my tomatoes in my vegi patch ( i know, shoot me down in flames, AP not running yet), and I am playing around with drying them in the oven. set on about 70C for about 12-14 hours can dry them nicely, fan forced may speed this up a bit. the sweetness increased about 10 fold, dont know why you would add extra sugar? next batch will have some herbs and spices on them.

with the ones I got now, I will be saving for the cricket tomorrow arvo (with beer and chips). have put them in a jar with some olive oil and a bit of garlic and basil. yummers.

Here ya go, using Wilds eze sauce you can get from the supermarket. Is a winner

Ingredients:
5.5kg green tomatoes, sliced
2kg onions, sliced
1/2 cup salt
1.5kg sugar
1 x 375mL bottle Wild’s Ezy-Sauce
1 tbsp mustard powder
1 tbsp curry powder
1 tbsp cornflour
2 tsp turmeric


Method:

1. Place green tomatoes, onion and salt into a dish. Stand, covered in the refrigerator for 12 hours.
2. Empty tomato mixture into a large saucepan and bring to the boil. Add sugar and Wild’s Ezy-Sauce. Simmer uncovered for approximately 2 hours or until a thick spooning consistency.
3. Combine mustard powder, curry powder, cornflour and turmeric with sufficient water to make a smooth paste. Add to pan, whilst stirring continuously. Cook for a further 10 minutes. Pour into hot sterilised jars and seal.


Makes approximately 5.5 litres

Notes:

COOKING TIMES MAY VERY GREATLY DEPENDING ON THE INGREDIENTS, COOKING VESSEL USED AND THE RATE OF SIMMER. USE ONLY AS A GUIDE

Standard 250mL metric measuring cup and 20mL tablespoon measures have been used. All measurements are level.

thanx Westy, was that 70 with the oven door open or closed?

Mantis that is nearly spot on for the recipe i have, except for the eze sauce. Not sure if that retails in perth but ill have a look. What sort of flavor is it?