The Tomato Challenge!
We’ve been eating a lot of salads lately. It’s January, and the New Year’s let’s eat healthier this year resolution is still relatively fresh. Plus, my kitchen hydroponic garden is having a bumper crop of lettuce at the moment. So I sent my husband, Larry to the store to buy a couple of tomatoes for a salad. Ever the over achiever, he went to Sam’s club and came home with a box of 10 tomatoes. I don’t know about you, but if I buy 4 tomatoes at the grocery store, I’m lucky if we get through 2 or 3 of them before they go bad. But here I was holding more than twice that many tomatoes. I could probably have used them all up at once in a homemade marinara sauce, but the thought of coming up with enough separate meals to get through all of them before they spoiled seemed like a fun challenge. So, without a real plan in mind I decided to include tomatoes in one meal a day until they were gone, hopefully being eaten, and not thrown into the compost because they overripened waiting to be used.
The result is 5 quick and easy tomato side dishes that you can make at home!
You can see The Tomato Challenge video here on YouTube. Don’t forget to hit the subscribe button to see more of my videos!
Apha-gal syndrome note: Tomatoes are alpha-gal safe, meaning that they don’t have the alpha-gal sugar allergen. BUT, they are a high histamine food. Histamines play a part in the body’s defense against allergens. While I can eat tomatoes just fine without causing a reaction, I avoid them if I am actively reacting to something else. Some people with Alpha-gal syndrome who have coexisting conditions like Mast cell activation syndrome may need to avoid high histamine foods. Every individual reacts differently to different foods. It’s important to learn your own tolerance levels.
Let’s get this Challenge Started!
Day 1
Tomatoes left: 10
Okay this one may seem like I took a gimme, but salad was the main reason for the tomato errand in the first place. So I pressed on with the salad. From my kitchen garden I cut some buttercrunch lettuce, some paris cos lettuce, some beet greens, dandelion greens and microgreens. I tossed them with some red cabbage, red onion, cucumber, dried cherries, some feta cheese, and yes, 2 red tomatoes! A major snow storm was blowing in that day, so I had a pot of homemade chicken noodle soup simmering on the stove all day to go with the salad. Soup & salad and the first day of the challenge was in the books.
Day 2
Tomatoes left: 8
Recipe: Stewed Zucchini, Yellow Squash & Tomatoes
The weather added a twist to my challenge. The snowstorm dumped over a foot of snow and we, along with all of our neighbors, and our little rural town had our work cut out for us to dig out from under it. So, the Tomato Challenge recipes had to use only ingredients that I already had on hand. Lucky for me I had a zucchini, and a couple of yellow squash in my refrigerator. This recipe is a variation on the way my mom always cooked zucchini, which we had in abundance in the summer.
First, I scalded and peeled three tomatoes. Rather than do this, you could also toss all of the veggies in olive oil and char them in a hot oven. The tomatoes would peel just fine and you would be adding another layer of flavor to the dish. If you try that, let me know how you like it!
The vegetables are sauteed along with some onion, garlic, and crushed red pepper. Then they’re stewed in tomato sauce along with some honey and balsamic vinegar until they are tender and the sauce has reduced and thickened. A topping of parmesan and mozzarella cheeses finishes off the dish. I used Violife vegan Mozzarella shreds, but you can use whatever cheeses you prefer.
Larry cooked some chicken on the smoker and I baked some potatoes to go with this hearty side dish.
Day 3
Tomatoes left: 5
On Day three we were able to get out of the house. We had a late lunch in town, so a light meal for dinner seemed appropriate. I sliced 2 tomatoes and some fresh mozzarella cheese. I harvested a couple of basil leaves from my hydroponic garden and sprinkled them over the top along with some salt, pepper, and olive oil. I didn’t have time to make a balsamic reduction to drizzle with the olive oil, but if you do, that’s the way to go! In keeping with our light meal idea, we served this caprese salad with some shrimp cocktail along with some cheese and crackers. Great movie night meal!
