Fresh tomatoes, just picked & still warm from the sun ...

I thought you maybe GREW them first, then worked yourself up into a gastronomic frenzy!!

You do! But you can crave such things in the middle of winter ...

Just slice em up onto some whole grain bread with a little mayo and salt and pepper and that's as good as it gets. Did it yesterday. umm umm.

Mayonnaise, btv? Never done that.

just a smidge....actually I prefer Miracle Whip....

Ah, I see ...
I noticed mayonaise in the photographs I mentioned from the gardening thread. Not often done here. I might try it this summer.

Basil....

Basil WITH the tomatoes and the salt and pepper - and possibly the mayonnaise.

I love the soy mayonnaise I sometimes buy - but hardly ever eat cos of the fat content...

Yes?

Eat them cold straight out of the refrigerator. Not as simple a task as one might think. This involves taking them (the tomatoes) from wherever-------garden, grocer, market, roadside stand etc.-------bringing them home, washing them thoroughly and then placing them gently on the Tomato Tray in the crisper of the refrigerator (It's an Acme). A few hours later take one out and either slice it in thick chompable slices (nothing under a half-inch thickness will do) and enjoy or for the truly daring eat it like an apple after all it is a fruit. Of course eating a tomato like an apple can be rather messy since there is so much fluid within it so have a fresh change of clothing at the ready.

Oh, that does sound good, Sturgis!

I'm hoping at some stage someone is going to pass on a recipe for an uncooked tomato-based pasta sauce .... or a cold soup, even ...

How's this? Just found it as I was looking for recipes on the net. Courtesy of Jamie Oliver:

Summer Tomato And Horseradish Salad



Ingredients:

4 large handfuls of mixed tomatoes

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

extra virgin olive oil

red wine vinegar

half a clove of garlic, grated

2 teaspoons fresh horseradish, grated

a small handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely sliced

For this salad you will need a whole mixture of different tomatoes, at room temperature, nice and ripe.

Method

Cut the bigger tomatoes into slices about 1cm/half inch thick. You can halve the cherry tomatoes or leave them whole. Then sprinkle them all with a good dusting of sea salt. Put them in a colander and leave them for 30 minutes. What iss going to happen here is that the salt will draw the excess moisture out of the tomatoes, intensifying their flavour. Do not worry about the salad being too salty, as a lot of the salt drips away.

Place the tomatoes in a large bowl and dress with enough extra virgin olive oil to loosen (approximately 6 tablespoons), and 1 or 2 tablespoons of vinegar, but do add these to your own taste. Toss around and check for seasoning, you may or may not need salt but will certainly need pepper. Add the garlic.

Now start to add the horseradish. Stir in a couple of teaspoons to begin with, toss around and taste. If you like it a bit hotter, add a bit more horseradish.

All I do now is get some finely sliced flat-leaf parsley (stalks and leaves) and mix this into the tomatoes. Toss everything together and serve as a wonderful salad, making sure you mop up all the juices with some nice squashy bread.

This salad is fantastic with roast beef, goats cheese or jacket potatoes. And to be honest, even if you put these tomatoes in a roasting tray and roasted them with some sausages scattered around them it would be nice.

http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/2005/05/20/summer_tomato_an.php

Here's a cold tomato soup recipe for you, msolga, using another of my favourite things from the garden, cucumber ...

4 tomatoes, peeled and diced
1 medium onion, diced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon wine vinegar
1 1/2 cups water
1 clove garlic, mashed
1 cucumber, diced
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons sugar
fresh ground black pepper

Mix all ingredients except cucumber in blender or food processor. Let stand in fridge overnight. Just before serving add diced cucumber.

I love salt with my tomatoes. Who am I kidding, I love salt with anything, but now I have to watch my salt intake. With this recipe you can leave out the salt and not miss it.

Marinated Tomatoes

6 fresh tomatoes
2 tablespoons salad oil
1/4 cup defatted chicken broth (less salt)
1 tablespoon sugar or honey
1/4 cup fresh parsley
1/4 cup chopped green onions
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon marjoram

Mix the marinade ingredients and pour over sliced tomatoes. Cover and refrigerate for 24 hours.

V. simple: sliced, drizzled with red wine vinegar, sprinkled with dried dillweed. Eat with fork.

<I never refrigerate tomatoes...>


Oh, slice, add a little salt perhaps, and eat...

If they are ripe from my garden, my favorite way is to eat them sliced on good toasted hearth bread with some mayo and perhaps a smidge of salt.

Also like giant bruschetta - take a ciabatta type loaf of italian bread - or foccaccia if you have it - slice lengthwise so you have two flat pieces instead of one whole loaf. Chop the tomatoes and drain the juices and put in dish. Slice up a few cloves of garlic, and tear a bunch of fresh basil leaves, and mix with tomatoes. Salt and pepper if you like - I don't always do that. Pile onto bread. Dribble some good olive oil over the whole thing. Broil..... Take out or off when edges of bread are a little burn-y. Provision self with paper towels or a bib.

Out of season I use canned diced tomatoes for this.

Oh thank you, mckenzie! That sounds great! In about 6 or 7 months, on sweltering hot day, I'm definitely going to try it! Oh, summer!

I love all the greens in that one! And it sounds like a good concoction to have sitting in the fridge for lazy people who can't be bothered cooking or preparing food at all on stinking hot days.

Nice one patiodog! Easy!
And coming from an Eastern European background, I'm a sucker for dill!