I am officially overwhelmed.
Over the weekend I had fried tomatoes for breakfast, cheese and tomato sandwiches and BLTs for lunch, and tomatoes with pasta for dinner. I put tomatoes in a stir fry. I snacked on grape tomatoes. I ate sliced tomatoes as a side dish. I gave them away to neighbors.
Yesterday 20 big fat tomatoes remained on the kitchen counter, and a bowl held 35 grape tomatoes. All this from five plants.
Here's my tomato scorecard so far:
-- Cherokee Purple: I wasn't crazy about the first fruit I picked from this productive heirloom — it was mild to the point of blandness. But the tomatoes I picked recently have a wonderful full, rich taste that reminds me of Brandywine. The plum coloring made it a bit hard to figure out when the fruit was ripe, but I have learned to pick them before they grow too dark. I'm still a bit repelled when I cut into the fruit -- it looks like bruised flesh! But the taste means I will plant Cherokee Purple again.
-- Mortgage Lifter: Love this heirloom! The radiator repairman who bred this tomato in West Virginia during the 1930s made enough money from selling the seeds to pay off his mortgage. The fruits are bulbous and pinky-red, and the taste is mild and sweet. I like this plant. Great in a BLT -- one slice covers the bread.
-- Celebrity: This disease-resistant hybrid is always a safe bet, and this year I have tons of fruits from my two plants. They're not as big as the heirlooms, but I love the tangy taste.
-- Sweet 100: It's nutty how this plant grows and grows, throwing its vines over my cucumbers, bumping into the garage and crawling over and down the poor Mortgage Lifter next to it. I probably will pick well over 500 sweet fruit from this plant. Fruit always seems to grow in clusters of 13. The plant fascinates me — it seems to scream, SUMMER IS SHORT! GROW GROW GROW!
In the past, I've frozen tomatoes for use in winter soups and stews, but I'm reluctant to waste such beautiful fruit that way. I'd rather give it away. What do you do with your extras? Do you have a favorite variety that you can't do without?
P.S. If you're free on Tuesday, come out to the State Fair and see the Greengirls at the back of the Star Tribune booth at 1 p.m. We'll talk about composting, have a gardening quiz and have some fun even if it rains!