Tomatoes are in season, and even though it hasn’t rained much here recently, they appear to be in abundance. As a child, I never liked tomatoes, the seeds, and gel around the seeds, freaked me out. I ate them in spaghetti sauce, but I picked them off of a sandwich. As an adult I fell in love with my fathers bruschetta, which is what started to change my mind about the tomato. Then I was introduced to the Caprese salad (Buffalo mozzarella, tomato, basil and balsamic vinegar). That too was amazing, so I asked myself how else can tomatoes be amazing? What am I willing to try? So over the years I slowly add in more tomatoes into my diet. But it’s still not where it could be. Maybe up until now.

On Thursday I went to Erika’s for a swim, and left with a bag full of tomatoes. She grows heirloom tomatoes and tries new seeds each year. This year two new ones where the sunrise bumblebee tomato, and the Cherokee purple. Other tomatoes I took home we’re beef steak, plum, and yellow cherry tomatoes. Somehow this was the start of my tomato obsession this weekend. I got a little carried away.

• After Friday night dinner at the Ahern’s, I left their house with more tomatoes. Ken grows beef steak, cherry tomatoes and brandywine.
• Saturday was a trip to the New Garden Growers Market. Grandpa’s Garden and Mommy and Me farm in Oxford are new. They grow unique and heirloom vegetables, so I purchased a container of Hartman yellow gooseberry tomatoes. They are bigger than a cherry tomato but smaller than a regular tomato. I thought they might be right for cold yellow gazpacho soup. I still have not found or attempted Merion’s recipe yet.

So what do you like to do with tomatoes when you have more than you know what to do with. Here’s what I’m thinking:

• Summer tomato salad (done, made on Saturday)
• Yellow tomato gazpacho soup (Not Marion’s recipe, still hunting that down)
• Mediterranean tomato bread salad
• Pizza al fresco
• Roasting some of the tomatoes for future use
• Tomato jam

If you’re interested in doing some research on heirloom tomato seeds, Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds is an amazing site and had everything I looked up. I believe this is where Erika purchases her seeds but I have to confirm. Their mission is to provide the seeds of a sustainable food supply for everyone and keep heirloom varieties alive for future generations.

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