Last week our CSA share included a beautiful box of ripe red tomatoes. I love local tomatoes very much and honestly won’t eat a tomato that isn’t a locally grown one. Those pale red things in the grocery stores in January? Blech. All this is to say that I was thrilled to get that box of tomatoes and I am enjoying the heck out of them. And that brings me to this week’s Ten on Tuesday topic: 10 Favorite Ways to Eat Tomatoes.
- Sliced up with salt and pepper. This is the purest way to enjoy a local beauty, that’s for sure.
- In a salad. I’m all about the salads these days, doncha know.
- A BLT sandwich. Sure, the bacon is good but for me it’s really about that thick slice of tomato. And perhaps the mayo.
- A grilled cheese and tomato sandwich. Dale makes these for me and I love them.
- Caprese salad. Or Caprese sticks. The combination of tomato, basil and mozzarella just can’t be beat.
- Bruschetta. I made some on Sunday night with tomato, artichokes and feta and it was deeeeelicious.
- Stuffed! I like them stuffed with spinach and parmesan cheese or chicken salad or tuna salad. The tomato is a great vehicle for those fillings.
- On a grilled pizza. I’ve only started experimenting with grilling pizza this year but I really love it, especially with sliced fresh tomatoes, olive oil, and a bit of goat cheese.
- Gazpacho! Bev shared her recipe with me and I’m anxious to try it out.
- Salsa. Chop up some tomatoes along with a bit of onion, cilantra and jalapenos and it’s fresh and delicious!
How do YOU like to eat tomatoes?
straight off the vine warm from the sun – not managed that yet this year!
Oh! I’m so excited about this week’s topic! I can’t wait to read all the mouth-watering tomato suggestions!
Love tomato salads, cut up tomatoes, red onion, feta cheese tossed with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt & pepper. Simple but so delicious!
I like them best in Caprese salads. The first time I had one was in Rome, believe it or not, taught to me by a countess! Method: fresh (not industrially made) mozzarella that has not been refrigerated (that makes it tough), basil leaves separating the tomatoes and mozzarella (lots of basil), really good olive oil and fleur de sel. Nothing more.
Also, check out the Seared and Roasted Tomatoes in Patricia Wells’s Tratoria cookbook if you don’t mind having your oven on. Everything in that book rocks.
All of the above, plus as the “star of the sandwich” on a California burger. Yum!
Yum, oh yum!! We’re just starting to harvest tomatoes from our garden. They are SO fabulous, juicy and flavorful. All the ways you eat tomatoes are my favorite ways to eat tomatoes. Tomato LOVE!!
I love all of the tomatoes
Cheese, lettuce and Tomato sandwich slathered with Helman’s Mayo! Lightly toast the bread and use some thinly sliced cheese of your choice. YUM!
Mmmmmm, BLT 🙂 DH is away on a business trip so I think this will be a fabulous dinner tonight!
I’m not much of a tomato eater, but with all the ones we have gotten from the garden this year my husband’s favorite is to slice them on a plate with sliced fresh mozzarella, fresh basil, a bit of olive oil and some balsamic vinegar. I just steal the mozzarella and basil. Teeheehee….
Love caprese salad…if I could eat one thing all summer, that would be it. But Gazpacho is wonderful too and I have to get around to making that.
A tomato open faced sandwich – toasted bread (gf, for me), little balsamic vinegar, slice of tomato, salt and cracked pepper. My daughter likes to add mozzarella to hers. Sadly, our tomatoes – the entire garden actually – are slow to mature this season.
I have one word for that Caprese sald: Burratta! From Maplebrook Farms in VT. You are exercising, you can work off the cholesterol involved.
I completely forgot about bruschetta and panzanella. Those are awesome ways of having tomatoes and one of my favorite foods – bread!
We bought earth boxes years ago and now we have fresh from the vine tomatoes with minimal work and no weeding. You get many pounds from one box. I like the grape tomatoes best and put several in my salad to take to work each day. Each grape tomato is firm, delicious and there are no soggy leftovers from sliced tomatoes in the fridge.
A topic after my own heart this week! Yum!
Truth: I have never eaten a BLT. When I still ate B, I did not like T. Now that I like T, I no longer eat B. It seems a bit of a tragedy to me…
Now that you’ve wiped away the tears, thank you for some new ideas! I’m excited to try stuffing tomatoes. And your bruschetta sounds soooo good!
I am totally with you on local or home grown tomatoes. Other than the small grape tomatoes, none of the grocery store ilk are worth eating! My sis lived in Sacramento for antime and I saw huge trucks loaded to the gills with tomatoes–that explains a lot! Love Caprese salad and BLAT’a (BLT’s with avacado). Note to self–must try grilled pizza.
There is a sandwich I invented years ago for a family I love dearly – they even named it an Estella Sandwich (it’s their comfort food). You take grated cheddar cheese and mix it with some mayo. Then lightly toast 2 pieces of bread. Put mayo it then sliced tomatoes. Sprinkle with garlic salt. Then put the cheese mixture on top and throw under the broiler. Oh, my mouth is watering – I know what iem having for lunch tomorrow!
I’m trying to learn to love tomatoes. Your picture sent me to the market for some fresh mozzarella. We will try Caprese salad tonight. 🙂
Everything on your list sounds so-o-o good! And the photos, good enough to eat!
Cheers~
I figured you’d come into a big stash…or maybe you were one of those lucky ones who has more than they need… great topic…and great suggestions!!
Your photos are getting better and better. If I’m lazy, I just slice the tomatoes with some cut basil on top, lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. But by far our favorite is Israeli salad – Israelis eat this for breakfast every day. Chopped tomato, chopped cucumber, some onion, some radish, a bunch of green olives, olive oil and lemon juice, and a lot of salt. These are the five ingredients, no more, no less unless you want to add in some boiled egg for protein. It’s good the next day, too, because it doesn’t wilt. Sop up the juices with a chunk of bread!