TOMATO TIME
Here they are, those little miracles—the truest taste of summer. What else is equally good raw or cooked? And they are so easy, so perfect, you don’t need to do much to ‘em for a paradisiacal experience.
Gobble cherry tomatoes as the ultimate healthy snack food. Slice tomatoes of several colors and serve them with fresh mozzarella or chevre and basil, or try feta and mint. For a rich treat, smear on homemade pesto. Make a Guy Friddell sandwich: biscuit, tomato, mayo. Chop them for salsa, sauté quickly for pasta, grill fish in foil with layered tomatoes and onions, toss with cukes and your favorite vinaigrette. Or slow roast, stew, bake in a pie.
Our five farmers this week have a plethora of tomatoes to entice you this week. Look for tomatoes at Build Your Food, Cromwell’s, Grace and Gratitude, Mattawoman Creek, and New Earth Farm.
Virginia Beach Master Gardeners return. Are your vines wilting? Want to know what blight looks like? They are here to help.
What will you do with summer’s glory this week?
RECIPE
CHESAPEAKE CRAB SALAD OVER SLICED TOMATOES
One of my favorite ways to enjoy tomatoes is to pair them with complimentary flavors. A delightful love connection is made between fresh, sliced tomatoes and a cool, delicious salad made with local Chesapeake Bay blue crabs.
Just plate a few thick slices of tomato, top with some chopped herbs (I like a combination of tarragon, flat leaf parsley and mint along with this recipe) and top with a big scoop of my Chesapeake Crab Salad.
In a large bowl, add two cups of backfin blue crab meat, picked over to remove any shells. Add one cup finely diced celery, 1/4 cup finely diced red bell pepper, and 2 green onions, finely diced. Sprinkle on 1 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper and 1/4 teaspoon Old Bay. Add 1 tablespoon freshly-squeezed lemon juice and 3 tablespoons Greek yogurt. Stir to mix, cover, and chill at least an hour.
Makes 4 servings.
From Chef Patrick Evans-Hylton
VENDORS
Artisan’s Bakery & Cafe
The Bakery at Riverside Farm
Beach Biscotti
Build Your Food
The Creative Wedge
Croc’s 19th Street Bistro
Cromwell’s Produce
Fresh Batch Jams
Full Quiver Farm
Give, Treat, Love
Grace and Gratitude
Hashi Food Truck
Jubilee Seafood
Kombuchick
Lavender House
Mattawoman Creek Farms
My Vegan Sweet Tooth
The Neighborhood Harvest
New Earth Farm
Pelon’s Baja Grill
Pennacock Peppers
Sandi’s Sandies
Shady Goat Farm
Speedy’s Hot Sauce
Tasha’s Own
Terrapin Restaurant
Three Ships Coffee
Vy’s Pies
Whole-ly Rollers
Zinnia Girls
PATRICK EVANS-HYLTON
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