You say Tomay-toe, I say Ta-mahto

August. It is always hot, hot, hot. Not this year. July 2012 was the hottest month. Ever. Ever. EVER. Really? Yes. Even hotter then during the dust bowl era.  I can't wait to see our electric bill from running our air conditioners and all of the fans we owned 24/7. Our lawn is a lovely shade of sickly green with patches of brown. I believe 60 percent of our country is in a drought. So how the heck is there a surplus of tomatoes? They love the heat!

The farm that we have our CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) through has had a bountiful tomato season. Part of our share has been dozens of tomatoes the past few weeks. Trying to figure out how to  use the tomatoes has been a good problem to have.

Last week I made a lot of pasta sauce, froze it and it is waiting to be used in the cold snowy days of winter.

I didn't feel like making sauce again so I had to figure out what to do......

Friday night I picked up a loaf of fresh ciabatta bread from Fresh Acres. We got home and started up the grill.

Brushetta -

1 lb. of fresh tomatoes
2 garlic cloves (one diced, one left whole)
6 basil leaves, chiffonade
sea salt and cracked black pepper to taste

Cut up the tomatoes. Add the chopped garlic and basil. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Cut the bread into inch thick slices, poured some EVOO on one side, and sprinkle with some sea salt.


Place the bread on the grill oil side down until it gets a little charred and crusty. Take the bread off the grill and take the whole clove of garlic and rub across the bread. Spoon the tomato mixture and serve immediately.


Summer on a slice of bread!


We ran errands on Saturday and had a great lunch in Easthampton at Coco. (a restaurant). I had some corn fritters and gazpacho. It inspired me to make a pot of my own. So I made a double batch this morning and can't wait for dinner!


Gazpacho - Alton Brown recipe

• 1 1/2 pounds vine-ripened tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped
• Tomato juice
• 1 cup cucumber, peeled, seeded and chopped
• 1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
• 1/2 cup chopped red onion
• 1 small jalapeno, seeded and minced
• 1 medium garlic clove, minced
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 lime, juiced
• 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon toasted, ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons fresh basil leaves, chiffonade

Directions

Fill a 6-quart pot halfway full of water, set over high heat and bring to a boil.

Make an X with a paring knife on the bottom of the tomatoes. Drop the tomatoes into the boiling water for 15 seconds, remove and transfer to an ice bath and allow to cool until able to handle, approximately 1 minute. Remove and pat dry. Peel, core and seed the tomatoes. When seeding the tomatoes, place the seeds and pulp into a fine mesh strainer set over a bowl in order to catch the juice. Press as much of the juice through as possible and then add enough bottled tomato juice to bring the total to 1 cup.

Place the tomatoes and juice into a large mixing bowl. Add the cucumber, bell pepper, red onion, jalapeno, garlic clove, olive oil, lime juice, balsamic vinegar, Worcestershire, cumin, salt and pepper and stir to combine.

Transfer 1 1/2 cups of the mixture to a blender and puree for 15 to 20 seconds on high speed. Return the pureed mixture to the bowl and stir to combine. Cover and chill for 2 hours and up to overnight. Serve with chiffonade of basil.

So now I have dinner ready and it is only noon. We will have a kale salad and some gazpacho for dinner....so if you will excuse me we are going to listen to a band and dance this afternoon. It is finally cool enough to sit outside again, without turning as red as an August tomato.

Bon Appetit!