Sunday, June 28, 2009

I say tomahto…

Tomatoes v1

We have been enjoying the produce of our small vegetable patch this summer.  Every March, when we plant ours, I especially look forward to gorging on home-grown organic tomatoes and it doesn’t get much better than these purple heirlooms (next to my all time favorites – figs!). 

Tomatoes 013-crop v1

This is a traditional Srpska Salata - Serbian Salad.  Sliced tomatoes, green pepper, red onion, with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and a sprinkle of salt and freshly ground black pepper.   And Husbie says KISS - Keep It Simple Sam! 

Tomatoes 025-crop v1

Who can resist Insalata Caprese?  A perfect stack with thick slices of mozzarella and basil leaves nestled between sliced tomatoes and drizzled with balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil:

Tomato mozzarella stack v1

 What do you do with a mango, a tomato and a jalapeno pepper?  Why, you make Salsa!

tomato mango salsa 008 v1

To balance the sweetness of the mango, I add red onion, lemon juice and lots of cilantro:  You can never have too much cilantro, if you ask me!

tomato mango salsa 004-crop v1

Tomato Mango Salsa on grilled salmon – refreshing summer fare:

Tomatoes 004-crop v1

Cherry tomatoes in potato salad:

Potato and tomato salad v1

On whole grain bread with melted feta cheese and oregano – bringing out the Balkan in me!

Tomatoes 014-crop v1

By now, I’m battling the birds and the stinkbugs.  The netting I have cast seems to be keeping the birds at bay, but the stinkbugs have struck overnight.  They are my biggest enemy during tomato season because they suck the Dickens out of the fruit and leave disease and rot behind.  We refuse to use pesticides and one year my daughter and I went out to do battle with our tweezers.  Yes, tweezers!  Stinkbugs aren’t fast, you see, so it was easy to pick them off and stomp them in the ground…as you can imagine, it was sooo time-consuming.  Needless to say, we lost the battle after a couple of days. 

I thought about spraying vinegar…nah, it’ll kill the plant.  My next means of attack is per Husbie’s suggestion – the vacuum cleaner!  Brilliant!  I can see myself with the suction hose, grinning from ear to ear, as those suckers enter the bag, never to pester my home-grown tomahtoes again!  I’ll let you know if it works! 

Basil detail 

Prijatno!

4 comments:

  1. Your tomato dishes look wonderful! It makes me wish I had planted some tomatoes this year. The bug issue... yuck. I'm anxious to hear how you conquer that problem!

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  2. All beautiful!
    With the weather we have been having here in New Jersey we may not see a local tomato fro a very long time!

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  3. Great work! I love the presentations. I thought you bought ladybugs to kill insects in your garden? Give that a try.
    I love the way you say, Tomahto. It makes me smile every time. You know I am jealous that you have an accent and I don't!

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  4. What a great crop, love all the things you made!

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