Just so you know, my mortgage is not going to be lifted by my Mortgage Lifter tomato. Mr. Critter snuck in the garden and helped himself to the first ripe heirloom as well as a few Early Girls, too. This may not seem like devastating news to those of you reading from North Carolina or New Jersey; you're rolling in ripe tomatoes. Here, the trickle has just begun. (Morning Glory Farm picked its first field tomatoes yesterday. Hurrah!)
That has not stopped us. We've tackled any tomatoes we could find and begun the delicious task of making our way down the whole roster of summer favorites, from Panzanella to Bruschetta. (We like bread with our tomatoes.)
We've done our first batch of Quick-Roasted Plum Tomatoes and turned them into a Roasted Tomato Rustic Tart. We made Sarah Waldman's Tomato Pie, too. (We like pie crust with our tomatoes.)
On Saturday we picked up a slew of yellow (greenhouse) tomatoes from Ghost Island Farm and a few heirlooms from North Tabor Farm. We found some Carlson Orchards peaches, too, so the next thing you know, we’re making Yellow Tomato, Peach, and Fresh Herb "Gazpacho" Salad. (And, yes, we threw a little corn in; so far we've not missed a day on our #eatcorneveryday challenge.)
We pureed the leftovers and had gazpacho for lunch on Sunday. Next on our list: Two more cold tomato soups — Salmorejo and this Chilled Tomato Soup from Aretah Ettarh, sous chef at Gramercy Tavern (Manhattan, different island), who will be on the Vineyard this weekend at the FARM Institute for a very cool event called The King is Dead, created by the Iconoclast Dinner Experience.
Aretah and three other rising star young female chefs of color (Nyesha Arrington, Samantha Fore, and Lena Sareini) will join FARM Institute Chef Meave McAuliffe in bringing a five-course menu to life with Vineyard ingredients.
By the way, these four young chefs aren’t the only culinary stars on the Island this weekend. Best-selling author and former Gourmet magazine editor in chief Ruth Reichl will take part in the 2019 Martha’s Vineyard Book Festival, happening on Saturday and Sunday in Chilmark.
She’ll be in good company: Chef Kwame Onwuachi will talk about his memoir, Notes from a Young Black Chef, and the Pollan family – Corky, Tracy, Dana and Lori – will discuss their flexitarian cookbook, Mostly Plants. (And yes, we’ve already asked them for tomato recipes.) Fisherwoman Janet Messineo will be at the festival with her brilliant new memoir, Casting into the Light. A few of Janet’s fish recipes are tucked into the book, too.
Hey, you know what goes really well with tomatoes? Fish! So for dinner tonight, why not try Pan-Seared Halibut with Tomatoes, White Beans, and Spinach? Or maybe Sear-Roasted Striper Filets with Summer Tomato-Fresh Corn Dressing.
Next week, tomatoes + pasta. Follow us on Instagram @cookthevineyard.