You planted them.  You pampered them.  You nearly imploded with pride when they produced their first baby green globes.  You plunged headlong into insalata Caprese, marinara sauce and BLTs when they offered up vines heavy with plump red fruit.  You loved them.

But the summer sun has faded and now those taut, juicy red tomatoes have been replaced by some shabby hangers on, split by fall rains and mottled with blemishes.

It’s time to grab ‘em, slash ‘em and throw ‘em into a pot of boiling water.

It’s not that the love affair is over.  It’s just time to salvage what you can of the summer romance so that you can savor it all winter.

I decided years ago, I am not going to can tomatoes.  Grandma did it.  Mom did it.

I choose to freeze my end-of-summer tomatoes.

It’s this easy.  Cut off the tops – or make a slash where the stem was.  Don’t worry if there are gross rotten marks or black spots.

Plunge them into boiling water for a minute or so.  Remove and cool.

Remove the skins and cut off any blemishes.

Label a freezer bag and place the skinned tomatoes in the bag in a single layer.  Freeze.

When you need a little or a lot of tomato for a recipe, simply pick off what you need.  And voila!  The sweet taste of summer is back.

Try them in a simple dish like Tomato Pan Sauce, that calls for less than a full can of tomatoes.