Day 4
Tomatoes left: 3
By the evening of day four the remaining three tomatoes were looking pretty ripe, and maybe a little weary of the wait in line to be used. What better way to bring back memories of warmer days, than to have a light and summery BLT for dinner. Well, let’s make that a TBLT. If you can eat pork bacon, there’s nothing better for this sandwich. For me, though, it has to be turkey. I will, however, let you in on the secret to great turkey bacon which I learned from my friends in the Alpha-gal On A Dime Facebook group. Are you ready? It’s duck fat. That’s right, duck fat. If you have it or can get it, a little duck fat in the skillet before you add the turkey bacon is the key to making really good turkey bacon. Did I mention that it’s healthy? No, I did not. Because it isn’t. Who eats bacon for health reasons? Turkey bacon is never going to be as good as real bacon, so don’t bite into it thinking it will. But truly, that little extra that the duck fat gives it makes all the difference. Try it!! If you do try it, let me know in the comments or on my Susan By A Thread Facebook page!
Okay, so that’s the bacon. I grabbed a few leaves of lettuce from the garden and sliced the tomatoes. I had some sourdough bread, so I buttered the bread, brushed my griddle with the remaining duck fat from the bacon pan, and toasted the bread on the grill. Then a quick stacking of ingredients, bread, mayo, lettuce, bacon, tomato, salt & pepper creates a masterpiece of a BLT. Delicious!!
Day 5
Tomatoes left: 1
Recipe: Fresh Pickled Tomato & Cucumber salad
If you haven’t noticed a theme developing of dishes reminiscent of warm summer days, well, you should. It was cold and snowy in Nebraska. We needed some (imaginary) summer. To use up the last tomato I put together a fresh pickled tomato and cucumber salad. It’s so easy and refreshingly good as a side dish to a comfort food meal.
Chop the vegetables into uniform sized pieces and place in a small bowl. Add the onion and dill. Stir in the vinegar and honey, then season with salt and pepper and set it aside to marinate while you prepare the rest of your meal. I had a couple of slices of cooked turkey bacon left over so I crumbled those into the salad as well. I recommend waiting to add the bacon until just before serving so it doesn’t get soggy in the marinade. I served this as a side dish along with homemade macaroni and cheese and turkey smoked sausage.
That wraps up the challenge! You can find all of these recipes on my blog, the link is in the description. Please take a moment to subscribe to my channel! If you try any of these recipes, let me know how it turned out in the comments, or on my Susan By A Thread Facebook page.
Thanks for stopping by my blog! I hope to see you again soon. Until next time, Live, Eat, and Travel Safe!
This is the 5th recipe in the Tomato Challenge. Read the Tomato Challenge Blog Post here.
See the Tomato Challenge video on YouTube.
Ingredients
1 ripe tomato
½ medium cucumber
2 or 3 thin slices of red onion
1 T fresh dill (or ½ t dried dill weed)
2 T white vinegar
1 t. honey
2 slices of cooked turkey bacon
Salt & Pepper
Instructions
Dice the tomato. Gently squeeze out some of the tomato liquid before adding tomatoes to a bowl. Cut the cucumber lengthwise into quarters and then slice into chucks about the same size as your diced tomatoes. Add to the bowl. Cut the red onion slices into thirds to make small strips, and add to the bowl. Chop the dill into fine pieces and add to the mixture in the bowl
Add the vinegar, honey, and salt & pepper to the bowl and mix well. Set aside and allow the vegetables to marinate for 15-30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Before serving, crumble the bacon into the bowl and stir well. Add more salt and pepper if needed.
Makes approximately 4 half cup servings.
This is the 4th recipe in the Tomato Challenge. Read the Tomato Challenge Blog Post.
You can watch the Tomato Challenge video here.
Ingredients
2 ripe tomatoes, sliced
2 large lettuce leaves tear to fit bread
4 slices of Oscar Meyer Turkey bacon
1 T Duck fat, or vegetable oil
2 slices of sourdough bread
1 T Country Crock plant butter
1 T Mayonnaise
Instructions
Prepare vegetables as directed above. Add the duck fat to a large skillet and heat on medium until melted. Add the slices of turkey bacon to the pan and cook on medium heat, turning occasionally until crispy and well browned on both sides. Remove from bacon from pan and place on paper towels to drain off the excess fat. Using a pastry brush, pick up any remaining duck fat from the skillet and brush onto a griddle. Preheat the griddle to toast the bread. Spread the plant butter on one side of each slice of bread and place on the heated griddle. Brown the buttered side as desired. Flip bread and warm the other side for a minute or two.
