It’s That Time Of Year Again 🍅

[The Amish Tyrant]

There are a few simple tomato dishes I enjoy (and should/would do so more often but for the lack of decent tomatoes in the area).

Tomato sandwich with mayonnaise on white bread.

Tomato and onion salad, marinated in Italian dressing.

Caprese salad, with fresh mozzarella and basil (sometimes with balsamic vinegar others with a balsamic glaze).

A simple brushetta with tomatoes, basil, olive oil and balsamic vinegar then serve on toasted bread with a goat cheese spread. There is a much more complex version, but tomatoes are not the star.

 

[renfield]

There’s no beating a fresh, vine ripened garden tomato. They’re even great eaten out of hand with some salt or sugar sprinkled on. There’s no going back to the pretty red flavorless baseballs in the grocery store.

We’re making another batch of sauce this weekend. Makes the hassle of growing them worth it to enjoy them through the winter.

 

[georged]

There’s no going back to the pretty red flavorless baseballs in the grocery store.

More literally true than not.

They are harvested by machine and carried miles down the road---in flat-bottomed trailers---that hold about 15,000 pounds. Each.

After arriving at their destination they are dumped en masse into a giant pit many feet deep by tilting the entire truck & trailer combination.

Then, they are handled by more machines that put them into consumer-sized containers, and they're stacked again, and shipped over bouncy roads again, this time to retail stores.

Where they arrive without damage.

 

[RookieGuy80]

To everyone sharing beautiful pictures of gorgeous vine ripened tomatoes, rest easy on the knowledge I'm very very jealous. I have 5 tomato plants. I have yet to enjoy one. My kids have gotten each and every one of them. I feel silly and petty complaining that my kids are eating vegetables as fast as they'll grow. I know that's a wonderful thing. But I'd like a tomatoe too.

 

[jwussow]

View attachment 239353
I pulled these earlier. The are green zebra tomatoes which I’ve never grown/seen before but are supposed to be ripe when they are bright green with white stripes. I suspect they hybridized with some nearby pear tomatoes that are orange in color. Regardless they are juicy, refreshing and delicious.

We grow these as well as brandywine and German striped.

 

[J.Henry845]

I have Lemon Thyme, Basil, Jalapeños, Banana Peppers, Cucumbers and Tomatoes all growing on my back deck, I did have some Cilantro going but it didn’t survive too long. Nothing beats fresh from the garden produce.

Unfortunately my growing space is extremely limited but it is still a satisfying hobby. This year was my first attempt at growing.

 

[AcesAndEights]

My 3-year-old just brought me this cool “stick” he found in the garden. Maybe this is why my tomatoes aren’t doing so hot!