AROUND THE KITCHEN TABLE: The Most Wonderful Time of the Year.

It’s tomato season and Vicki Delany is celebrating! 

I love tomatoes. I think everyone loves tomatoes (don’t they?). I’ve always enjoyed tomatoes fresh from the garden or the farm, but it was only a number of years ago when I moved to Prince Edward County, Ontario that I first became acquainted with heirloom tomatoes.  There’s a small-scale farm near me that specializes in heirloom tomatoes, called Vicki’s Veggies (defiantly no relation) and I plunged eagerly into learning about (and eating and cooking with) all the variety of tomatoes I could.  Who knew the different sizes and colours tomatoes could come in. Not us, when all we were exposed to was red ones. Vicki's Veggies has an entire weekend devoted to tasting tomatoes. Here's some pictures showing the variety. 

If I had to pick one (sooo hard) I’d say my favourite is the green zebra. 

Tomatoes, for me anyway, are the most perfect example of the difference between fresh, in-season, locally produced vs imported vast distances before ripe, foods.  A tomato picked straight from the vine and popped into the mouth is a totally different thing from what you find on the supermarket shelf in January in Ontario.

They're only in season for a short while, and recently I've been learning how to preserve them.  Here's my last year's efforts

The best way to eat tomatoes is as they come.  But I love to cook with them also and over the years here at MLK, I’ve provided plenty of tomato recipes.  Heirloom tomatoes come in such a variety of colours that they add more than just flavour to a dish, but colour also. Here’s one of my favourites.

Mystery Lovers' Kitchen: Tomato Tart from Vicki Delany (mysteryloverskitchen.com)

Tell me, cooks, are you a tomato lover also, and do you have a favourite way of using them?

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LESLIE BUDEWITZ:  I had dinner with a friend not long ago and when she asked to have the tomatoes held from her salad, I began to question her sanity. Not really, of course, but like Vicki, I love fresh tomatoes and love growing them. Sweet 100s, Sweet Millions, Sun Golds, Lemon, slicers, Romas -- you name it, we love them! Fresh-picked, sliced and salted, or tossed into a salad -- that's what summer is about.

But of course, they cook nicely, too. We are particularly fond of Tomato-Camembert Pie, made with Gruyere, Camembert, Romas, and a mix of fresh herbs, also fun to grow. The crust is savory, made with olive oil and seasoned with salt and pepper. At our house, it simply isn't summer until we've made it.  

 

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LESLIE KARST: For me, the very best thing about summer is home-grown tomatoes! Nothing like tomato sandwiches with lots of mayo, caprese salads, and simply biting into a freshly-picked, plump tomato, still warm from the sun! 

And when those plants start producing far more fruit than you and all your neighbors could possibly eat, you can preserve those glorious tomatoes for winter eating by making this slow-roasted tomato jam.

 

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MADDIE DAY: Ah, tomatoes, let me count the ways! I started growing Sun Gold cherry tomatoes thirty years ago before anybody else, when you couldn't find their seedlings in the garden stores. They are candy masquerading as tomatoes. And the recent flourishing of deeply flavorful heirloom tomatoes is fabulous. 

My post here last week featured a big dose of Roma-type tomatoes in an eggplant-shrimp dish. I frequently make my no-lettuce Greek salad at this time of year. So simple, so delicious.

And when there's a glut of different kinds, I halve them and roast them at 400 for half an hour with basil, olive oil, and salt. Once cool, I whir them in a food processor and freeze the sauce for winter.

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TINA KASHIAN: I love tomatoes! I plant a garden every year and Jersey tomatoes are my favorite. We have grape tomatoes and big beefsteak tomatoes. I make homemade sauce and use them in salads and other dishes. Here's a picture of my recent harvest.

 

I shared a recipe for tabbouleh salad using my garden tomatoes on MLK. It's still my favorite salad.

Enjoy the rest of summer!

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 LUCY BURDETTE: I'm a tomato lover too! Anything but fresh out of the garden isn't the same. We eat them every which way, but here's a yummy recipe for tomato cheese pie: https://www.mysteryloverskitchen.com/2020/06/tomato-pie-with-cornmeal-crust-recipe.html

Happy eating!

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PEG COCHRAN/MARGARET LOUDON: We love summer tomatoes! My grandparents used to grow them in their garden.  My in-laws always had a bumper crop of tomatoes and my mother-in-law made heavenly fresh marinara sauce that tasted of the essence of summer.  I had some luck growing them myself one summer but the following summer they fizzled so now I count on the farmers market for my supply.  My neighbor is growing some in pots (we live in a condo neighborhood) which she has in a small wagon that she moves  around to take the most advantage of the sun!  Oddly while my children and granddaughter like tomato sauce and ketchup, they won't eat "chunks" of tomatoes in dishes like chili or soup.  To each his own I guess!

Happy almost-end-of-summer!

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MOLLY MacRAE: Tomatoes! Here's a fresh tomato tart with a garlic crust that's divine. One of these days, if I remember to get pictures before we eat it all up, I'll post the recipe.

Whether you say to-mah-toes or to-may-toes, do you really need to say more? 

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MAYA CORRIGAN: We grow tomatoes in a community garden plot, along with lettuce, summer squash, basil, dill, oregano, and other herbs. One of my favorite summer recipes is southwest ratatouille with tomatoes and squash from our garden and corn from the farmer's market. I love serving this dish to guests because it's so colorful and attractive. 

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Readers: Tell us about your favorite way to eat tomatoes!