Life can be good

peppero · August 18, 2014

Yesterday I enjoyed a real treat twice. The DW had made sone oatmeal bread that is so good with butter and also with some type of fruit spread. It occured to me that Ihad not made a tomato sandwich yet. So I put a bit of mayo on two pieces of the bread and the necessary amount of tomato slices and then proceeded to sample the result. Boy was that GOOD!. So GGOD that I just had to have another. DW made some more bread so naturally I will do it again.
Simple things can be SO GOOD.

jon

August 18, 2014

I made some garlic toast from a loaf of Italian bread the other day and it was very good. I also put some dehydrated tomato slices into a small bowl with a little water. After about thirty seconds in the microwave the tomato had rehydrated and a hand blender turned the rehydrated tomatoes into a tomato paste. I spread the paste on some of the garlic toast slices very thinly and put them under the broiler for a couple of minutes. I thought they were great. My wife thought the tomato taste was a little strong. I don't believe you can make the tomato taste too strong. Next time, I will add some sweet basil to the tomatoes when I make the paste and sprinkle some Parmesan cheese on top before sticking them in the broiler.

I wonder how it would taste to add a garlic clove to the tomato before blending them together. I could also sprinkle the toast slices with some crumbled bacon for winter time, open faced bacon and tomato sandwiches.

I should have a bumper crop of fall tomatoes this year, so I plan on dehydrating a lot of them. I've discovered a lot of uses for the dehydrated tomatoes.

Lindalana · August 18, 2014

Tedln, I just got inexpensive Nesco dehydrator. Any suggestions and tips would be most welcome. Also do you use only cherries or large ones sliced work as well... How about peppers and zucchinis...

August 18, 2014

I don't remember the brand of my dehydrator, but it is an inexpensive, three tray unit purchased from Walmart a couple of years ago. It does a good job but it takes most of a day to dry three trays of tomato slices. That is probably equal to about eight or ten large tomatoes sliced. I think more expensive units probably dry stuff faster.

So far, I've only dried tomatoes. I'm thinking about drying some herbs from my garden this year. I hate to see all the fresh herbs finish the year in the compost pile. I will have a lot of summer squash and zucchini soon from my fall crop. I've never thought of drying them and question the taste of dried squash. It may be good, but I don't know. It would probably improve the taste of the dried squash if I dried some herbs like basil, oregano, or thyme with the squash.

I know a kid who is an athlete in his high school and pays a lot of attention to his diet. He dips long slices of squash and zucchini into a high quality Italian herb dressing before placing them in the dehydrator before he goes to bed at night. When he leaves for school in the morning, he carries a zip lock bag full of his dried squash and zucchini for lunch.

I haven't paid much attention to the size or color of tomatoes when I dry them. I slice them all to about 1/4" thick. The cherry tomatoes are usually cut in half before drying. I also remove all the white pithy centers from some varieties which seem to have cardboard centers. I also don't skin them or remove the seeds because I want all the gel in the locules to dry and retain the tomato flavor when dried.

Dehydrating tomatoes seems to intensify the flavor. I'm wondering if dehydrated grocery store tomatoes would be palatable in the winter when garden tomatoes are not available.

Ted

ginger2778 · August 18, 2014

Hey Jon, it sounds like you have a really good wife to go through that good life with.

Tracydr · August 18, 2014

A neighbor gave me some cherry tomatoes a few days ago and some fresh basil. I don't have a garden here, yet since we just moved.
I made homemade mozarella cheese and used the whey to make a pizza dough. Put sliced cheese, pepperoni, some fresh Parmesan, cherry tomatoes and the basil on top.
I think I finally have my pizza skills honed! I preheat for almost an hour with my cast iron pizza pan, then put it on broil. Pre-bake the crust a few minutes and then top. Stick back under the broiler for about 5 minutes depending on your stove.
I also use parchment paper to make it easier to handle the sticky crust.

peppero · August 18, 2014

Quote:

Originally Posted by ginger2778

Hey Jon, it sounds like you have a really good wife to go through that good life with.

