Stout Oak Farm cherry tomatoes

I love tomatoes, in August.  Forget about getting tomatoes the rest of the year, they’re just not worth buying. So, I try to get my fix in the summer when they are fresh and sweet and and not pasty and flavorless.

As a tribute to the wonderful taste of good summer tomatoes, for the next 10 days, I will feature recipes using cooked and raw tomatoes along with ways to store or preserve with some other tips and tidbits. I will use locally grown, vine ripened, fresh tomatoes which cannot be compared to commercially grown tomatoes that are picked when they’re still green and then exposed to ethylene gas to make them red when they are ready to sell. So don’t try these recipes with supermarket counterfeits! Get to your local farmers’ market or farm stand! (Or hopefully you have some growing in your yard.)

Kate with her tomatoes!

I picked up about 20 pounds of tomatoes today from my friend, Kate, who runs Stout Oak Farm in Epping. She gave me some tricks for dehydrating and roasting tomatoes so I’ll be able to enjoy them for the coming months.  Keep an eye out here for some ideas for preserving tomatoes.

A little history about the apple of love: The tomato originated in what is now Peru although the Peruvian Indians (Incas) did not really cultivate it. The Spanish explorers brought the tomato seeds from Mexico and Peru back to Spain.

As little as 200 years ago the Europeans and Americans thought that the tomato was poisonous and it was merely used as an ornamental fruit. The Italians were the first to finally figure out how wonderful it was starting in the late 1700s. As it made its way through Europe, the French called the tomato the “Apple of Love,” and the Germans referred to it as the “Apple of Paradise.” I agree.

The tomato settled in the Americas in the 1700s and although it is botanically considered a fruit, because of its savory taste and use in a meal instead of as a desert, in 1893, the U.S Supreme Court ruled that it was legally considered a vegetable and would be imposed a tariff along with other vegetables. (Every wondered about that?)

My daughter loves sun golds and cherry tomatoes!

In the 1920s the government included the tomato as part of an “ideal” healthy diet and encouraged citizens to eat 55 pounds of tomatoes annually per person!!  Unfortunately now, aaccording to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Americans consume only around 23 pounds of tomatoes every year – more than half of which is attributed to ketchup and tomato sauce.  (Mostly from fast foods restaurants!)

I figure we get about 7-8 weeks of really good tomatoes so to get in that 55 pounds of tomatoes, I’ll need to eat just about 7  pounds per week or nearly a pound a day or one large tomato per day – easy!

Fresh tomatoes over warm pasta! My favorite summer dish!

My absolute favorite summer dish is fresh (raw) tomato sauce which is tossed with warm pasta. I had it for the third time this summer at our friend’s house at their lake house to top off a perfect day. You will love this!Use the best tomatoes you can find and serve this with some fresh corn on the cob. It is delightful!

Ingredients (Serves 6 as side dish or 4 as main)

3- 4 tomatoes chopped into small pieces (about the same size you would for salsa) (You can also add cherry and sun gold tomatoes)
a handful of fresh basil cut into ribbons and then loosely chopped
about half a small sweet onion, minced
garlic – as much as you can take!  At least 1-2 cloves, minced
a drizzle of Extra Virgin Olive (little more than 1 tablespoon)
a drizzle of the best syrupy Balsamic Vinegar you can find (little less than 1 tablespoon
salt and pepper
Parmesan (optional)

The colors of summer.

Mix everything together and let it sit on your counter for half hour or so. Serve over a warm pasta, like angel hair, and top with some parmesan cheese. Enjoy!

See you tomorrow!