Then last week we started harvesting these:
And cooking things like this on the grill:
And now, the real payoff:
I had to go to Intermarché and buy some mozzarella cheese yesterday. I know it's nothing original or really unusual, but salads of fresh garden tomatoes with basil, mozzarella, balsamic vinegar, and olive oil just smack of summer. Even though the tomatoes waited until the final days of August to start ripening, the weather is supposed to stay warm and dry for another week or two — so we are in business
Your tomatoes look great. Are the yellow ones heirlooms?
ReplyDelete"Real" tomatoes have a very different taste than the mega-farmed, supermarket ones.
Yes, D., you are right about the taste of "real" tomatoes. That's why, while in France, I eat as many tomatoes as I can, because, here, they are more "real" than in the States where I never touch them!
DeleteThe yellow tomatoes are the Jubilee variety and the seeds came from Ferry-Morse.
DeleteYou can find good tomatoes in the U.S., especially on the East Coast, including D.C., during the summer months. The rest of the year, it's true, American supermarket tomatoes are not very good.
You two may find this article interesting: "How Industrial Farming 'Destroyed' The Tasty Tomato." I heard an interview about this article on NPR a while back:
Deletehttp://www.npr.org/2011/06/28/137371975/how-industrial-farming-destroyed-the-tasty-tomato
D., thank you for the link. As Vespasien said, Pecunia non olet or, in French, L'argent n'a pas d'odeur. uThat applies to tomatoes and the food industry!
DeleteCe n'est pas Malherbe, c'est bonnes herbes!
ReplyDeleteLOL
DeleteMother Nature spoils you guys!
ReplyDeleteWe were lucky this summer, again. We've never had a completely failed tomato crop. Even after all the bad weather we had in May or June, the tomatoes are abundant and ripening, although a month or so late.
DeleteMy favorite tomatoes are the ananas variety. Just as sweet as pineapples, and very pretty, with yellow flesh tinged with crimson.
ReplyDeleteNothing beats freshly ripened home grown tomatoes, but the (too expensive) Campari tomatoes from Mexico and Canada which are in US stores year round now are better than the other store tomatoes. They are smaller than Romas and larger than cherry tomatoes.
ReplyDeleteMmmm ... I see the perfect ratatouille waiting to be enjoyed.
ReplyDeleteHow about an oven-baked ratatouille?
DeleteEnfin is right!
ReplyDeleteIt is always my pleasure reading your blog.
ReplyDeleteMerci.
DeleteJust read David Lebovitz's latest email with a recipe for Caponata. Sounds like its right up your alley. A lot of work though.
ReplyDeleteThanks. Hadn't seen that. I have a plan for tomorrow using my eggplants, zucchini, and tomatoes. Stay tuned.
DeleteMy tomatoes started ripening about a week ago, late this year but now, we are in business.
ReplyDelete