This thread, wherein tomatos are roundly condemned as unfit for human consumption, made me long for a place where tomato lovers can meet, and discuss the wonder that is the tomato. How to buy them, how to grow them, how to prepare them, and how to eat them. All you crazy ass tomato haters, start your own thread, in the Pit if you must. (And I agree with the opinion of some in that other thread, that these tomato haters have never had a real tomato. Either that or they’re, well, crazy ass mo-fos.)
This year, for the first time, I have planted tomatos; two plants, one each in large pots. We got them at “Tomatomania”, which is an annual heirloom tomato seedling sale in Los Angeles. I have planted basil in the pots as well, as people say they work well together. I need tips. Do I need to put in a trellis or anything? How long is going to take before these guys start, uh, putting out? Any advice appreciated.
Around here there are all kinda folks, who raise tomatoes so I do not bother with it myself. For those interested here is the place to find out all about growing [URL=http://www.tomatogrowers.com/logo200.gif]tomatoes.
I love tomato sandwiches and to give them a little jest, just add some onion. Then of course a little bacon and lettuce and you’ve got an old standby. Cottage cheese and tomato go together better than peanut butter and jelly and then what would a tossed salad be without the tomato?
Cooking without the tomato is unthinkable. That’s all there is to it. Three cheers for the tomato!
I just planted my first-ever tomatoes today, as well. I hope they survive.
One of my favorite summer recipes is pasta with sauteed fresh tomatoes, mushrooms, and garlic, with feta cheese and fresh basil on top. (It’s even better with shrimp, if you feel like splurging.) Mmmm.
A while back, Mrs. Nott and I ate at a delightful steak house in St. Louis called Dierdorf and Hart’s. Besides the heavenly steaks, they served a salad called T.O.V. On a big leaf of lettuce, there were thick slices of Tomato, decorated with sliced red Onion, covered with Vinagrette dressing. As if that weren’t enough, blue cheese was generously crumbled on top!
Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh where do I start about this American food product? This marvelous fruit unknown to the “civilized” palate untill drug home by Christopher Colombus.
No Chilli, No Spaghetti, No Pizza without this wonderfull thing:eek: Nope. No ketchup for your hot dogs either!
Gimme Big boys or Romas, or gimme Betsy Rosses or those little Cherry. I’ll even make you dinner out of Tomatillas!
Two tomatoe slices are NOT enough for a Whopper and a little dab of salsa dosn’t cut it on my Baja Chalupa. I’ve been known to take my own tomatoes into Taco Bell. Damned if I’m going to be charged $.20 for such a piddlin’ amount of the god’s food.
I know this sounds discusting but it produced the finest Plum tomatoes my Bro-in-law had ever eaten. Used cat litter in the top soil as you turn it over and airiate it. Get over the mental block you may have and give it a try in your garden! Wonderfull fertilizer and the smell of predators keeps out certain lapine or rodent munchers. You do have to be carefull of the amount of acid/clay it puts in the soil.
Those who don’t love it don’t know what they’re missing. Now pass me that plate of BLTs will you?
My grandparents filled their whole backyard with rows and rows of tomato plants. Every summer we had delicious, wonderful tomato heaven. Mornings brought garden omelettes, lunch could be sandwiches with fresh baked bread, dripping with mayo, huge chunks of peppered tomatoes, raw or grilled. Don’t even get me started on dinner!
At the end of summer, we spent all weekend peeling and canning (or freezing). Winter brought Nannie’s famous tomato-potato soup, “special” meatloaf, her own spaghetti sauce…
Pomme d’amour? Isn’t that the french word for tomato? Love apple; how appropriate!
If they get real heavy, you may need a trellis. It’s been too long since I grew them.
Summer, Couple peices of toast, tomato slices, little basil on them, then some cheese(monterrey jack, colby, gorgonzola) over them. Pop into the micro to melt the cheese, and some mayo on top if I’m feeling glutonous. One of the best things of summer.
I love to bite into a raw tomato, suck out the seeds and juice, and then devourer the outer wall, and move onto the next seed reservoir.
Now i have to buy a tomato tonight, thanx alot!!!
When I was growing up, my favorite thing in the whole world was a fresh tomato from my Grandpa’s garden topped with mayonaise. I would eat so many of these my family said they were afraid I was going to turn into a tomato.
When I was in Italy, I had a mozzerella-tomato-basil sandwich every single day. I don’t speak much Italian, but I certainly know how to ask for the “pomodoro” sandwich. Now that I am in college I’ll bring a homemade motz-tomato-basil sandwhich (maybe with avocado if I am feeling extravengant) to class and make everyone jelous that I am eating the food of the gods while they are munching stale Doritos.
Earlier this year I met my first tomato loving friend. We’d go out into the redwood forest with a basket of sweet perfect cherry tomatos. We’d silently eat them one by one, and emerge from the woods with smiles on our faces.
Vine-ripened fresh tomatoes are the saving grace of July. I look forward to plucking a big, juicy tomato off the vine and, with my salt shaker in hand, biting off big chunks of it right in the middle of the garden.
I’m no expert at growing them, but I do know that you’re supposed to “plant them deep,” meaning that you bury about 80% of the plant, so that the trunk part that goes underground will also sprout roots and the plant will grow faster. Also, lots of water, sunshine, and miracle grow.
Also, if it’s at all possible, you’re better off growing them (at least a couple, as I do) in the ground rather than in a pot. If they’re the kind that will get big, you’ll need some tomato cages or stakes.
And don’t forget to pinch off the little shoots that grow up from the V-intersection of a branch and the trunk–direct the growth outward rather than toward the middle.
Ok, and here’s my favorite summertime tomato dish (makes me salivate heavily just thinking about it):
take a few pieces of toast, apply lots of mayonnaise, add freshly cooked bacon slices (lots), put fresh tomato slices on top, salt heavily, briefly brown it in the toaster oven, then add some slices of sharp cheddar cheese and put in back in oven until it’s all melty. Add lots of fresh ground pepper and more salt, to taste. Leave it open-faced. Eat, with lots of napkins on hand.
(Call 911 to deal with your clogged arteries.)
I don’t have a green thumb but I can tell you what I have learned from experience. When I tried growing tomato plants in large planters, they didn’t do well. My uncle grows them every year and he plants his right in the ground. He gets gorgeous, delicious tomatoes every time. Another hint, don’t use Miracle Gro plant food (the kind for flowers). Tomatoes need something different but of course, I don’t know what. Good luck!
