"TomatoSeason" news and stories

Each week, we round up a selection of scrumptious links from our friends over at YumSugar. Here's what they've got cooking this week:

• A taste of the tropics in your kitchen -- palm trees, not included.
• Take a culinary cruise through Maui.
• Is duck fetus egg an edible treat?
• Wind down tomato season with this tart.
• Crashing waves pair well with coastal comestibles like grilled sardines.
• While working on that tan, match these LA chefs with their restaurants.

I adore tomatoes. In fact, I love them so much that I'd put up with melting every day in the heat if it meant that I'd get a never ending season of fresh tomatoes from the local farms.

Alas, we're working our way back to winter, and this red-hued season won't last forever. But while it does, I can over-indulge. I had to share the above picture, which I took after I found myself staring into the super-cheap $6 basket of tomatoes I picked up over the weekend. That blemish on the top left was the only bit in the whole box. The rest were perfect, deep red tomatoes -- the type I dream about all year.

I've made tons of salsa so far, and am gearing up for more salads, sandwiches, bruschetta, and salt-covered slices, but what other ways do you prepare your fresh tomatoes for a meal? I'm looking for any ideas that don't include cooking the heck out of them. I want to enjoy the raw, or raw-ish flavor while it lasts!

I stopped into my favorite local produce stand after work on Wednesday, to pick up some salad makings (for once, I had used up everything from my CSA share) and a pound of fingerling potatoes for roasting (I've been experiencing something of a roasted potato yen). While I was there, I saw a cluster of woman standing around a display, cooing and exclaiming. Eventually they dissipated, and I was able to see what all the fuss was about. It was a box of tomatoes.

However, these weren't just any tomatoes. These were the very first New Jersey tomatoes of the season. I approached the box with a sense of reverence and briefly considered genuflecting, before determining that the story was a little too crowded for rapturous displays of produce-inspired passion. I reached out and picked up one. It was heavy for its size and felt good in my hand.

I took it home and as soon as was finished photographing it (I knew it was worthy of a blog post), I cut in. The interior was a deep red (none of that pale pink you find in conventional February tomatoes). I ate the first thick slice atop a piece of gently toasted pain au levain, before devoring the rest of the tomato with nothing more than a sprinkling of salt. I officially declare Jersey tomato season open!