I have Tomatoland out from the library right now. It made the NPR rounds and as a good little liberal-what-you-eat-is-political-too kinda gal I thought I should read it. It's been sitting on my bookshelf untouched since I brought it home a week or so ago. Because here's the thing: I don't need a book to tell me grocery store tomatoes taste bad. I don't buy grocery store tomatoes. If I'm desperate and it's off-season I might snag one of those pint containers of those grape tomatoes, but I typically just steer clear of them. The texture is mushy and mealy. They taste like bad water. They're just gross.
We have just hit the beginning of tomato season at the market. There are people who don't like tomatoes. I don't understand these people (Berghoef, I'm looking at you...Joan too. Freaks.) because tomatoes in season are like getting to taste heaven. I'm serious. So far this season I have sprung for Brandywines and a Cherokee Purple both of which were so freaking delicious and unique and tomatoey. I ate them both raw--one sliced with some of that Black Russian Pumpernickel bread from DeBoers with soft butter and a little salt--oh my LORD that was good--and the other straight up plain sprinkled lightly with salt (Don't forget the sprinkle of salt! It won't taste salty it will just make it taste even MORE tomatoey!). Right now on my counter I have the biggest most ugly yellow thing I bought from a guy who had a small wooden box full of heirloom tomatoes he just lovingly grew for fun. I also got some sort of green one that I'm pretty sure isn't a green zebra because it doesn't look like a green zebra but maybe it is. I also got a box of smallish red generic looking one's from Boeve's with the plan being to toss them into a basil pistou pasta salad for the union picnic tomorrow night.
And then a miracle happened.
I stumbled upon smitten kitchen's slow-roasted tomato recipe and those tomatoes went from generic to amazing. AMAZING! I want to make trays and trays and trays of them and save them so I can get one taste of tomato perfection in the middle of February.
This basil pistou pasta salad (which I would have made into a pistachio pesto but I know of at least one member who won't eat nuts no matter what...next time!) just went from "Oh. Hey. I'm a pasta salad. Yup. Basily. Little sauteed zucchini. Little summer squash. Touch of caramelized onion. Some generic raw tomatoes." to "Heeeeeey!!!!! What's up!?!?! You want to put me in your mouth!!!! You want to put me in your mouth RIGHT NOW!!!! That basil pistou is the BOMB! And that squash looks so purty and yellowy!! And that zucchini is purrrfectly cooked and green! And you are about to taste a sweet garlicy tomato bomb like you ain't never tasted before!!!!"
Yeeeeah. I should have done this a few hours ago.
Is 10pm too late to make a BLT?
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