Today I sliced the first melon that I’ve ever grown. I’ve always had a problem getting them to ripen before the first frost. It helps to live in Maryland, rather than Michigan, since I’ve never started plants indoors – we get warmer, longer summers.
My mother-in-law turned me on to tomato pie some years ago; I had never heard of it before I met her. My family would eat this every week as a main course if I made it (she served it as a side), so it’s good to slice and freeze enough tomatoes to get through the winter and spring. You don’t want to have to make anything with fake tomatoes from the store that only look like tomatoes.
If you don’t have a lot of fresh herbs in your pots, you can use maybe a teaspoon of Italian seasoning, but I hope by now everyone has at least a little pot with some herbs ready. I had to use up about six little tomatoes that were starting to go bad. Also, tomato skins do not bother me so I save time and water. If they bother you, drop the tomatoes into boiling water for one minute to crack the skins and then you can easily peel them.
Tomato Pie
1 ¼ C flour
6 T butter
4 T ice cold water
3-4 fresh tomatoes, depending on how big they are
¼ C chopped onion (I used ¼ C chives once when I didn’t have onion)
1 T chopped fresh basil
1 T chopped fresh oregano
1/8 t sea salt
1/8 t black pepper
½ C mayonnaise
1 C shredded cheese, (Gruyère, mozzarella, or cheddar is fine)
Preheat oven to 350. Use a pastry cutter to blend the butter into the flour. When it’s finely crumbled, add 3 tablespoons of ice water. Try to form a dough ball; add up to another tablespoon of water as needed. Roll the dough out onto a floured surface with some four on top so the rolling pin doesn’t stick. Move the dough to a pie pan and gently press it into the pan to make a shell. You can pinch around the edges to make them even.
Slice tomatoes and put slices in the pie shell. Put the onion slices over the tomatoes and sprinkle with the basil and oregano. Salt and pepper if you want. Mix the shredded cheese and mayo together in a bowl and spread over the top. Bake 30 minutes.
