When I die, and hopefully go to heaven, I hope there is a garden full of sun-ripened beefsteak tomatoes waiting for me beyond the pearly gates! When I worked on the farm as a boy, I came to love farm-ripened tomatoes, still warm when I got home from the hot summer sun. In those days, I used to slice the tomatoes thickly, slather them with French's mustard, and place them between 2 slices of wonder bread. I still remember my eyes rolling back in my head as the sweet & sour flavors of the red tomato ran over my tongue. (They still do that to this day when I indulge in that very same sandwich). I remember buying cases of plum tomatoes from the farm, when my boys were young teens, and making tomato sauce with my wife, Donna. We always hoped that the 20 quarts of tomato sauce we made would last us until Spring, but invariably, we ran out every fall---the sauce was just too damn good! When yellow tomatoes first came out, I made a yellow tomato marinara sauce that I still use today. Recently, I've been impressed with the quality of grape tomatoes and heirloom tomatoes that are more and more readily available in markets across the country. I do find that the prices, though, are ridiculous---$5.95 for a pint of grape tomatoes! Are you kidding me??
This past November I had a colonoscopy. It was revealed to me that I have diverticulitus. To someone who loves raspberries, strawberries and farm tomatoes as much as I do, it was really almost like a curse. It's bad enough dealing with high blood pressure AND diabetes. Now this! When my doctor told me, I laughed and said, "Whatever." I'll just add it to my weak gene list!
Now, I am giving up crappy tomatoes forever. No more cellophane 3-packs in the plastic trays. No more orange tomatoes for 3 bucks a piece in January! No more overpriced cardboard-tasting tomatoes from Chile. Now, I will wait for the tomatoes of July and August, when the sun and the rain leave them full of flavor. Now I cut the tomatoes in half a squeeze out the seeds. See, you can't keep me away from a garden tomato!
I made the following recipe for dinner recently as an appetizer. It's simply a vegan take on the sliced tomatoes with mozzarella that everyone does in the summer. Hopefully, it will make you say, "Oh, yeah!" too! Try it out, and really savor those summer tomatoes, they aren't around for long!
Vegan Marinated Tomatoes and "Mozzarella"
10 ounces extra firm tofu, drained and pressed dry between several layers of paper towels.
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 tsp Kosher salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
Drain tofu preferably for 8 hours or so to extract most of the water. You may need to change the paper towels and drain any accumulated water that collects on the plate or bowl you drain the tofu in. When the tofu is dry, slice crosswise into 1/4-inch thick slices. Cut each slice in half to make cracker-sized pieces of tofu. Place the cheese on a large platter and drizzle with olive oil. Season with a sprinkling of Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Set aside to marinate for 1 hour at room temperature.
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 tsp brown sugar
To make reduced balsamic vinegar, pour vinegar into a small, non reactive sauce pan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Reduce by almost half. Add brown sugar to taste. The vinegar should be thick and syrupy with a sweet and sour flavor to it. Set aside at room temperature.
1 large vine ripe native red tomato
1 large vine ripe native yellow tomato (if available)
6 grape tomatoes, halved
1/2 small bunch fresh basil leaves
To finish the salad; remove cores from each tomato and slice about 1/2 inch thick with a serrated knife. Arrange alternating colors of tomato on serving platter, putting a slice of marinated tofu between each slice of tomato. When all the slices are arranged, go back and insert a fresh basil leave between each slice of tomato. Keep the tips of the basil leaves sticking out for presentation purposes. Drizzle the salad with the reduced balsamic vinegar, a little more olive oil, and more Kosher salt and black pepper. Serve immediately.
Serves 2-3 people as an appetizer before dinner.
10 ounces extra firm tofu, drained and pressed dry between several layers of paper towels.
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 tsp Kosher salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
Drain tofu preferably for 8 hours or so to extract most of the water. You may need to change the paper towels and drain any accumulated water that collects on the plate or bowl you drain the tofu in. When the tofu is dry, slice crosswise into 1/4-inch thick slices. Cut each slice in half to make cracker-sized pieces of tofu. Place the cheese on a large platter and drizzle with olive oil. Season with a sprinkling of Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Set aside to marinate for 1 hour at room temperature.
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 tsp brown sugar
To make reduced balsamic vinegar, pour vinegar into a small, non reactive sauce pan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Reduce by almost half. Add brown sugar to taste. The vinegar should be thick and syrupy with a sweet and sour flavor to it. Set aside at room temperature.
1 large vine ripe native red tomato
1 large vine ripe native yellow tomato (if available)
6 grape tomatoes, halved
1/2 small bunch fresh basil leaves
To finish the salad; remove cores from each tomato and slice about 1/2 inch thick with a serrated knife. Arrange alternating colors of tomato on serving platter, putting a slice of marinated tofu between each slice of tomato. When all the slices are arranged, go back and insert a fresh basil leave between each slice of tomato. Keep the tips of the basil leaves sticking out for presentation purposes. Drizzle the salad with the reduced balsamic vinegar, a little more olive oil, and more Kosher salt and black pepper. Serve immediately.
Serves 2-3 people as an appetizer before dinner.
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