Fresh Vine-Ripened Tomatoes

Tomatoes from the garden

The joy of gardening…
from nurturing tiny seedlings at spring time, to caring for them throughout the summer, then finally reaping the harvest of fresh vine-ripened tomatoes.  They are juicy, sweet, delicious, and full of fiber, vitamin C and vitamin A.

 

baguette / sandwich

Here’s what I did with the first batch of tomatoes picked from the garden.
A few cherry tomatoes were sliced and added to my sandwich.  For the baguette sandwich I layered the following ingredients; olive spread, sweet onion slices, lettuce, turkey, ham, cucumber slices, tomatoes, salt and pepper, and mayonnaise.
A tasty late afternoon lunch.

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tomato, mozzarella, and basil salad

The classic caprese salad made with tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil drizzled with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

Caprese Salad

Ingredients:
8 oz      mini mozzarella, sliced
1½ – 2 cups cherry tomatoes, sliced
2-3        tablespoons basil, chopped
2            tablespoons aged balsamic vinegar
3-4        tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper.

In a glass container {mason jar} with lid, layer tomatoes, mozzarella, basil, salt and pepper. Repeat the process until all the ingredients are used.  Drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.  Cover with a lid and refrigerate.

Occasionally tip the jar on its top to let the olive oil and balsamic vinegar mixture be incorporated throughout the salad.

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tomato, mozzarella, and basil salad

A convenient way to store the salad is in a mason jar for traveling or to have it available when needed.

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tomato, mozzarella, and basil salad

Bill had combined it with mixed salad greens, the girls just ate it as is, and I snacked on it with toasted baguette slices.   By day two, the jar was almost empty with a few little pieces just sitting at the bottom.

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Tomatoes from garden

Any extra tomatoes were set aside in a bowl on a cake stand and in a prominent place in the kitchen.

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Tomatoes from garden

On the cake stand I also included a small glass bowl of my favorite citrus-herb seasoning salt {for the recipe click here}, fresh sage, spices and toothpicks.

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 posted by  Kay

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2 Responses to Fresh Vine-Ripened Tomatoes

  1. Aileen August 23, 2014 at 10:54 am #

    Beautiful photos Kay. I do enjoy the bounty of a summer garden specially tomatoes! I’ll try your Caprese Salad recipe.

    • Kay August 23, 2014 at 11:17 pm #

      This is an easy salad to make using variety of tomatoes. I used Kirkland Signature brand balsamic vinegar for this recipe. It has a slight sweetness to it. I hope you will enjoy it Aileen!

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