Credits Here and Here
Everyone who knows me knows how much I LOVE tomatoes! I was spoiled living in California by having an abundance of gorgeous heirloom tomatoes. There's really nothing like them. So, you can imagine that I was thrilled to learn that Ruskin, Florida was the "tomato capital of the nation". However, when I got here, I had the hardest time finding a decent local tomato. It seems that all of the tomatoes grown in Florida are shipped out to other parts of the country ~ GO FIGURE. So, at the grocery stores, I was buying tomatoes from Canada, Chile, and Mexico!! What's up with that? And they have no flavor at all~ LOL! Then, driving down a random road, I found a tomato stand!
Actually, it was like a little farmer's market ~ perfect! The tomatoes weren't heirlooms, but big, juicy beefsteaks and romas. Then, as if my luck just couldn't get any better, I found a "U-PICK" tomato farm in a very rural part of Florida. We took the kids there and watched them run through rows and rows of tomatoes filling their buckets.
You could fill an entire 5 gallon paint bucket for only $5!! Here are a few of my favorite tomato recipes:
Heirloom Tomato Basil Mozzarella Salad
Please make sure to share your favorite tomato recipes with me.......we can always use some new ones! =)
I can't wait to get back to California and go HERE every week for heirlooms!
And, if you're wondering, "NO!" ~ I was not the least bit scared of "Sam" and "Ella" ( as PW calls them) out here messing with my beloved tomatoes! LOL! Not even the fear of a gastrointestinal disaster would keep me away from a delicious, juicy tomato! ha!
I hope one of the first dishes you serve in Napa is the Heirloom Tomato Basil Salad! Sounds so YUMMY! Your vegetable/fruit stand photos are so brilliant...
Posted by: Gramy | July 26, 2008 at 06:48 PM
Your pics make those "'maters" look even better than they are, Wanie! Plus, you had two of the prettiest pickers I've ever seen!
Posted by: grandpa (Bubba) | July 27, 2008 at 09:22 AM
Good Golly - How do ya do it girl? Amazing ... your whole life is turned upside down right now - packing to move across country, again - and you find the time to not only take pixs but to put them online too! WOW!
Thank you for taking the time to share those small special moments with us!
Posted by: Jen | July 27, 2008 at 02:10 PM