Tuesday, August 29, 2017

You Say Tomayto ...

Chronica Domus
There's nothing quite like the taste of home-grown tomahtoes
Photo: Chronica Domus


... I always say "tomahto".  Despite the fact that I've lived in the United States for well over two decades, I cannot - with a straight face - say "tomayto".  It's just never going to happen!  Whichever preference you may have as to pronunciation, tomatoes are among summer's greatest pleasures.  I am, of course, referring to those perfectly sun-ripened fruits, just at the pinnacle of freshness, bursting with sweet, juicy flavor. I'm just mad for them!

Tomatoes happen to be one of my favorite foods and I would eat them by the bucket load, year round, if I could.  I have, however, come to the conclusion that the old adage "all good things come to those who wait" holds much truth, particularly when it comes to the consumption of tomatoes.  Out of season, well, it's really just not the same.

During the month of August, and into September, the farmers' market is awash with tomatoes in a multitude of colors and shapes.  The red tomato of my youth is there alright, but so is the yellow and orange, brilliant scarlet, and the deepest, darkest maroon.  Believe it or not, there's even a vibrant stripey green variety.  It really is a mad, mad, tomato world out there ready for eatin'.

I adore tomatoes so much that although I am no fan of artificial air fresheners and scents, and believe these manufactured fragrances are wholly unnecessary (just open a window for the best type of air known to mankind), I did once succumb to this:

Chronica Domus
Yes, it really does smell of tomato leaves!
Photo: Chronica Domus


The astute noses at Floris, England's oldest retailer of toiletries and scent, and Royal Warrant holders since 1820, somehow managed to trap the delicate aroma of tender tomato leaves within a bottle.  It really is rather marvelous as a single squirt fills one's room with the promise of everlasting summer. I binge purchased six bottles of the stuff on a shopping expedition to Floris' charming outpost on Jermyn Street several years ago and I am so glad that I did.  Not long after, the entire Tomato Leaf range was discontinued.  I am, sadly, down to my last remaining bottle.  No matter, I could always grow the real thing I suppose, and that's exactly what I did earlier in the spring.

It dawned on me in April that I had failed to plant tomatoes in my vegetable patch for the past few years.  Correcting the error of my ways, I came home one morning from the farmers' market with a lone four inch potted seedling labeled "Black Cherry Heirloom".  Into the soil it went.  A few weeks later, emboldened by the seedling's rapid growth, I planted another. This one was identified as "White Currant Heirloom".

Chronica Domus
The heirloom Black Cherry tomato plant photographed in July
Photo: Chronica Domus


By mid-July, both plants were thriving and had scrambled far beyond their support structures reaching an impressive height of six feet.  I picked my first tomatoes at the beginning of August. Here they are:

Chronica Domus
The first batch of tomatoes  ...
Photo: Chronica Domus


Chronica Domus
... went straight into the salad bowl moments after picking
Photo: Chronica Domus


It is now the end of August and both tomato factories are humming along in full production mode. The more the plants continue to mature, the sweeter and more flavorful the fruits become, and the deeper their color.  What a pleasure and a privilege it is to be able to step into the garden and gather up the fruits of one's labor. The following photograph shows last Saturday afternoon's pickings, enjoyed as part of an early dinner at home with friends. I made a simple chopped Caprese salad using summer's Holy Trinity of ingredients - the just-picked garden tomatoes, fresh basil, and creamy mozzarella.  The salad was enthusiastically devoured by all.

Chronica Domus
My garden trug is full once again with tasty tomatoes and happily, there's no end of them in sight!
Photo: Chronica Domus


Chronica Domus
Won't you please help yourself?
There's not much to compare to the simple pleasure derived from popping a perfectly
ripened, home-grown tomato straight into one's mouth moments after picking
Photo: Chronica Domus


Do you savor the flavor of summer's deliciously sweet tomahtoes and if so, do you have a favorite way of preparing them?  Please, do tell, no matter your pronunciation preference.




Nota bene: I am neither paid nor do I receive recompense in exchange for applauding products or services within my blog.  I do so because I enjoy them.  If you are a kindred spirit, you too enjoy recommending nice things to fellow good eggs.

16 comments:

  1. Hello CD, What beautiful tomatoes you chose, in addition to their flavor and heritage. In Ohio, 'to-may-to' is the accepted pronunciation, so much so that any other sounds peculiar. We have been using fresh tomatoes more and more. My mother makes a pasta sauce from lightly-cooked fresh tomatoes, and this summer added matzo pizzas made with little bits of diced tomatoes and other vegetables.

    Ironically, I am at this moment making some tomato sauce from canned products. I simply consider this a different type of food product, especially convenient for those who just returned to Taiwan and have empty refrigerators.
    --Jim

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    Replies
    1. Hello Jim,

      I've fully accepted the fact that my Americans cousins will always say "tomayto" and that I shall always say "tomahto", despite the fact it all sounds topsy-turvy to me. This, however, is one of the charming little aspects of living life in one's adopted country and I wouldn't ever wish to change that.

      I too enjoy using tomatoes to make fresh sauce in the summer but do resort to cans in the winter. I've never considered making enough sauce to see me through winter but there are some lovely San Marzanos at the market right now so I might just do that.

