My Summer Tomato

Ah...tomato season is just about here.  My favorite time of year!  Tomatoes have been my favorite fruit since I was about 2 years old.  My Nonno (Grandfather in Italian) had a fantastic garden, which is probably the reason I am so picky about my veggies to this day.  He had me eating salad with him at a young age.  He grew all kinds of veggies in his garden.  I remember red leaf lettuce, cucumber, zucchini, eggplant, peppers, but most of all tomatoes.  I also remember a peach tree and a blueberry bush.  But I will never forget the taste of his garden tomatoes.

I may be too young to remember, but my cousin often reminds me of how my Nonno would start growing his tomatoes indoors in February.  As long as I can remember, my grandparents would be in Florida until May and I would make sure they were home for the summer just before my birthday.  My cousin says that my Nonno would start his tomatoes in February, inside the house using artificial light.  This way we would have tomatoes a little bit earlier than the typical tomato season.

My brother and I would eat dinner with my grandparents every Friday night and often sleepover during the summer.  We would have salad and fish, often, my favorite, scallops.  I remember the plethora of vegetables on the counter and my grandparents chopping and preparing all the vegetables for salads or to cook with.  My favorite salad that I still eat to this day was what I called tomato cucumber salad.  It is a very simple salad, but with fresh tomatoes it tastes great.  My grandparents would peel and chop tomatoes, cucumber, onion, and sprinkle some italian seasoning on top.  Then, mix with some oil and vinegar.  Perfection!

As I grew older and my grandfather passed on, I still enjoyed the taste of tomatoes, but I could never find that taste that I remember from his garden.  I would go to the supermarket and buy all kinds of tomatoes; yellow, green, roma, cherry, grape, vine, hothouse, you name it, I tried it.  But still, none ever compared to my Nonno's tomatoes.  Finally, about five years ago, when I started shopping at my local farmers market I found that taste.  That taste reminds me of my Nonno and puts a smile on my face, that is my summer tomato.

Shortly after that, going to the market became a weekly trip.  Buying in-season fruits and vegetables tasted so much better than what is industrially produced in the supermarket.  However, just a shopping trip wasn't enough for me, I quickly began researching vegetables, how they are grown, when they are in-season, and most recently how to preserve them.  I didn't know that fruits and vegetables do not taste the same when they are not in-season.  Since I have come to this realization, I try to eat most of my fruits and vegetables in season.   I rarely buy one of those perfectly round red things at the supermarket.  I prefer to get tomatoes you see at the farmers market that come in a variety colors and are not all perfectly shaped, some even ugly.  In addition to my research, I read Animal Vegetable Miracle.  I learned so much about growing fruits and vegetables from this book.  If you haven't read it, it is worth it alone just for the seasonal recipes.  This book really speaks to the importance of eating local and the attitude that America has towards food.  Following fellow bloggers have also help me to prepare food that is in season.  And now here I am writing my own blog and sharing my experiences and challenges of trying to eat local year round.
  
In an effort to eat tomatoes in the winter, I had my first canning experience last summer.  My friend and I bought 25 pounds of grape tomatoes.  We canned about 15 pounds and tried other ways of preserving as well.  I tried freezing them whole, as well as, roasting them in the oven and then freezing.  I still have one bag left in the freezer, so it is possible to last the winter, however my husband does not eat tomatoes, so more for me!  We plan on doing this again this year by dedicating a whole weekend to canning tomatoes while they are in season.  Then I can have my summer tomatoes all year long :)  

Here are a few of my favorite summer recipes that I learned from my Nonno and Nonna:

Tomato-cucumber salad

1-2 fresh garden tomatoes peeled and chopped (picked same day is best)
1 small cucumber diced
1/2 small red onion
1tbsp good quality olive oil
1tbsp red vinegar
sprinkle of italian seasoning

mix all vegetables together, mix oil and vinegar and pour over vegetables, top with italian seasoning

Zucchini Pancakes

1 large zucchini sliced
1 egg beaten
1/2 cup bread crumbs
2 tbsp olive oil
parmesan cheese

Heat up a frying pan on medium high heat.  Pour olive oil in the pan.  While that is heating up, dip zucchini slices in the egg and then coat with bread crumbs.  Put in the hot pan and turn when the side is brown.  Repeat until all the zucchini is cooked.  Sprinkle the cooked zucchini with parmesan and enjoy!

Eggplant Parmesan

1 large eggplant sliced into circles
1 egg beaten
1 cup bread crumbs
lots of olive oil
1 can tomato sauce (I used trader joe's marinara sauce and it came out great!)
1 cup mozzarella cheese
Sprinkle of parmesan cheese

Preheat oven on 350.  Slice egg plant into thin slices and sprinkle each slice with salt and drain in a strainer.  Heat a pan with a generous amount of olive oil on medium high heat.  Dip eggplant slices in egg and then coat with bread crumbs.  I prepared several of these before putting them in the pan to keep things going quickly.  When one side has browned, turn onto the next side until brown and then set aside on a plate.  Repeat until all the eggplant is cooked.  Then in a 13x9 baking pan make layers of eggplant slices, sauce, cheese and repeat until the pan is full.  Bake in the oven on 350 for 30 minutes.  When you take it out of the oven, let it cool for a few minutes.  Then cut into squares, sprinkle some parmesan cheese and enjoy!

I made this recipe with my cousin over the weekend and it tasted just like my Nonna's!  We didn't make our own sauce, but it came out great with the trader joe's marinara.  You can also cut the eggplant lengthwise and make an eggplant lasagna.  I wish that I got a picture of this, but I guess I will have to make it again!