Do you know what this is? It's one of the most exciting garden occurrences of the year: The very first ripe tomato.
This little red tomato was plucked, warts and all, off an Early Girl plant in my garden. There is a ripe satisfaction to the first tomato of the year, the pleasure of rewarded patience. When you run your fingers down that fragrant green stem and emerge from a thicket of leaves, warmed by the sun, with a perfectly ripe fruit, not shipped from afar or artificially reddened, it feels as if the promise of the garden is something real, something to be cherished and eaten whole.
Of course, not all of us have gardens, and my garden has only yielded this one precious fruit so far. The farmers markets, though, are about to burst forth with ripe tomatoes of all shapes and sizes, and it's best to be prepared. If you have held off on eating mealy, cottony tomatoes all winter and spring, what will you do when you get your hands on the real things now? Will you eat them whole and raw? Will you make perfect caprese salads? Do you crush, cook, and can them?
The first tomato of the season is here. Have you had yours yet?
Related: Recipe: The Perfect Tomato Salad
(Images: Faith Durand)
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Oh, yay! I have dozens coming in--I haven't been in the garden since Friday (busy hot=not going to community garden!) but I should check tomorrow on my Early Girls. A little salt, maybe a little olive oil.....that's the stuff.
I've got some cherry tomatoes and a few roma grapes that are juuuust about ready for plucking!
I've had a couple handfuls of cherry tomatoes already (from an Isis Candy plant that survived the winter--in LA). I can't wait for some of my bigger tomato plants. I love making caprese salads, also an orzo, garbanzo bean, and cherry tomato salad from one of Giada's cookbooks. I'm looking forward to making a checca sauce soon. Also dying to make that BLT salad featured last week...and BLT sandwiches too. Saw a recipe for a sweet and sour cherry tomato mostardo in La Cucina Italiana that I might try.
My favorite thing to do with cherry tomatoes is Ina Garten's pasta with lemon-cream sauce, cherry tomatoes and arugula. So yummy.
Bring it on!!!
I have numerous little green tomatoes on the vines. But I have had my first cucumber! It was enjoy something non-leafy from the garden. My wife and I sliced the cucumber into thick rounds and seasoned it with salt, lime and a chili-lime seasoning. Raw, seasoned and naked, that's how I like the first veg from the garden.
Perfect Caprese for sure. I have 3 heirlooms and 2 hybrids going in the ground today, and I'm ready to rock and roll!
How exciting! I've got a couple tomato plants with tomatoes that will definitely be ready sometime this week. Can't wait.
http://operagirlcooks.com
Mine aren't quite ready but I have lots of little green ones and many flowers that are ready to give me more! My first one will be eaten with an olive oil and balsamic vinegar dressing and some basil. Yum!
Mine are not ready yet. I have lots of green tomatoes that look big enough to start turning- but nothing yet. I do have a lot of cucumbers and eggplant already though. I thoroughly enjoyed the first eggplant harvested.
I picked my first tomato of the year yesterday and it was delicious. I can't wait to get oodles of fresh tomatos.
My mouth is drooling at the picture and your description! There is nothing quite like a ripe tomato from the garden. This time of year, I eat them for every meal and snacks too. (If I could marry a ripe tomato I would.)
It's very simple really. Just slice and sprinkle with salt. Nothing else. After I've had a good 50 or so like this, in all the varieties of heirlooms popping up this time of year, then I'm willing to have them in a BLT sandwich or perhaps marinated in some balsamic vinegar and sliced green onions. But nothing compares to exactly how you've prepared it above. Heaven. On. Earth.
One perk of living in south Texas. I've been picking tomatoes off my yellow cherry tomato plant for over 2 months now, with no end in sight! It's still blooming! Started some red ones from seed about a month ago, and they're almost big enough that I'm just waiting for their first round!
I love them tossed in a quick pasta salad, a bit of olive oil, basil, rosemary, thyme, garlic, fresh spring onions... And all but the olive oil and garlic are from the tiny garden I have on my patio. :)
This saddens me...I had my first ever tomato plants in the ground, grown from seed, this year. Only to be eaten by deer!
At least there's the community market to fall back on- and next year I'll fence my tomatoes.
We live in Austin and planted early this year. The heat has started to really hit and the crop is suffering - I had a BLT for lunch today and wondered if it was the last of the season. We've had a nice solid month of fresh delicious tomatoes, so I guess I should be pleased. (one particular Cherokee Purple was likely the best tomato I've ever had - practically as sweet as watermelon!)
I just picked my first three on Sunday! They were brilliant orange, sungold cherry tomatoes..yum! I ate two and gave one to a friend! There is nothing like homegrown veggies!
http://alizardinthegarden.blogspot.com/
Mm, I have millions of little green ones just waiting for their day. But there is one of each cherry and big boy that are just almost ready.
Whichever is done first will probably be eaten out of hand. The rest are destined for lots of peanut butter and tomato sandwiches, panzanella, tomato sauce and other good stuff.
We grow tomatoes every year and I love how great homegrown tastes. My favorite is making sauces and fresh salads and finding new recipes for tomatoes, because by August we've got them coming out of our ears!
So jealous... over in Santa Cruz the Fog tends to make for a mini tomato harvest. However we have a great farmers market. Tomatos and basil and cheese.... lovely
Even though we don't grow any of our own, we purchased our first ones at yesterday's farmer's market: Shady Ladys. How did we celebrate? With the classic BLT-a little mayo, thick slices of tomato, crispy bacon and crisp romaine. Delicious.
Got to admit to a little tomato envy - or climate envy rather - mine are only just starting their first flowers... :(
Our Early Girl is producing well too...still waiting to see how the Brandywines ripen.
To answer your question: crusty bread, good olive oil, salt pepper, and tomato. Drool.
My cherry tomato and speckled Roman plants are growing growing growing, but no sign of flowers yet. The green zebra got transplanted late and is just hitting its growth spurt. We have a CSA which should provide ample tomato-age so the small garden is all bonus.
I am really excited about the number of tomato plants we have this year! I want to make bruschetta (My favorite way to eat tomatoes) caprese salads, a new recipe for heirloom tomato pizza and I've decided I need to can some home made sauce this year. Last year we ate so much sauce during the summer that by February I was yearning for it. I absolutely refuse to use canned tomatoes and only buy local/hothouse so this is going to be awesome!
Aargh. It has been such a cloudy early summer for us in Portland, so my tomato plants are lucky to have blossoms. Tomatoes seem like a distant dream.