Peeling Tomatoes

September has come and you can feel the difference in the air.  It's always so crazy to me how we go from beautiful summer one day and fall the next.  There never seems to be a transition, just flip the switch and on to the next season.

This is the time that the tomatoes are in full ripening mode.  Which means, time to preserve this bounty for the winter.  I use to can the tomatoes but found that it was very time-consuming.  Now I make my recipes with my tomatoes and then freeze them in deli-style containers.  It's much faster and I feel more confident that they are preserved correctly.

Making recipes with fresh tomatoes usually requires them to be skinned and seeded.     Traditionally, to skin a tomato, you make an X on the bottom with a paring knife, dip them in boiling water for 30-40 seconds and then plunge them into ice water.  When cool, the skins magically peel off leaving you with a whole tomato.  The only problem I find with this method is then trying to seed them.  The tomatoes are sometimes a little soft and it is harder to get all the seeds out.  

This year I tried a new method of seeding first and then peeling, and I love it!  

First, remove the stem top and slice the tomato in half.  Then with a spoon, scoop out the seed.  Next, lay them face down on a lightly oiled baking sheet and place under the broiler until the skins begin to wrinkle.  This may take a few minutes.  Keep your eye on them the whole time.  You don't want the tomatoes to burn.  You may also have to rotate your pan a few times to get all the tomatoes under the broiler.  

Let them cool and the skins will peel right off!  No more mess and so much quicker than the traditional method.  

I think this batch wants to be salsa.