Naughty Pictures: Nice Tomatoes
We are in high tomato season, and it is a glorious thing. I but my tomatoes from a farmer named Bill Maxwell. His farm is about two hours away in New Jersey.
He has stalls at the Union Square and Grand Army Plaza farmer's markets. He's been a farmer for a long time and he is a master of produce. Honestly, his vegetables just taste better...
This summer I've been enjoying the tomato sandwich. There's not a lot to it - I like to slice them thickly and place them in crusty bread with a nice wipe of mayo. Sometimes I throw in a little chopped mint. Mint? Yes. I actually prefer it to basil in a tomato sandwich. I love how the bread is waterlogged with tomato juices in the last few bites.
These tomatoes are supposed to be green. They are Green Cherokees, an heirloom variety. When ripe they are wonderfully tomato-ey and very acidic. So very delicious.
Maxwell also grow Ramampos, another heirloom variety. They look like store-bought tomatoes, but they smell and taste great. With a little L and T...fugedaboudit.
And there are Japanese Blacks, also heirloom. These are lusciously sweet tomatoes with a nice herbal undertone. I love to eat them with nothing more than a pinch of salt.
Then again, on a toasty BLT with thick-cut bacon and a glass of fino...hard to argue with that.
Thank you Bill Maxwell for your amazing tomatoes!
4 comments:
Brooklyn Guy, can you please expand on your thoughts on mayonnaise? Your insights would be greatly appreciated... thank you in advance... your fan, J
I've been enjoying the great tomatoes this summer too and found that they're pairing really well with some of the red wines out right now, especially big heirloom tomatoes with crusy bread (and mayo!). When I saw this post I felt like you were writing about my tomato, bread, and wine filled weekend!
-Kelsey at http://gradsguidetowine.blogspot.com
Jeremy - I don't have anything special to say on this - I just like the way this sandwich tastes with mayonnaise. I understand your question, I think. Why not olive oil, or plain? Why would a nice Jewish boy like me get involved with mayonnaise? I don;t love olive oil here, too distractingly grassy. Plain is fine. A little mayo, however, is just delicious, especially they way it blends with the tomato juices. Just the way i like it, that's all.
Brooklyn Guy, you've got it all backwards: nice Jewish boys couldn't live without mayo! How else would our favorite fressers make us tuna and white fish salad? Let me rephrase my question: what are your favorite commercial mayos? any artisanal mayos you know of? and do you have a recipe for mayo? Can you tell that I love mayonnaise?
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