Heirloom tomatoes, let me count the ways...

I love to call Little Martha and tell her all about the yummy things my hubbie and I have been cooking from our garden. It's finally time that I share on the blog!

The most fun things coming from our garden are the 6 different varieties of Heirloom tomatoes. I can take almost no credit for their beauty. Jesse is the gardener and has a compost pile that he tends to often--I think for the sole purpose of creating soil for his tomatoes! Either way, I am lucky to get to EAT all of these loverlies.

(Warning, I couldn't contain myself with the amount of pictures...sorry)

There are SOOOOOOo many good things to make with them:
1) Good ol' caprese salad. A nice thick slice of tomato, a delicious slice of fresh buffalo mozarella (mucho dinero, but worth it), a bit of fresh basil, salt, pepper, thick balsamic, and olive oil...YUM.

2) We even tried drying the many, many little tomatoes in our food dehydrator. The salted/peppered ones were the best.3) Ina's Cream of fresh tomato soup. OH MY. SO good. Don't think I need to post this because I assume everyone reading this has the new Ina Back to Basics (check out page 59)

4) Tomato and BREAD salad. This is like a caprese, but chunk everything, add some onion, and toasted bread. DELISH.
5) Pizza. 'Nuff said.
6) THIS I will post: GAZPACHO from the Dona Tomas cookbook. Dona Tomas is a fab "Authentic" Mecican restaurant in Oakland. My mom and sis first had this gazpacho at the restaurant, raved, and then we all tried making it from their cookbook. SO good. Jesse raved ALL night about how this was the best soup he has EVER had (no joke). So here goes.
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GAZPACHO: Chilled Heirloom Tomato and Cucumber Soup with Avocado

1 large English cucumber, peeled, seeded, and coarsely chopped

¼ cup red wine vinegar

2 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

About 1 ½ Tablespoons kosher salt

4 pounds heirloom tomatoes (that little number in the pic at the top weighed in at over a pound!!)

½ white onion, diced

3 cloves garlic

1 small jalapeno chile, stemmed and coarsely chopped

2 avocados, cut into ¾ inch dice, for garnish

½ bunch cilantro, stemmed and chopped, for garnish

Place the cucumber in a blender and puree on a low speed until a coarse consistency is achieved. Add the vinegar, olive oil, and salt and pulse 2 to 3 time to incorporate. Pour into a serving bowl and set aside.

Place a saucepan filled about halfway with water over high heat and bring to a boil. Fill a large bowl with ice water. Stem the tomatoes and slash an X into the skin at the bottoms. Submerge the tomatoes in the boiling water for 30 seconds to loosen the skins, drain, and immediately plunge into the ice bath. Drain again, then peel off the skins. Place a fine-mesh strainer over a bowl. Cut the tomatoes in half crosswise and squeeze the tomatoes into the strainer, using your fingers to extract as many of the seeds as possible. The goal is to remove and discard the seeds while still reserving the precious juice in the bowl.

Working in batches if necessary, transfer the tomatoes and their juice and the onion, garlic, and jalapeno to a blender. Puree on high speed until liquefied and smooth. Pour into the bowl with the cucumber puree, stir well, and adjust the seasoning with salt if necessary (cold soups will often need more salt than hot soups).

Cover and place the soup in the refrigerator for 1 to 2 hours, until well chilled. Ladle into chilled bowls and garnish with the avocado and cilantro. This soup can be refrigerated in a plastic container for up to 2 to 3 days, but is best enjoyed within 24 hours of preparation.

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Pictures of the actual gazpacho to come...didn't take any at the time...but am making it again tomorrow!!

ENJOY!

Happy Eating, Jamie