Fresh Off The Vine July 27, 2013
Posted by nrhatch in Food & Drink, Home & Garden, Vegetarian Recipes.trackback
Tomatoes scream . . . IT’S SUMMER!
It’s difficult to think anything but pleasant thoughts while eating a homegrown tomato. ~ Lewis Grizzard
If you have a bumper crop of vine-ripened beauties sitting on your counter, here are a few serving suggestions:
* Check out Andra’s simple and elegant Caprese Salad. Tomatoes also brighten up Cobb, Caesar, and Chef Salads.
* Serve Shrimp Cocktail in a martini glass on a bed of shredded lettuce and chopped tomato seasoned with a lemon vinaigrette.
A world without tomatoes is like a string quartet without violins. ~ Laurie Colwin
* Make a Tomato Pie or a super simple Bruschetta. Or liven up a Welsh Rarebit with sliced or diced tomatoes.
* Slide tomatoes into sandwiches and wraps. Or whip up a batch of Tomato Cheese Spread for crackers or bagel crisps.
* Dice tomatoes into pasta salad, couscous, or rice salad. Or toss hot buttered noodles with roasted garlic, tomatoes, and crumbled feta.
* Stuff tomatoes with rice and cheese. Or risotto.
Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit; wisdom is not putting it in fruit salad.
* Make homemade salsa or pico de gallo to serve with tortilla chips, quesadillas, burritos, or tacos.
* Whip up a batch of tomato soup or Bloody Mary mix.
* Combine diced tomatoes with fresh corn kernels, black beans, and scallions to make a colorful Fiesta Salad. Toss with oil, vinegar, lime juice, and Tabasco.
* Make a Tomato Sandwich or a PBLT ~ Peanut Butter, Lettuce, and Tomato.
A medium tomato has 35 calories. lots of vitamins, and virtually no fat or sodium.
* Lecsó, a spicy Hungarian dish, puts summer-ripe tomatoes and hot peppers to good use. Serve over rice or noodles.
* Add a chopped tomato to a Spinach Rice Casserole.
* Tuck a slice of tomato into a Grilled Cheese sandwich or Panini.
Aah . . . that’s better!
What’s your favorite way to enjoy tomatoes at the peak of the season?
Comments
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Spirit Lights The Way 
Bruschetta! Good Morning Nancy! We love bruschetta. Enjoy your Saturday.. 🙂
Good choice! This is the perfect time of year to enjoy a big plate!
Yum! I love the Greek stuffed tomatoes with feta cheese and mint. Just scrumptious.
That sounds perfect . . . the combination of tomatoes and feta is a match made just this side of heaven.
Peanut butter, lettuce, and tomato? Not so sure I want to try that one…then again the hubby talked me into a bite of his garlic bread spread with peanut butter!
The peanut butter is a salty counterpoint to the tomato . . . but it’s not everyone’s BLT.
Thanks for the shout out, Nancy.
When I started this post, the salads seemed a conspiracy of “C’s” ~ Caesar, Cobb, Chef, and Caprese.
Here’s to simply delicious salads! 😀
I love them raw, in salsa, on pizza, in salads. I can’t think of a way that I don’t like them.
You sound like me . . . stewed is the only preparation that doesn’t trip my trigger.
The humble tomato is so versatile and we don’t use it to it’s full potential, so thanks for these great ideas Nancy. I am rather partial to bruschetta!
Bruschetta offers up an explosion of flavor! Yum.
OOOooo, yummy! Mine are just starting to ripen and I’m so excited to have fresh tomatoes again. Bruschetta, here I come!
Bruschetta seems to be the hands-down winner in the Tomato Eating Contest. Enjoy!
I just love summer tomatoes. I won’t even eat them the rest of the year. I do add them to almost everything, but when I don’t have it in me to do more, I slice them and drizzle a little truffle oil on them, and it’s just heavenly! 🙂
Yes! I love most veggies, but some must be cooked for me to enjoy them and others must be raw . . . but the tomato can be enjoyed any which way you can slice it!
Now I am hungry! I haven’t made bruschetta in a long time. Will make one soon. 🙂
Another vote for bruschetta . . . it’s a crowd pleaser! Enjoy.
Great tomato ideas. It’s only been the last few years where I enjoyed eating tomatoes. You see, when I was in junior high, my parents planted a garden. They underestimated the production of a few tomato plants. We had tomatoes with EVERYTHING. I was so happy when that summer was over and we had no more tomatoes 🙂
I would love to have a bumper crop of tomatoes, but haven’t had much success with tomatoes here in FL. I don’t think I enjoyed them as much in high school, except in catsup and tomato sauce for spaghetti.
Love the smell of vine-ripened tomatoes – a staple in our house for haloumi salad (yum), caprese salad, tomato and onion salad, and tomato, onion and chilli sauce for steamed mussels
I had to google “haloumi” as I’d never heard it before ~ sounds great! Especially the idea of grilling it.