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Tomatoes: Edible Sunshine

© Ann Silberman

I love summer tomatoes, and they are in full season now. I frequent the farmer's markets, and purchase those luscious, rich globes with joyous abandon. To me, eating a tomato is like eating liquid sunshine. Warm and juicy, sprinkled with a little salt - a home-grown tomato is heaven on earth.

I have a limit with my posts here, or I could go on for thousands of words with my love for the ripe tomato. I can rave about the heirlooms, drool about the cherry and the new variety, the Byron - I can talk about the hearty beefsteak or discuss the different ways of frying them green. Suffice it to say that to me, tomato is the ultimate in summer foods, ripe with possiblities and explosive in flavor.

Here is a lovely little recipe for Vodka Spiked Cherry Tomatoes with Cumin-Cilanto Salt, from the "Cool Kitchen" by Lauran Chattman.

Ingredients
1 pint ripe cherry tomatoes
2/3 cups vodka
1 T ground cumin
2 T salt
1 T finely chopped fresh cilantro leaves

Carefully puncture each tomato in a half dozen places with a toothpick. Place in a bowl and marinate in vodka for 2 to 3 hours, occasionally turning tomatoes. Combine cumin, salt and cilantro, in a small bowl. Drain off most of the vodka from the cherry tomatoes and place in a serving bowl. (Cool tip: save the vodka for Bloody Marys!) Serve tomatoes alongside the dipping salt with toothpicks.

Would you like more vine ripe tomato recipes? Please email me at anns@calweb.com, or start a discussion, and I'd be happy to post them or email them to you.

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