Best use of summer's last tomatoes... Roasted Tomato Jam! {#FBFAsh #VisitAsheville}

Despite my protests, summer is quickly drawing to a close...

Which sadly also means the end of what I think are the best tomatoes our
little garden has ever produced! And, although the tomatoes coming off
the vines now are certainly less attractive than the ones we harvested a few
weeks ago, I refuse to let any go to waste! After all, heirloom tomatoes are
bred for taste, not beauty... A description I also believe applies a bit to me!

But seriously... All of these late-summer tomatoes I picked this morning,
with their green shoulders from too much/uneven sunlight and cracking,
which signals inconsistent watering, are just as delicious and nutritious as
their prettier cousins picked for the salad team first! In fact, the journal
PLoS ONE reports that organic tomatoes pack more nutrients, including
fifty-five percent more vitamin C and 139 percent more phenolic content;
compounds that have been shown to help fight diseases such as cancer. The
theory is that the plants produce higher level of phytochemicals when they
are stressed, which occurs when they aren't protected by pesticides, making
their fruit more nutrient-dense! So go ahead... Run out to your garden and
pick all those ugly tomatoes. And, if you don't have a garden, then get to your
local farmers' market for some before they're all gone! All it takes is a little
trimming and you'll see... Inside, these tomatoes are as perfect as they come!

Speaking of perfect... I have so much to share with you about my time in
lovely Asheville at Food Blog Forum last week! But as excited as I am
to spill the beans and share a dessert recipe I've developed using two of the
very sweetest Asheville FoodTopia goodies, today we're talking about...

My roasted tomato jam! Which also features an ingredient from the
Food Blog Forum swag bag I got... It's this bottle of Batistini IGP
Tuscany Organic extra virgin olive oil. As you know, I cook with a lot of
olive oil and this particular olive oil, which happens to be distributed
in Clemmons, just a few miles from my home, is truly delicious! So,
seeing this sexy bottle pop out of the bag that Jaden, Julie, Lindsay
put together was a thrill! Honestly, it's the best. Read about it, here!

In my opinion, tomato jam is the single
best use of summer's last tomatoes...

It's so easy to put together and tastes like sweet summer-time! I
spread it over my turkey panini and BLT sandwiches... So good!

Chunk up tomatoes, throw them onto a baking sheet and drizzle with
the world's best extra virgin olive oil. Then, kiss them with a little
dark brown sugar and sprinkling of sea salt and fresh cracked pepper!

Slip all this goodness into a preheated,
400-degree oven for 20 minutes...

And, prepare to be amazed by the aroma and flavor!

Now, since I'm also using some of this lip-kicking Smoking J's Fiery
Foods barbecue sauce from in the second amazing swag bag gifted us
by our exceptional FOODTOPIA Asheville hosts, Dodi, Landis and
Cat from ExploreAsheville.com on my ribs and chicken wings...

Only tomato jam bruschetta as a side will do!

Let's build the perfect bruschetta, shall we?

Grab a spoon!

To add tomato jam to thin slices of grilled French baguette...

And top with finely grated Parmesan cheese and baby basil leaves!

The sweet, acidic flavor of my tomato jam is the perfect compliment and

equalizer to the stealth kick of Smoking J's Ninja Porter sauce - Made with

Asheville Brewing Company's 2014 World Beer Cup GOLD winning Ninja

Porter brew which delivers a chocolate finish with coffee/caramel notes!

Put it all together and it is all just sooo good!

I leave you now sending my sincere thanks to the Food Blog Forum Asheville team for the incredible experience of exploring parts of beautiful Asheville I've never seen before with delightful new friends from ExploreAsheville.com. I am just beginning to scratch the surface of the amazing swag from FOODTOPIA Asheville, so please stay tuned!

I said it at the conference and I'll say it again; ExploreAsheville.com's FOODTOPIA Asheville, BEST SWAG BAG... Ever!

xo