Early this week, on a day that promised more punishing heat, Mr. Sanders and I loaded up the car with water bottles, sunscreen, one straw hat, and a clutch of reusable tote bags which project our middle brow interests: New Yorker Magazine, Trader Joe’s, Waterstone’s Books Edinburgh, and the Beacon Hill Book Shop. We were off for a peak-season morning at the state farmers’ market in Raleigh.
This large covered market is open every day of the week, except Christmas Day, so it has a different feel than a smaller, weekly market. The stall set ups feel more established and permanent, and less impromptu and festive. Everyone seems to have a comfortable day-to-day routine, constantly re-arranging the beautiful fruit and flower displays. There are a few refrigerated cases and there are electric wires snaking through the displays. There are also indoor bathrooms.
Tuesday seemed to be peak season for enormous numbers and varieties of tomatoes, peaches, cucumbers, blueberries, potatoes, eggplants, zinnias, and sunflowers. We went to the market because the grocery store nearest us is still carrying flavorless, bland hothouse tomatoes. Anathema! We were craving our first tomato sandwiches of the summer season, and thank goodness, we hit the mother lode.
We used a couple of these German Johnson tomatoes in a garlicky Panzanella last night. These are a large, beefsteak-style tomato, which make for easy slicing, and do not gush all over your cutting board. This heirloom variety thrives in the summer heat, which is more than I can say for myself. I am always searching for cool, refreshing foods that I can eat raw, without having to power up the stove: sweet and juicy, ready in a flash, no heating up. Get ready for summertime tomato sandwiches, fresh tomato sauces, tomato salads, tomato cocktails, and oodles of Panzanella.
Here are some simple, classic summertime tomato meal ideas: Sometimes in the summer we almost forget to eat, or are just too lazy to be creative. One of my favorite last minute meals (are there anything but a last minute meal in our house?) is almost a snack. I take a baguette and cut it down the middle and broil the halves lightly. Once they have cooled I rub a clove of garlic over the toasted tops, generously wave the olive oil container, add tomato slices, layering them with basil from the back porch container basil farm, and then I top it all with fresh mozzarella, or Buratta, or feta cheese. Dizzle some more oil, pop them back under the broiler for a moment or two, and be sure the wine is nice and cold. This is a nice warm salad sandwich. But cold is fine, too.
We do this recipe from Martha quite a lot each summer:
Pasta With Fresh Tomato Sauce
Yesterday I had my first tomato sandwich of the season, thinking fondly of Harriet M. Welsch, (a.k.a Harriet the Spy) the eleven-year-old snoop and scribe who carried a tomato sandwich to school every day. Living below the Mason Dixon Line as I do I am supposed to slather on the Duke’s mayonnaise – but Hellmann’s is what was on hand. I dusted the slices of juicy tomato with a little Maldon salt and some black pepper and enclosed all that deliciousness between two slices of Pepperidge Farm bread. The result: nectar of the gods. And today I will repeat the process. My Best Tomato Sandwich
How about some gazpacho? Gazpacho can be very versatile. It can be a soup, a dip or a cocktail. I am opting for the cocktail, because it is Friday, after all. And after last week’s experience in the hot Vulcan-like kitchen, I plan to kick back and find some coolth. Grab a bag of corn chips (ours might be a little stale, sorry) and pour some in a bowl and drop it on the table next to the porch swing. Rummage through the freezer for a baguette. Peel, chop, slice and dice your vegetables, and then whip them up in the blender, or with your food processor. Chunky – great for dip. Slurpy – good for soup. Smooth – get out the straws.
Gazpacho Soup, courtesy of Ina Garten
Don’t forget you can always whip up a batch of Panzanella salad, too.
It’s summertime, and the possibilities are endless. Enjoy!
“The Provençal tomato is a thing of wonder— it can be as small as a marble, large as a human heart, red like a valentine, yellow like a sunflower, pale green like a brand-new leaf, orange like the sun in a child’s drawing.”
― Elizabeth Bard
