This week’s Think Write Thursday topic is to tell us what you do when you find yourself with an abundance of tomatoes because ’tis the season!
Ode to Tomatoes by Pablo Neruda
the street filled with tomatoes, midday, summer,
light is halved like a tomato, its juice runs through the streets.
in December, unabated, the tomato invades the kitchen, it enters at lunchtime,
takes its ease on countertops, among glasses, butter dishes, blue saltcellars.
it sheds its own light, benign majesty.
unfortunately, we must murder it: the knife sinks into living flesh,
red viscera a cool sun, profound, inexhaustible, populates the salads of Chile,
happily, it is wed to the clear onion, and to celebrate the union we pour oil,
essential child of the olive, onto its halved hemispheres,
pepper adds its fragrance, salt, its magnetism;
it is the wedding of the day, parsley hoists its flag,
potatoes bubble vigorously, the aroma of the roast knocks at the door,
it’s time! come on! and, on the table, at the midpoint of summer, the tomato,
star of earth, recurrent and fertile star, displays its convolutions,
its canals, its remarkable amplitude and abundance, no pit, no husk,
no leaves or thorns, the tomato offers its gift of fiery color and cool completeness.
It is my favorite time of the year, that moment when the garden is overflowing with ripe tomatoes and the point of tomatoes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner is upon us! My love for tomatoes matches Pablo Neruda’s…it is indeed time!
I have made 2 batches of jam thus far and will make a third batch later this week – sadly, this is the only way Steve will eat tomatoes. For me however, there is nothing that compares to the taste of fresh tomatoes. My favorite lunch is a bowl of tomatoes sprinkled with salt and some freshly cracked pepper then drizzled with a bit of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Simple and so delicious. Breakfast? A bit of cottage cheese and more tomatoes – the breakfast of the gardener! And, I can always find room on my dinner plate for some beautiful red tomato slices! And, the gardener’s snack? Sun-warmed tomatoes fresh off the vine are summer’s best candy!
And, if there are more tomatoes than I can eat – I can always find someone who is happy with the gift of a fresh tomato or two!
If you want to see what others are doing with all their tomatoes, you will find them here. If you would like to join Carole and me for Think Write Thursday’s, you can sign up here!
Mmm…TOMATOES!!! The grape tomatoes ARE like candy! Nothing beats a BLT, with thick tomato slices, lots of bacon, and fancy lettuce (ie NOT iceberg). YUM!!!
Your tomatoes are gorgeous and I love this poem! (Socks and tomatoes — Neruda was a smart guy!) Like you, I love tomatoes so much that I rarely have many extra (even with 18 plants). Zucchini is a different matter!
I’d never known about that poem before, but it is perfect! I’d love to join in for that tomato salad for lunch!
oh yum.. The best salsa is with fresh garden warm tomatoes. I love tomato quiche. Tomato, mozzarella, red onion, olive oil salad. My friend from IRELAND always asks for a tomato with her breakfast..
My neighbor came over with two cucumbers the other night. We are really neighbors now
I love tomatoes in any form, but nothing is better than just eating a real tomato like it’s an apple!
Smokey is a tomato fiend like you!
I love to pick and immediately eat those cherry tomatoes! So good! The season is fleeting and that makes it all the sweeter.
LOVE the poem! I’m printing that off and keeping it near. It’s just so true. I make Vicki’s Roasted Tomato sauce and freeze it to eat all winter! It’s so, so good.
I feel the same way about tomatoes, and it almost breaks my heart that the only forms my daughter will eat them in are pasta sauce and ketchup! This time of year, I love a good caprese salad. I’m hoping that we have some ripe tomatoes in our garden when we get back from our vacation!
I’m with Bridget —a fresh home grown tomato wins in my book every time! Yum! Yum!
Cheers~