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!).
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!
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:
What do you do with a mango, a tomato and a jalapeno pepper? Why, you make Salsa!
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 on grilled salmon – refreshing summer fare:
Cherry tomatoes in potato salad:
On whole grain bread with melted feta cheese and oregano – bringing out the Balkan in me!
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!
Prijatno!
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