Tomatoes Three Ways - Easy Recipes with Tomato - Grape, Plum and More

• Buy fresh-picked tomatoes from a local farm stand (if able). Those that haven't been refrigerated are the best tasting.
• Select tomatoes that are deep red, blemish free and fregrant - they should feel heavy but not too soft.
• Store ripe tomatoes at room temperature (not in the frige) to retain their peak flavor. Use ripe tomatoes as quickly as possible.
• If tomatoes aren't fully ripe - if they're hard and not yet deep red - place them in a loosely closed paper bag for a day or two.

This sauce is so easy to make; it's cooked in the oven and there's no seeding and chopping of the tomatoes. The tomatoes are simply halved and roasted on top of the other ingredients in a hot oven. You then remove the skins from the tomatoes, purée the sauce in a blender or food processor and toss it with hot pasta (if you don't have a food processor or blender, you can mash the roasted tomatoes with a fork).

If you're going to freeze the sauce, omit the capers and the olives. They can be added later, after thawing. The sauce is good with any kind of pasta, but long noodles such as spaghetti, thin linguine or angel hair are nicest.

Makes about 4 cups of sauce.

Let's get started:

• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup chopped red onion
• 1/2 cup (about 15) pitted Greek olives
• 1/2 cup drained capers
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves or 1/2 teaspoon dried
• Pinch of cayenne pepper
• 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 ripe beefsteak tomatoes (about 2 pounds)

Preheat oven to 450° F.

In a medium-size baking pan or casserole large enough to hold the tomatoes without overlapping, combine the garlic, onion, olives, capers, thyme, and cayenne. Drizzle with 3 tablespoons of the oil and spread out ingredients evenly in the pan.

With a paring knife, carve a shallow "X" on the bottom of each tomato and make a cone-shaped cutout on the top of each tomato to remove the core at the stem end. Halve the tomatoes crosswise and arrange, cut side down, on top of other ingredients in baking pan.

Roast 20 to 25 minutes or until tomato skins appear blistered and wrinkled. Cool in pan about 15 minutes.

Using your fingertips and a paring knife, carefully remove the tomato skins; discard. Place contents of the pan (including juices) into bowl of a food processor or blender and pulse for one second (sauce should be very chunky). Return sauce to baking pan and keep warm in turned-off oven.

Meanwhile, cook your pasta (about 1 pound uncooked spaghetti) according to package directions, drain and place in a large bowl. Toss with the hot tomato sauce and the remaining tablespoon of olive oil. Add salt, freshly ground pepper and chopped fresh herbs (optional - such as parsley, basil or oregano) to taste. Serve with grated Parmesan, if desired. Makes 5 servings of pasta.

Serves 4. Here's what you'll need:

• 4 plum tomatoes, halved lengthwise
• 1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoons plain breadcrumbs
• 1/2 teaspoon mixed dried herbs (thyme, marjoram, oregano and basil)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper

Preheat oven to 425° F.

Slice of a sliver from the skin side of the tomatoes so that the halves lie flat in a baking dish.

In a small bowl, toss together Parmesan cheese, breadcrumbs, dried herbs, olive oil, salt and pepper.

Mound mixture on top of each tomato half.

Bake until tomatoes are soft and topping is crisp and browned, about 20 minutes.

Savor the flavor - yum! I love, love, love these!

Roasting tomatoes makes them much sweeter. When you use the grape or cherry varieties, kids can eat them with their fingers or use them as a topping for pizza or an open-face sandwich.  They can even be served as an appetizer.  These sound so simple and they ARE so simple, yet delicious!

What You'll Need:

• 1 pint grape tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO)
• 1 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 400° F.

In a medium bowl, toss together tomatoes, oil and salt.  Spread tomatoes in a single layer on the baking pan and roast for 15-20 minutes, or until soft and wrinkly.

Halfway through roasting, shake pan to turn tomatoes.

Let cool 5 minutes before serving.  Store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator.

TIP: Great sandwich with these roasted tomatoes - toast slice of whole-wheat bread, place 2 slices white cheddar cheese on bread and broil until melted.  Top with tomato "raisins" and serve cut in half diagonally - YUM!