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  2. Seasonal tomatoes (pronounced either way they are just as luscious) are one of summer's bountiful gifts. We are not blessed with homegrown beauties like yours but enjoy what our local CSA provides. I confess one of my favorite meals is a fresh tomato sandwich with lashings of Basil mayonnaise (my homegrown basil blended with Hellmanns) and corn on the cob. Fall is just around the corner so we are enjoying both crops while they last.
    Best,
    KL Gaylin

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    Replies
    1. Hello KL Gaylin,

      What is CSA? Is that a local market? Do please spill the beans.

      I think one of your sandwiches sounds just delicious to me. I think I'm going to replicate your basil mayonnaise and try it for myself at home. Perhaps Patience would enjoy this sandwich too if I were to place one in her lunchbox tomorrow.

      Yes, I too can't get enough of summer's corn, another of the season's gifts.

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    2. A CSA is a farm cooperative (community sustainable agriculture). Members pay a seasonal subscription at a local farm and receive a share of the farm's harvest each week during the growing seasons. The farm is assured an income beyond what it sells at the markets and subscribers receive fresh, organic locally grown produce. CA has such a long growing season and produce is so abundant that residents probably don't feel the need to subscribe. However here in the northeast, CSAs are very popular. Our Audubon farm offers a summer share, winter share, fruit share and pick your own share plans.

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    3. Thank you for clarifying. Sounds like a wonderful scheme and one I'd gladly subscribe to if I were living in your part of the country. Not only are you assured of locally grown, and tasty, produce, but you support local farms too, a win-win!

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  3. Hello CD,
    That's a fine looking crop. I love tomahtoes in too many ways to list here. But a perennial favourite is freshly sliced on toast and topped with a little salt, loads of black pepper, dried oregano and a drizzle olive oil - yum!
    We had our best ever tomato crop last summer from two spontaneous seedlings. They were varieties the 'farm hand' (my husband) has never grown before, but they emerged near the compost bin so perhaps a stray seed found its way into a receptive clump of soil. Seeds have been saved and will be planted this spring - fingers crossed for an encore!
    Spud.

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    Replies
    1. Hello Spud,

      Believe it or not, this is my daugher's favorite way of enjoying tomatoes. She loves to sprinkle slices of tomato with oregano.

      What fun to benefit from volunteer seedlings. I hope to reap the benefits of all the over-ripe tomatoes that have split open and fallen to the ground next year. I shall keep you posted.

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  4. Absolutely the emblem of Summer, no matter how you slice them. Yours are simply lovely, shining gently in that marvelous trug. I've been known to hold off cutting or using them because the sheer ART of the thing was so satisfyingly delicious.

    And the Caprese---are you a balsamic, wine, or simple Olive Oil person? We're having a little dish of it with the smallest of pearl-sized Bocconcini, halved grape tomatoes, and basil leaves for Sweetpea's Birthday picnic in the park tomorrow. I"m going to sit near THAT dish.

    You describe and photograph and demonstrate so well all of the senses, that it's simply a feast on the page, whether tomatoes, wine or the wine coaster. But as the veteran of many a LONG day of picking tomatoes in a Mississippi-heat forest of skin-staining, arm-and-leg-grabbing tomato vines---I do believe I'd pass on the bottle of scent. The tomato game is well worth the inconvenience candle.

    r, who still has one of those kilo-sized beauties in the kitchen. The other one made BLT's for all three of us for dinner the other night. It was like slicing beefsteak, as those great bigger-than-bread slices fell beneath the knife.

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    Replies
    1. Hello racheld,

      I do so look forward to filling my trusty trug with the vegetable garden's bounty and think of my dear cousin each time I do so as the trug was a gift from her.

      As for the Caprese, I do use olive oil and balsamic, but I've also used wine vinegar in the past and enjoyed that too. I hope Sweetpea's birthday picnic (and the salad) went down a treat today. Happy Birthday to her!

      Delete
  5. Yellow tomatoes of your photo is shining gloriously. These are the precious present from summer. Have a nice weekend.

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    Replies
    1. Hello roughterrain crane,

      The yellow tomatoes (called White Currant) are indeed precious gifts of summer. They are so sweet that I plan on growing them again next year.

      Enjoy your weekend too!

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  6. Growing up i had tomatoes with sprinkled sugar but then they were in Korea and the tomatoes here can't really get away with just sugar. I like tomato water when you salt and then hang tomatoes in muslin so you get a tomato consommé. But how annoying is it that your favourite things get discontinued which is why i stock up whatever i love.

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    1. Hello Naomi,

      I wonder if you sprinkled sugar on your tomatoes as they were too tart to eat in Korea? The tomato consommé sounds so refined and perfect for a hot summer day.

      I agree about stocking up on one's favorite goodies (think lipstick and nail polish here!). Seems like I can never get through a stick/bottle without the color being discontinued - ugh!

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  7. I too love tomatoes: beefsteaks, heirlooms and yellow are all wonderful. Sea salted with a dash of olive oil and balsamic. Of course fresh basil is always a good addition. Your tomatoes look lovely; the color is wonderful.

    Another language difference is the use of the word gotten in America, which is little used in the UK. ;-)

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    Replies
    1. Hello Diogenes,

      Thank you, and yes not only is the color of our home-grown tomatoes amazing, but so is the flavor - I'll be growing them again next year to be certain - so sweet and juicy!

      Gotten you say? How funny! "Got" to be certain but "gotten", well that's a new one for me. Don't you just adore the differences in British and American English?

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