What do you do with a dead tomato?

As I typed that, I couldn't help but sing it to the tune of "What do you do with a drunken sailor?"

But, I digress.

Let me ask you, have you bought some nice, fresh, firm but juicy, positively perfect in every way, tomatoes - only to have them become mush within 24 hours?

This is my life.

As I am with bananas, I am quite particular about tomatoes. I cannot STAND them when they get grainy and mushy. Blech. They must be perfectly firm, but ripe and juicy.

There are 4 ways that I enjoy a fresh tomato:

(1) Slice and top with soft goat cheese and heat, just slightly, in the microwave.

(2) Alternate slices with fresh mozzarella and sprinkle fresh basil. Drizzle EVOO and balsamic vinegar over the top.

(3) Chop and enjoy over some black beans, cilantro lime rice, along with avocado and sour cream.

(4) Chop and enjoy over the top of a Mexican salad with Newman's Own Lime Vinaigrette.

So, the question becomes - what do you do with a not-rotten-but-not-fresh-tomato? I used to toss them, but then I came across this fantastic recipe for Tomato Soup. I got this from a creative Mommy who makes her own slings. I almost always double or triple this recipe when tomatoes go on sale, and then stick leftovers in large bags in the freezer. You also have this option if your tomatoes are about to go bad, but you aren't prepared for tomato soup for dinner.

Tomato Soup

1 small onion, diced
2-3 cloves garlic
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 lb fresh tomatoes, chopped, or 1 lg. (28oz) can diced tomatoes
1/2 cup tomato sauce
1/4 cup heavy cream or half & half
3/4 cup chicken broth
2 Tbsp. chopped basil
salt and pepper to taste
grated Parmesan cheese for garnish

Saute the garlic and onion in olive oil until soft. Add tomatoes and cook over med. heat for 10 minutes. Add tomato sauce, chicken broth, cream and 1 Tbsp of the basil. Simmer for 30 minutes.
Process with hand blender or in blender jar until smooth. Return to pan and add remaining basil, salt and pepper to taste. Ladle into bowls and garnish with Parmesan cheese.

Some additional thoughts:

I have omitted the sauce and added more tomatoes. This worked fine, just reduce the amount of broth by a little.

I also replaced the half-and-half with 2%. I didn't notice a difference.

I also use vegetable broth with great results.

Make sure you use very little salt, as this salts up unexpectedly quickly.

I topped with mozzarella instead - and it melted nicely into the soup.

A very nice savory tomato soup. Not at all sweet. It's also hardy like a bisque.

I used my immersion blender right in the bot to blend. Perfecto!

Here's a picture of the soup in our freezer, waiting to be eaten.
If you're more Classico than Campbell's...you might be more interested in making tomato sauce with your elderly tomato.

I did this the other night. Dice up an onion, mince some garlic (I put in 3 full cloves - I LOVE garlic). Throw down some EVOO and get them all nice and cooking. Then add in some chopped tomatoes (water and all) and let it cook down for 10 or 15 minutes over medium heat. I then added some red wine and fresh basil, and let things cook for another 5 minutes or so. I blended things up a bit more with my immersion blender, which made a very thin sauce. If you like chunky, skip the blending step. Top your favorite pasta (I had linguine), add some cheese, and you are in buisness!