Here in Northern Michigan, the
past month or so has been ripe
with the splendid and diverse
flavors of heirloom tomatoes.
As an urban heirloom tomato
aficionado the past five or so
years, I enjoy expanding my
repertoire annually, seeing
which heirloom seeds will
surprise me the most. I also
enjoy voting on new
favorites to repeat again
next year, as well as,
digging into the research
of why certain varieties
might not have flourished.
This year’s crop
included a mixed bag
of colors and flavors -
Berkeley Tie Dye,
Gypsy, Bedvin,
Yellow Pear and Black
Cherry. Heirloom tomatoes are like
heaven on the tongue – whether chomped whole and raw, with a dash of salt, in a fresh and zesty salsa, or baked into a fresh and flaky tomato pie. This time of year finds many folks preserving their beauties in sauces, bloody mary mixes, freezing them whole! As well as crafting gorgeous ruby-red jars of salsa for holiday gifting. I’ll make an assumption as well, that there have been myriad caprese salads, salmon stuffed tomato bites, fresh baguettes topped with thin slices and fresh mozzarella, and certainly a wide variety of kabobs, baring
the
bulbous
beauties.
One of my favorite ways to
enjoy heirloom tomatoes is accompanying them with homemade tortillas. In honor of my favorite fruit of the season, and a favorite
woman in my life, here’s a little poem to consider, when wondering what to do with your heirloom excesses!
Ode to
Isabel
What to do with Extra Heirlooms!
By Jenn Ryan
46 | ElementsForAHealthierLife.com | September 2016