Celebration of the Tomato

September is coming to an end and the tomatoes are all ripening up at almost the same time.

We have been enjoying tomatoes in our salad, tomatoes arranged on salad plates with fresh mozzarella or without, chilled or not, sprinkled with balsamic vinegar and good olive oil, garnished with chopped basil and/or garlic.

Fresh tomatoes in pasta sauce is a highlight of the season. A BLT become a gourmet treat when the 'T' consists of thick slices of Black Krim heirloom tomato on sourdough bread still slightly warm from being baked that morning. The juice drips seductively out of the sandwich as you eat it and every bit is an explosion of flavors...sweet, salty, savory, crunchy.

I made a baked potato, tomato, spinach, onion and cheese casserole topped with some whole wheat crumbs for crunch that was excellent. Grilled polenta with cheese and basil in the center is even better topped with chopped tomatoes that have been cooked with a little chopped onion.

Sweetie even tried dousing a plate of mixed sliced heirloom tomatoes, flaunting their colors of bright and deep red, green, gold and orange, with raspberry liquor. Ripe tomatoes are sweet enough on their own that I found this to make them almost dessert...not my cup of tea but an interesting discovery.

Katie at Thyme for Cooking has just posted a great stuffed, baked tomatoes with pesto dish. You can see it here.

Note on 10-3-10: Made these lucious pesto stuffed tomatoes for dinner. They are simple, full flavored, delicious, easy to make and really highlight the late summer Black Krim tomatoes I used. Glad I found the recipe on Katie's blog!

This post is really about the photos of the tomatoes themselves. Most of the dishes using them weren't photographed...they were eaten too quickly for that! Maybe I'm bragging a little by showing you all those gorgeous tomatoes, but since I grew them from seed and gave them loving care to get them through our cold summer and occasional heat spells to full glorious ripeness, I guess that's OK. I love it when all the work and concern of gardening pays off. Guess I'll probably do it again next year.