Sunday, September 19, 2010

You Say Tomato, I Say Yes!

We're feeling kind of tomato-wealthy here on Long Island. Last year - nothing. Bupkis. This year, we are reveling in a bevy of heirloom beauties from Restoration Farm. Our head growers, Dan and Caroline are certainly smiling.


These varieties have wonderful, evocative names, but I don't even know what they are. I'm just eating and enjoying. Does that make me cheap or sleazy? I don't think so.

How do I love thee, tomatoes from the vine? Let me count the ways. I sure am spending a lot of time cooking with tomatoes - crostini, slices, salads and tarts (for the fabulous tomato goat cheese tart recipe pictured here check out the September issue of Everyday Food).

In keeping with the mania, I even painted my new dining room "tomato red."

But, who said tomatoes had to be just one conformist shade of red?

Color my tomato world zebra green, with just a sprinkling of Kosher salt!

©2010 T.W. Barritt All Rights Reserved

15 comments:

Lydia (The Perfect Pantry) said...

You can never, ever have too many tomatoes. I love the finished dining room and that rich tomato color on the wall. Zebra green walls would have been nice, too, but I'm not sure I'd want to eat in a room painted bright green with stripes!

Sam Hoffer / My Carolina Kitchen said...

I agree with Lydia. I can never get too many tomatoes. I grew up in tomato country and they're in my blood. Your tart looks incredible.

Your red dining room is beautiful. I had our dining room ceiling molding, chair rail and door into the kitchen painted a dark Colonial Williamsburg red when we lived in Mississippi. Our contractor called and said, "Are your sure this is the right color?" He couldn't believe it. It turned out beautifully, just like your dining room did. When it's time for dinner, you can say, "Shall we step into the red room?"
Sam

Kalyn Denny said...

The tomatoes are gorgeous! I wish I had a piece of that tomato tart. I still have a few tomatoes, but the nights are definitely getting colder.

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~I AM Love~* said...

I do remember the blight last year ... enjoy the harvest, they look like beauties ... :)

Mary Bergfeld said...

Your tomato tart is gorgeous, as is your lovely red dining room. I love to visit here. You always have something to delight the eye. I hope you are having a great day. Blessings...Mary

tasteofbeirut said...

I am glad to see you are blessed with a bounty this year as well; we are too across the seas and I am now contemplating some major canning and ketchup making!
Love that room and how gutsy of you to paint the walls this tomato red hue; I heard it is supposed to affect people's mood though; have you noticed a tendency to want to dance on the table in your dining room?

Joyti said...

Tomatoes are on a lot of minds right now. I roasted batches and batches of them myself.
Your tart looks so delicious and summery and fresh.

Deana Sidney said...

I'm a girl with a dark red living room so I do love red on a wall... and on a tomato, of course. I miss the end of season deluge and the 59 stages of tomatoes on all the windowsills of the house. Tomato tart is a super idea for using those babies... mmm tomatoes!

Velva said...

You know there is a special place in my world for "tomatoes on the vine"... Tomato season has passed us by here in North Florida, and your photos are reminding me why summer is such a special season (except for endless hot temps :-) )...

If that is your dining room, it's beautiful. I love the shades of red.

Awesome post.

Barbara said...

Love those heirloom tomatoes! Did you hold a tomato up to a paint chip to get that right? :)
I had a pumpkin living room before I redid...kind of a bittersweet color. We loved it.

veron said...

Those are really gorgeous tomatoes and that tart makes me drool!

~~louise~~ said...

Holy goodness! I'm delighted to hear Long Island got her tomatoes back. Last season was awful.

We still have a few roadside stands selling tomatoes here in PA. I just can't get enough BLTs under my belt:)

LOVE, love, love the dining room. Just think, in the gloom of winter, you will always be able to savor that tomato feeling.

Thanks for sharing, T.W.

Stacey Snacks said...

TW,
I had the BEST tomatoes I have had in my life this summer on Long Island!
The heirlooms were amazing, but don't tell any of my NJ friends!

Chef Dennis Littley said...

heirloom tomatoes are so much fun to work with...I just love having them around on my counter...but for taste, nothing beats a jersey tomato (that comes from a native Texan) your tart looks delicious, I love goat cheese!
Great colour for your dining room too! I get so bored with white walls!