What to do with all the tomatoes in your garden.

Is your tomato crop bursting?  Do you have pounds and pounds of ripening fruit by the crateful?
As the tomato growing season comes to an end what are we to do with all those tomatoes?
Here are some recipes when you have an abundance of tomatoes.

FRESH TOMATO MARINARA SAUCE

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
2 garlic cloves, chopped
3 cups (about 3 large) peeled, chopped tomatoes
1 can(6 oz.)no-salt-added tomato paste
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon basil
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
Directions:
Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion, green pepper, and garlic. Cook, uncovered, 2 to 3 minutes. Add remaining ingredients. Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, until tomatoes are very tender, about 15 to 20 minutes; stir occasionally. Cool 5 minutes.

Place cooled tomato mixture in blender jar 1 or more cups at a time. Cover and blend at stir about 30 seconds after each addition. Blend at puree about 30 seconds. Return mixture to saucepan. Simmer over low heat about 5 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve over fresh pasta

TOMATO CUCUMBER SALAD

2 cucumbers
2-3 medium sized Roma tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 minced clove of garlic
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 tablespoons rice vinegar
3-5 leaves fresh chopped basil
Cut the tomatoes and cucumbers into small pieces; place in bowl, add all remaining ingredients and stir. Refrigerate for an hour while all flavors come together. Add more of above ingredients to suit your taste.

FRESH TOMATO PIZZA SAUCE

1/3 c. olive oil
2 c. finely chopped onions
8 c. peeled, seeded, coarsely chopped tomatoes (put through blender, if desired)
2 (6 oz.) cans tomato paste
2 tbsp. oregano, crumbled
2 tsp. basil, crumbled
1 bay leaf
2 tbsp. sugar
1 tbsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 tbsp. finely chopped garlic
Heat oil in large stainless steel pan, 6 to 8 quarts. Add onions and cook over medium heat for 6 to 8 minutes until transparent. Add garlic and cook another minute. Stir in tomatoes, paste, oregano, basil, bay leaf, salt, pepper and bring to a boil. Then simmer, uncovered for an hour or until thick. Stir occasionally. When finished the sauce should be thin and fairly smooth. Remove bay leaf. Taste and season. May be canned or frozen. 5 to 6 pints.

GAZPACHO-COLD SOUP

2 lg. ears corn OR
2 c. frozen whole kernel corn, thawed
Boiling salted water
2 med. cucumbers
2 avocados, peeled, cut in sm. pieces
5 med. tomatoes, seeded, finely chopped (1 1/2 lb.)
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground pepper
Canned or homemade hot chile salsa
Cook ears of corn or thawed frozen corn in boiling salted water 5 minutes; drain. If using fresh corn, slice kernels from cobs. Scrape cobs with a sharp spoon; discard cobs. Place corn in a tureen or serving bowl.
Peel cucumbers. Cut in half lengthwise and scrape out seeds. Cut cucumbers into small pieces. Add cucumber pieces, avocado pieces, and tomato to corn. Add salt and pepper; mix well. Taste and add more seasoning if needed. Add chile salsa to taste or serve salsa separately in a small bowl. Refrigerate 1 hour. Serve cold. Makes 10-12 servings.

SIMPLE HOMEMADE  TOMATO SALSA

1-2 large tomatoes
½ red onion
1 large garlic clove, pressed
1 bunch of cilantro, washed and chopped
1 T canned green chiles
1 lime, juiced
1 t salt
½ t ground pepper
Cut tomato into ½ inch cubes. Place in mixing bowl and sprinkle with salt.
Chop red onion into similarly sized pieces and add to bowl.
Add all remaining ingredients to bowl and stir to combine.
Let sit for 15 minutes prior to serving, so that the flavors have time to develop.