Summer is here!
This week's CSA bag contained the first tomatoes of the season—the Cherokee Purple and what are I think three Romas you see here—which means summer has officially begun in my book. But it also reveals my dirty food secret:
I don't really like tomatoes.
I know, there has to be something wrong with me. I've read all the rhapsodizing over their wonderfulness (heck, I've even written some), and I understand I'm supposed to love fresh summer tomatoes, but I just don't get it. I'm great with red sauce, sun-dried tomatoes, pizza, but raw tomatoes just don't do it for me. All my foodie friends rave over caprese salad or even just a big plate of sliced tomato with salt and olive oil, but I'd still prefer just about any other vegetable or fruit.
But this summer I want to turn over a new leaf. I'm going to make myself like these things. But I need your help. Send me your best tomato recipe, the one that will get me over the hump. How can I turn myself into a tomato lover?
Like you, I hate to admit it, but we share the same dirty food secret. And like you, I’m trying to get over my dislike of tomatoes since I’m growing them for the first time this year.
I’ve been looking around for some good recipes incorporating fresh tomatoes to ease myself into it and found some great ideas from the geniuses of Southern Living & Sunset.
- No cook tomato sauce: http://www.sunset.com/food-wine/techniques/fresh-no-cook-tomato-sauce-00400000046377/
- Dressing to put over freshly sliced tomatoes: http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1624512
Good luck, Jason!
1. Chopped tomato,salt and pepper, maybe a little onion and parsley, mixed into cottage cheese.
2. Thick slice of ripe Beefsteak tomato and good mayonnaise, a quick grind of white pepper on good white bread. Heck, even plain white bread!
Although tomatoes aren’t the star of this dish, give CL’s “White Bean and Roasted Chicken Salad” a try. Great with or without the chicken. Good luck!
I saw Lidia make this on her show,”Lidia’s Italy”, and got the recipe from her web-site. This pesto made with cherry tomatoes was so quick and easy to make, and if made with tasty cherry tomatoes, to die for. I stood at my blender and ate a substantial amount right out of the container with a spoon, it was that good. Try it!
http://www.lidiasitaly.com/first-courses/fc09