Assemble the sandwiches. Spread mayonnaise onto the bread, layer on the lettuce, bacon, and tomato. Season the tomato slice with salt and pepper, top with the remaining slice of bread.
Serve with Tomato Cucumber Salad
This is the 3rd recipe in the Tomato Challenge.
Read the Tomato Challenge Blog Post here.
Click here to see the Challenge video
Ingredients
2 ripe tomatoes sliced in ¼ inch slices
1 ball of fresh mozzarella cheese sliced in ¼ inch slices
2-3 large leaves of fresh basil
Extra virgin olive oil
Balsamic vinegar
Instructions
Arrange tomato and cheese slices on a plate or tray, alternating tomatoes and cheese until they are all placed in a line.
Stack the basil leaves and roll them into a “cigar” shape. Slice thinly to make ribbons of basil. Sprinkle basil ribbons over the tomatoes and cheese.
Drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar
Season with salt and pepper
Serve as a light refreshing side dish, or add to a charcouterie board.
The Tomato Challenge Recipe #2
This is the Second recipe in the Tomato Challenge. Read the Tomato Challenge Blog post here. You can see the whole challenge here on YouTube.
This recipe can be easily converted to vegan by using plant based cheeses and substituting the honey with vegan honey or beet sugar.
Stewed Zucchini
Ingredients
4 c water
4 c Ice water
3 small tomatoes
2 small yellow squash
1 medium Zucchini
1 medium onion
3 cloves of garlic (minced)
½ t. crushed red pepper
2 T Extra virgin olive oil
2 T. Fresh Basil, (chopped)
1 T fresh Oregano (chopped)
1 15-ounce can tomato sauce
1 t. Balsamic vinegar
1 t. honey
1 T shredded parmesan cheese
1 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese
Instructions
Bring 4 c. water to a boil in a sauce pan. Fill a bowl with the ice water and set aside. Place the tomatoes in the boiling water and allow to simmer until the skins begin to crack. When skins crack open, remove the tomatoes from the pan with a slotted spoon and place immediately in the ice water bath to stop the cooking process and allow to cool. (You can also roast the tomatoes to loosen the skins or skip this step, and go straight to chopping your tomatoes along with the other veggies if you’re in a hurry, but you will have bits of rolled up tomato skins in your dish.)
Rinse the zucchini and yellow squash. Remove the ends, and chop into 1-inch pieces. Peel the onion, remove the ends, and chop into 1-inch pieces. When the tomatoes are cooled, peel off the loose skins, remove the stem and blossom ends and chop the tomatoes into 1-inch pieces. Set aside.
In a large skillet, heat the extra-virgin olive oil and add the onions. Let the onions cook, stirring occasionally until they become tender and transparent. Stir in the crushed red pepper and the garlic. Sauté for a minute or two until the garlic becomes deliciously fragrant.
Add the zucchini, yellow squash, and tomatoes. Stir to combine. Add the basil and oregano and season with salt and pepper. Pour in the can of tomato sauce and stir. Add the honey and the balsamic vinegar. Stir.
Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and allow the mixture to simmer for 10-15 minutes or until the vegetables are tender and the liquid has reduced and thickened.
Sprinkle the parmesan and mozzarella cheeses on top of the mixture—do not stir it in. Season again with salt and pepper. Turn off the heat and cover the pan to allow the cheese to melt before serving.
This is the 1st recipe of the Tomato Challenge. Read the Tomato Challenge Blog post here. Click here to see the whole challenge on YouTube.
Mixed Greens Garden Salad with Dried Cherries, Feta, and Microgreens
6-8 cups of chopped lettuce greens
4-5 slices red onion. Cut each slice in to 1-inch segments
½ cucumber, thinly sliced
2 or 3 thin slices of red cabbage
2 or 3 small ripe tomatoes, diced
½ c dried cherries or cranberries
½ c crumbled feta cheese
A handful of microgreens
Place Lettuce, onion, cucumber, red cabbage, and tomatoes in a salad bowl. Toss to combine. To the top of the salad add dried cherries, feta cheese and microgreens. Do not stir in. Dress with olive oil and vinegar or your favorite salad dressing.