I picked a good one as she has put up with me for 53 years.

jon

August 18, 2014	#1
peppero Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: selmer, tn Posts: 2,944	Life can be good Yesterday I enjoyed a real treat twice. The DW had made sone oatmeal bread that is so good with butter and also with some type of fruit spread. It occured to me that Ihad not made a tomato sandwich yet. So I put a bit of mayo on two pieces of the bread and the necessary amount of tomato slices and then proceeded to sample the result. Boy was that GOOD!. So GGOD that I just had to have another. DW made some more bread so naturally I will do it again. Simple things can be SO GOOD. jon

August 18, 2014	#2
tedln Guest Posts: n/a	I made some garlic toast from a loaf of Italian bread the other day and it was very good. I also put some dehydrated tomato slices into a small bowl with a little water. After about thirty seconds in the microwave the tomato had rehydrated and a hand blender turned the rehydrated tomatoes into a tomato paste. I spread the paste on some of the garlic toast slices very thinly and put them under the broiler for a couple of minutes. I thought they were great. My wife thought the tomato taste was a little strong. I don't believe you can make the tomato taste too strong. Next time, I will add some sweet basil to the tomatoes when I make the paste and sprinkle some Parmesan cheese on top before sticking them in the broiler. I wonder how it would taste to add a garlic clove to the tomato before blending them together. I could also sprinkle the toast slices with some crumbled bacon for winter time, open faced bacon and tomato sandwiches. I should have a bumper crop of fall tomatoes this year, so I plan on dehydrating a lot of them. I've discovered a lot of uses for the dehydrated tomatoes. Last edited by tedln; August 18, 2014 at 11:35 AM.

August 18, 2014	#4
tedln Guest Posts: n/a	I don't remember the brand of my dehydrator, but it is an inexpensive, three tray unit purchased from Walmart a couple of years ago. It does a good job but it takes most of a day to dry three trays of tomato slices. That is probably equal to about eight or ten large tomatoes sliced. I think more expensive units probably dry stuff faster. So far, I've only dried tomatoes. I'm thinking about drying some herbs from my garden this year. I hate to see all the fresh herbs finish the year in the compost pile. I will have a lot of summer squash and zucchini soon from my fall crop. I've never thought of drying them and question the taste of dried squash. It may be good, but I don't know. It would probably improve the taste of the dried squash if I dried some herbs like basil, oregano, or thyme with the squash. I know a kid who is an athlete in his high school and pays a lot of attention to his diet. He dips long slices of squash and zucchini into a high quality Italian herb dressing before placing them in the dehydrator before he goes to bed at night. When he leaves for school in the morning, he carries a zip lock bag full of his dried squash and zucchini for lunch. I haven't paid much attention to the size or color of tomatoes when I dry them. I slice them all to about 1/4" thick. The cherry tomatoes are usually cut in half before drying. I also remove all the white pithy centers from some varieties which seem to have cardboard centers. I also don't skin them or remove the seeds because I want all the gel in the locules to dry and retain the tomato flavor when dried. Dehydrating tomatoes seems to intensify the flavor. I'm wondering if dehydrated grocery store tomatoes would be palatable in the winter when garden tomatoes are not available. Ted Last edited by tedln; August 18, 2014 at 12:42 PM.

August 18, 2014	#3
Lindalana Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Oct 2013 Location: Chicago IL Posts: 857	Tedln, I just got inexpensive Nesco dehydrator. Any suggestions and tips would be most welcome. Also do you use only cherries or large ones sliced work as well... How about peppers and zucchinis...

August 18, 2014	#5
ginger2778 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Plantation, Florida zone 10 Posts: 9,283	Hey Jon, it sounds like you have a really good wife to go through that good life with.

August 18, 2014	#6
Tracydr Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2011 Location: Laurinburg, North Carolina, zone 7 Posts: 3,207	A neighbor gave me some cherry tomatoes a few days ago and some fresh basil. I don't have a garden here, yet since we just moved. I made homemade mozarella cheese and used the whey to make a pizza dough. Put sliced cheese, pepperoni, some fresh Parmesan, cherry tomatoes and the basil on top. I think I finally have my pizza skills honed! I preheat for almost an hour with my cast iron pizza pan, then put it on broil. Pre-bake the crust a few minutes and then top. Stick back under the broiler for about 5 minutes depending on your stove. I also use parchment paper to make it easier to handle the sticky crust.