Nothing inspires a fresh, healthy meal like tomatoes straight from the garden. We got our first batch this weekend, and I can’t wait to dig in. Some Early Girls, Romas, San Marzanos, black pearls, and a few Big Rainbows are in my basket:
What to do with these gorgeous tomatoes? Good question.
Here are some ideas:
- Just slice, salt and eat them. A side dish doesn’t get any easier.
- Chop roughly, add some red onion and cucumber, olive oil and vinegar, and anything else that sounds good and have a big salad.
- Make this tomato and watermelon salad, which will score you an invitation to every potluck this Summer.
- Whip up a batch of gazpacho. Try this recipe to start (I add more tomatoes and less juice) and make it your own.
- When the haul gets big, we make big batches of marinara and stock our freezer. Few things in life make me as happy as a freezer full of fresh marinara sauce. Especially in December when a decent tomato is nowhere to be found.
- Chop them with onions, jalapeno, lime and salt for a fresh salsa that goes great with just about anything. The trick to great salsa is to have almost as many onions as tomatoes.
- Elevate any sandwich: BLT (add avocado too!), grilled cheese with tomato, tomato + hummus + sliced veggies + pita, tuna and tomato. Tuna and tomato is a great combination.
- Slice them, add fresh mozzarella and basil, oil and vinegar, for a Caprese salad.
Tomatoes need a little salt to bring out their flavor, so don’t forget this step! When adding them to a sandwich, slice, salt and pat with paper towels to get rid of some of the extra moisture.
Tomatoes are full of lycopene, a potent antioxidant that protects our skin from sun damage and fights prostate cancer, vitamin C and many other antioxidants. As if you needed another reason to indulge in salsa.
The list of yummy ways to enjoy summer ripe tomatoes is endless. Grab as many as you can from the farm stand or farmers’ market and try them all. Then let us know which is your favorite.
Enjoy!
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