Attack of the Killer Tomatoes
It’s that time of year when Southern gardens put forth their bounty of tomotoes, and gardeners press the extras onto their friends, neighbors, co-workers and anyone who happens to be passing by. I can’t seem to grow much of anything else in my small garden, but tomatoes—now those I can do! Last year was a bit of a down year for my tomatoes, but they’re going great guns this year. I made a point to do a variety of kinds this year: one each of Early Girl, Lemon Boy, Sweet Tangerine and Jet Star of the bigger size, and of the smaller size, my standby Juliet grape tomatoes (they approach small Roma size and always do well for me) and, new this year, yellow pear tomatoes that hang from the branches like Christmas lights, to steal my co-blogger Julie’s description.
I’ve had many of that Southern summer staple, the tomato sandwich. I’ve tossed them into big green salads. I’ve made salsa and tomato sauce. But my favorite way to use up the bounty is with a salad of tomato and fresh mozzarella, sprinkled with chiffonaded basil also from my garden. This year I got the brainstorm to add some avocado to the mix, and I think that’s a fine addition. Here’s my simple recipe (I never measure, just throw what amount of the ingredients looks right in a bowl):
Fresh Mozzarella and Tomato Salad
Grape tomatoes, cut into halves or thirds, depending on the size
Fresh mozzarella balls, cut into roughly the same size at the tomatoes
Firm, ripe avocado, cut into bite size
Good-quality olive oil
Red-wine vinegar (you could use balsamic, but I prefer red-wine for this)
Chiffonaded basil (cut into strips)
Freshly ground black pepper
I’m always looking for new ideas to use up my tomatoes, so I’d love some suggestions from readers!
