Who'd've thunk it? I of the avowed brown thumb? I may have to turn in my crown since it looks like I'm growing myself a bumper crop of fresh, juicy tomatoes.
Yum.
Apparently, growing tomatoes is less work than I thought. I just put them in the ground, fed them once or twice, pruned off the suckers**, and left them out in our record heat. BOOM. Tomatoes.
I'm stoked not only because the red, ripe tomatoes make the best tomato-basil salad ever (and my basil is also doing just marvy, thankyouverymuch), but because I have enough tomatoes to harvest the green ones too. You don't have to work at the Whistle Stop Cafe to love fried green tomatoes.
My Fried Green Tomatoes
3-4 full-size but unripe (green) tomatoes, sliced @ 1/2 in thick
1 egg, lightly beaten
@ 1/2 c Finely ground corn meal
generous pinch salt, pepper, dried herb of choice (basil, tarragon, oregano, or thyme are all good options)
smoked paprika is also nice but not essential
Olive oil, for frying
Mix corn meal with seasoning.
Heat oil to cover bottom of skillet (cast iron is best for this).
Dip tomato slices in egg, then corn meal. Pan fry over medium, medium low heat until golden, brown, and delicious (GBD). This will take a few minutes per side. Really, as long as you don't burn the coating, you can't go wrong.
These are very good with pork chops.
The Best Summer Salad
Serves 1. Easily doubled, tripled, or more assuming you're willing to share your tomatoes with just anyone.
1 tomato, ripe, coarsly chopped
2 tsp fresh basil, roughly torn
pinch salt, few grinds black pepper, drizzle of olive oil
Mix all. Let stand at room temp for a good half hour. Eat, with crusty bread if you have it. Repeat if necessary.
And for the love of God, DON'T put fresh tomatoes in the refrigerator.
What's in it for you?
Raw, ripe tomatoes are a good source of vitamins A and C, contain some phytosterols, copper, and fiber. Although cooked tomatoes (especially if cooked with a little oil) are a good source of lycopene, lycopene is less bioavailable in raw tomatoes. That's ok with me, October-June is plenty of time throughout the year for me to eat cooked tomatoes.
**N.B. the suckers are the little shoots that come off the bottom of the plant that won't ever bear fruit. Suckers are NOT the flowers, or the little green balls--if you prune those off, you'll have no tomatoes!