Garden Goodies: Tomato Fest!

Posted by Deb Puchalla

Decades ago, on the road back from the beach at August's start, we stopped at a farm stand on Route 2 near Norwich, Connecticut, for a few of the brightest, juiciest, fattest tomatoes around. At home, my father sliced them up thick and piled them on white bread with mayo, salt, and pepper. A couple of weeks later, when the plump tomatoes marched up along the windowsill and along the counter like so many soldiers, Mom made a vat of tomato sauce that we tested (again, on white bread, sorry, just a spoonful) until the basil and oregano were just so. She'd pour it into coffee cans saved for months and stack them in the freezer. Some things don't change. My family and I arrived last night at a beach rental in Rhode Island, and my friend Marni told me the farmer up the road promises heirlooms on Friday. I'm giddy with anticipation.

Good thing we have this party going on; I'll know what to do with them. One of the things I love about the weekly get-togethers we're cohosting with Margaret at A Way to Garden is that so many foodies and gardeners chime in with new ways and old ways to use familiar friends from the vegetable patch.

Once the beauties come in (I hear from garden folks it's been cool and in many spots rainy so lots of tomatoes are yet to ripen) my family and Marni's will sit down to mixed tomato salad with some burgers. We've produced a ton of tomato recipes at Everyday Food (and at Living -- check out the recent excerpt from Amy Goldman's amazing new tomato book; for more, check out our gallery of tomato deliciousness). Another contender is our Shrimp, Tomato, and Basil Pasta, a perennial favorite that graced Great Food Fast, our best-selling cookbook.

On the menu for one meal is cod that has yet to come off the boat, broiled and covered with buttery breadcrumbs and the fresh tomato-herb topping that went along with this bruschetta recipe from a while back. Another night, we'll enjoy grilled steak with a Southwestern three-tomato salsa.

But it's nice to taste something new with fresh produce. Lori has a tomato-cucumber salad; not so different, Feelslikehome has a cuke-tomato salsa. Karen's favorite tomato recipe is an updated Caprese salad: lightly salted slices with fresh mozzarella, basil, and (here's the twist) prosciutto, drizzled with balsamic vinegar and the best olive oil. Sounds good, right? (And it doesn't even need a recipe!) Rachel Ann at A Kitchen of Her Own made a summer chili I can't wait to taste. And even in a rented kitchen, I'm tempted to try one of the Southern-style tomato pies that I keep hearing about, too--maybe this one? Andrea’s linguine with peppers and grape tomatoes looks fantastic, and Dianne's tomato goat cheese pizza tart seems super decadent and can't-miss. Meantime, Frugalupstate has green tomatoes and knows what to do with them. Oh, the possibilities. And we need only to wait until the farm-stand guy's ready!

Hope to see and hear from you here, and on Twitter.

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Comments

[SusieJ]

My pre-schooler likes to eat tomatoes like apples, but I prefer German tomato salad: fast, easy, delicious and works wonders on under-ripe tomatoes.

http://www.christmas-baking.com/itsAllAboutTheFood/2008/07/german_tomato_salad_thats_not.html

[Paula]

A fresh really ripe tomato may be one of my favorite things to eat period. I look forward to that first ripe tomato every summer! I can't think of a better way to enjoy them then just sliced (still warm from the sun) piled high on bread with mayo and a sprinkle of sea salt. Perfection!
Here's a link to the post I wrote earlier in the summer on our farm blog.
http://waterberryfarm.blogspot.com/2008/07/you-say-tomato-i-say-summer.html

[Karina's Kitchen]

The yellow and orange heirloom tomatoes are my new summer favorite. They're so tasty they really don't need much. I make a simple tomato salad with these multicolored beauties and drizzle the slices with extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar; season with a pinch of sea salt, some fresh ground pepper, a little mint, thyme and sliced scallions.

The best part? It's a gluten-free recipe that is also very low in carbs (I just started the South Beach diet).

http://tinyurl.com/5gsyv5

Tomatoes are this week's favorite snack!

