What to Do With Lots of Tomatoes

Got tomatoes coming out your ears? Your vines producing bushels of beauties that you can’t eat fast enough? Here’s a low-carb-friendly way to use them up and get two treats for the price of one.

Fresh Tomato Salsa and Spicy Tomato Cooler

Ingredients:

• Two each red, yellow, and orange tomatoes
• 12 medium tomatillos
• one small red onion
• one large or two medium jalapenos (use fewer peppers for less heat)
• half a bunch of cilantro — about ten or twelve stems
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• juice of one lemon

Method:

• Wash tomatoes and dice.
• Remove the papery skin from the tomatillos and wash well to remove the sticky residue. Dice.
• Chop the red onion — about a medium fine dice.
• Dice the jalapeno(s) into very fine dice. Remove the seeds for less heat in the finished salsa.
• Wash the cilantro and chop very fine, including the stems.
• Combine all ingredients in a glass mixing bowl and toss with the hands to mix well.
• Set a strainer over a glass bowl and strain the juice from the vegetables.
• Chill until ready to serve.

The juice makes an excellent tonic for those prone to sinusitis or nasal allergies. The salsa is fantastic with chips, meat, or other vegetables, or on its own as a light salad.

Servings: 4 to 8

Watch Points:

• Wear gloves when handling the jalapeno, and make sure to wash your hands before touching your face. The oils in jalapenos are quite hot and will make your skin burn. Be careful not to get jalapeno juice anywhere near your eyes. (Take it from personal experience, this is an agony you don’t want to suffer.)
• This salsa will not keep for more than one or two days before the tomatoes become mushy and unappetizing. If you are planning to serve only one or two people, halve the recipe. It’s best fresh, or eaten within a day of being put together.
• If you keep the salsa overnight, you will want to strain it again before serving. The salt and lemon juice tend to draw the tomato juices out, making this a “wet” salsa if it isn’t strained after sitting.

Tags: Diet, food, fresh food, Low-Carb, raw food, recipes