The green button on the left side of the screen tempts me--"Tomato Club--click here to become a member." There's a tomato club? My cursor hovers briefly, my index finger twitches. "Over 600 varieties of heirloom tomato seeds" the large red print boasts. There's that word. Heirloom. Every addict has a trigger--mine is the "H" word. I can't help myself. I am a tomato junkie.
Must click on the "heirloom varieties" button. My lips move as I scroll through the list. The names alone are sheer summer poetry: Black Brandywine. Caspian Pink. Dixie Golden Giant. Dingwall Scotty. Giant Oxheart. My mouth has started to water and I'm only to the "G's". Halfmoon China. Mister Stripey. Polish Giant. Somebody stop me before I grab my credit card and do something stupid. Super Sioux. Tiny Tim. White Wonder. Zapotec Pleated. Have mercy.
Yesterday I harvested five deep red Early Girls and a lopsided lumpy Cherokee Purple that tasted as sweet as an August peach. Can you say "heaven"? I actually controlled myself this year and only put fifteen tomato plants in my small suburban backyard.
Go ahead and laugh. Within a week I'll be reveling in homemade salsa and bruschetta pomodoro and gazpacho. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner will find me with my elbows on the table and tomatoes on my plate. Sliced on sourdough toast with sea salt and melted gouda. Nestled between fresh mozzarella and slivers of garden basil. Scattered in pasta with olive oil and capers. Bright red and golden wedges tossed with cucumbers and vinaigrette. Aaaaah! So much to eat, so little time. Excuse me, I'd better get started.
So, what's your personal favorite way to eat vine-ripened tomatoes? Leave me a comment and I'll try your suggestion. A "major award" to the contributor of the most delectable idea.
I'm about to commit heresy here....
ReplyDeleteI hate fresh tomatoes.
Always have. I wish that were not the case. I make it a point to try a garden-fresh tomato every summer with an as-open-as-possible mind, but in the end, I just can't do it.
However - once upon a time, I worked at a fancypants bakery, and the head pastry chef came up with the most wonderful little free-form tartlets: you take circles of puff pastry, spread some goat cheese on the top, nestle four little cherry tomato halves on the top, and sprinkle with some chopped herbs and possibly a teensy bit of olive oil. Then bake until the pastry is done. Even I liked them.
I won't win the prize, but these have been my most common uses of our garden tomatoes in the past:
ReplyDeleteon whole wheat toast, buttered, with salt and cracked pepper
mini bean pots (as I call them) - tostitos scoop chips with refried beans, cheese and chopped tomatoes in the middle, microwaved. yum.
pasta, salsa, on a homemade yoshidas and montreal steak seasoning burger, and on homemade pizza with olive oil instead of sauce, mozarella and fresh basil - all classics
Love you and your blog!
Mmmm. Was just rhapsodizing over my own red jewels. Your sourdough ritual is similar to mine, except I like sharp cheddar.
ReplyDeleteI also like cutting the tomatoes in halves (horizonally), sprinkling with ground pepper, fresh or dried basil bits, feta and/or parmesan cheese, and a tiny bit of garlic salt. Broil just until the cheese is melty.
I eat right away :-) or get fancier and put each one on a lettuce leaf to serve as a salad.
One of the "tender mercy" compensations for being in Ukraine during home-garden tomato season is that, in the summer, every tomato you see here is home-garden sweet! My favorite is the Park Cafe (Simferopol) S'Dacha salad: a pillow of Ukrainian mayonnaise (also tastes home-made) at the bottom of a bowl filled with tomato wedges, fresh (never bitter) cucumber wedges, red onion circles and red bell pepper scoops (both also incredibly sweet) topped with a feather of fresh dill. At first, I wondered why the mayonnaise is at the bottom instead of the top, but then I discovered that you then are free to use as little or as much as you like by how vigorously you stir and dunk the pieces. I don't care much what else is on the menu.
ReplyDeleteMy mouth watered just reading all of the above. I will be experimenting for the rest of the summer. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDelete"Have mercy"! Oh, I love your blog. Yes, I love, love, love vine-ripened tomatoes. Give me a handful of cherry tomatoes over a handful of candy any day. Unfortunately, the one tiny character trait approaching an imperfection in my beloved husband is his dislike of fresh tomatoes. There are some dishes we can agree on: Homemade salsa (cooked), tomato basil soup (hot), and home-grown tomato sauce (over pasta); but when it comes to fresh tomato in sandwiches, on hamburgers, on toast, or just plain out-of-hand eating, I walk the blissful path alone. It's a good think I have five different tomato plants thriving this year, now that I have a bushel of new ideas on how to eat them!
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