Maters

This is the time of year when your neighbor rings your doorbell and runs, leaving you a bag of tomatoes. It's a ridiculous tomato season here this year. I went to visit with my Brother in law Jason last week. He has 2lb tomatoes! Seriously, they are the size of a baby's head. Jason is a gifted farmer and we marvel over his giant produce. Mine don't grow quite that big but we have plenty of tomatoes rolling in.

This year I started from seed: Golden Tomatoes, Romas and Heirloom Big Boys. My neighbor gave me one starter tomato that is a Cherokee Purple. From my compost...we have lots of cherry tomato volunteers. I stopped planting cherry tomatoes two years ago because they just keep coming back.

One thing to keep in mind with tomatoes...they love two things...Sun and Food! They are very heavy feeders and love rich soil, compost, and organic food. I fed mine right before they bloomed and they jumped a foot and blasted out blossoms. The rest of the job is done by that big star in the sky.

So, now it's finding a million ways to skin a tomato. Right now I'm just enjoying slicing them and eating them when they are still warm. But, my tolerance for tomato acid starts to wear me out. Anybody else get burning lips from tomato acid? I see canning a lot salsa and sauces in my near future.

My very favorite tomato combination is a classic:

Sliced Maters
Sliced fresh Mozzarella
Chopped fresh Basil

stack them up

Sprinkle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar and a dash of pepper.


It's so simple but sooooo very right. YUMMY!