It’s been several years since Andy and I tried our hands at growing vegetables, but this summer seemed a good one to explore a trio of new tomato varieties, and the hot sun has proven amenable to helping them ripen sooner than usual. The ‘Early Girl’ has already provided the larger specimens you see here, while a cherry tomato bush has already started its prolific fruit parade.
In these early days, I’ve been guilty of popping off the first few ripe cherry tomatoes and putting them immediately into my mouth, their tart sweetness exploding the moment I break their scarlet skin. There’s something incredibly gratifying about growing your own food and simply plucking it from the backyard. It speaks to some primordial instinct to self-sustain. That’s one of the great underlying lessons of the garden.
Andy used to grow tomatoes in his old garden in Guilderland, and for the first few years we did the same at our home here. Like roses, though, they can be tricky, especially in years when the weather is not quite agreeable or a blight seizes upon the plants wilting them seemingly overnight. So far we’ve done all right this summer.
Aside from simply ingesting them unadorned and unprepared, I like to indulge in the most basic dishes that feature tomatoes – a tomato and mayo sandwich on plain white bread, for instance, or with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Fancier fare will come later with BLTs and mozzarella slices with fresh basil, but for now it’s enough to enjoy the tangy magnificence on its own.