[Andrea]

Great round-up of tomatoes, and thanks for mentioning our roasted grape tomatoes! The plants are bursting with them now and we just brought in about two pounds this evening. We mostly eat them out of hand, but like to experiment with them, too.

[JeanAnnVK]

Sigh...I wish I had ripe tomatoes from my garden...as it is, I must satisfy my tomato craving with traditional southern fried green tomatoes...check it!

http://www.portlandfoodie.com/2008/08/recipes-for-gre.html

[Candylei]

Some of ours are so sweet this year! And the best part is we know there are no chemicals whatsoever in or near them! Delicious!

[Kathy from Cold Climate Gardening]

Did you ever wonder how they cooked with tomatoes in the good ol’ days, once they decided they were edible? I’ve been wondering after reading a chapter in The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder. Plus, two good recipes: http://www.coldclimategardening.com/2008/08/14/tomatoes-in-the-kitchen/

[sandygluck]

Anita @ marriedwithdinner - I'm going to have to try the bourbon in the tomato jam - and JeanAnn VK - I will never turn my nose up at a fried green tomato!

[Diva]

Ciao from Tuscany!
Better late than never. Wanted to gather together some of my favorite recipes from Tuscany which has been my home since 1984.

Ripe tomatoes from the farm to table, is really making the best of the "Tuscan Sun".

Join me in some of the Tuscan twists on tomatoes.
http://tinyurl.com/673bgb

[Stef]

I made a tomato cream cheese frosting.

http://www.cupcakeproject.com/2008/08/tomato-cream-cheese-frosting-recipe.html

It only had a mild tomato flavor, but that's probably all you would want in a tomato frosting. The frosting went with a tomato cupcake that I haven't posted about yet. I'll drop by here when I get that up.

[J. Pollack Photography]

I took some photos at a local Tomatofest yesterday:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jpollackphoto/2776404143/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jpollackphoto/2777259230/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jpollackphoto/2777262062/

[Kimi]

Does anyone have any recipes for canning or preserving grape and yellow pear tomatoes? I have an over abundance!
Thanks
ps. leave a comment at my site!

[Christie @ fig&cherry]

I'm looking forward to growing cherry tomatoes this Summer (it's Winter now in Sydney, Australia).

Ripe tomatoes are best in salads, like this one:

http://www.figandcherry.com/recipes/love-food-hate-waste-take-action/

[alfajores]

Alfajores. El alfajor. Historia del alfajor, secretos de los alfajores, recetas para hacer alfajores de maicena, diferentes tipos de alfajor. Alfajor santafecino y alfajor cordobes. Marcas de alfajores milka, terrabusi, bagley, capitan del espacio, havanna y balcarce.

http://www.alfajorargentino.com.ar

[andrea]

Hi Deb. I am visiting via A Way to Garden. Now that tomatoes are bountiful, I am starting to roast and freeze. And taste. Alot!

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
In a large roasting pan place tomatoes that have been cored on the top and then cut in half. Don't crowd. Add as many whole garlic cloves as you like. Drizzle a good olive oil over all of it. Add kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste. Roast for 2-3 hours, or until the garlicky tomato scent is filling the entire home. Easily slip the tomato peel offand remove ( delish on bread with a sprinkle of kosher salt ). The roasted tomato garlic mixture is what I freeze in batches with the wonderful juice

and oil. Makes a great base for tomato fennel soup. Just dice or chop and sauté a sweet onion, couple of carrots, a rib of celery and a fennel bulb trimmed in olive oil. Add kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste. Sauté till caramelized, adding a bit of thyme. Add it all to tomato mixture and purée. Add 1/4 cup yoghurt or fresh cream and to each bowl or mug a tablespoon of grated Romano pecorino cheese. Yummm! Be creative! So many variations and uses.
Thank you for allowing me to visit and enjoy your blog.

[Kim]

Seeing that I live in the South tomatoes are still in abundance here. I made a fabulous Cornmeal Foccacio with miniature Heirloom tomatoes and Vidallia onions that would be good any time of year.

http://ayankeeinasouthernkitchen.com/2008/09/05/cornmeal-foccacio-with-heirloom-tomatoes-and-vidallia-onions/