Ohhh Those Tomatoes!

I have a TON of tomatoes coming in from my garden so I'm making a ton of recipes with them to use them up (and dropping baskets of them off at neighbors too).  Nothing better than fresh tomatoes..the flavor just can't be beat.  And I hate to see any of them go bad.  So I've made a huge batch of my homemade tomato sauce (recipe and instructions to come) and other recipes to share with you here.  But one of my faves is Sweet Tomato Pie...a southern staple and so yummy you will want to make it again and again.  BUT its only really good with fresh tomatoes, off season tomatoes don't work as well.  My recipe is an adaptation from so many places I can't even remember but I know the basics of this recipe came from a Southern Living magazine years ago and then I added to it a bit.

It is similar in taste to Bruschetta with cheese and there are NEVER any leftovers in my house when I make this!

Gather up your ingredients starting with fresh tomatoes, fresh basil and an onion to chop. (I like Vidalia Onions best in this recipe...this one came from a local farm & its HUGE)  Make sure you get as much juice as you can out of your tomatoes and then chop them into chunks.  You don't want a lot of juice in your tomatoes because it will make the pie soggy...ick!

Look at those tomatoes and basil...oh my!  My mouth is watering!

Put a bib on woman!

Then you layer all that yummilicious cheese mixture on top evenly..mmmmm!

Don't lick your fingers...I saw you!

If you like bacon, you can add some bacon crumble to this mixture!

And bake it till its bubbly and golden brown...the smell is divine and the TASTE is even BETTER!

BUT WAIT...let the pie sit for at least 5 mins to settle so it slices better...c'mon you can wait I know you can :)

MMMMM can you taste the wonderful flavors already...so good!

Hope you like it!

Printable Recipe Click Here

Bon Appetit!

Southern Staples!

Some Summer Yums!

To me summer OFFICIALLY begins when I have my first ripe tomatoes either from my garden OR the farmers market.  That is celebration time!  So I was so excited to see 3 large tomatoes ripened in my garden the other morning that I literally SQUEALED for joy!  There is something magical about the smell of tomato plants...I can't really explain it...but if you've smelled them before you know what I mean.  Smells green, clean and yummy!  Yeah I know you probably think I've lost my marbles but it IS one of my fave summer smells along with honeysuckle, cut grass and salty, ocean air.

Southern Staples

So if you're Southern (and perhaps if you are not) there are some sandwich staples you must use for tomato sandwiches.  Duke's Mayonnaise is #1...its the ONLY mayo I keep in the house...is it low fat? Heck no but I pretty much only use it for sandwiches so its ok and I don't like it dripping out of my sammie either.  Now some southerners use butter as well but I don't do butter on my sammies unless its a grilled sandwich.  Some ground pepper and a good, ripe tomato and WHITE BREAD...yup I said white bread.  I don't like Wonder Bread (slap my southern bum) but instead I choose Italian Bread as it has a bit more thickness to it but for me its gotta be SOFT!

Fresh is Best

I cut all my tomatoes with a tomato knife...if you don't have one, well you need one!  They are very thin with a serrated edge that cuts cleanly through the tomato, no smushing of the tomato gosh forbid.  My dad got them for me and my siblings years and years ago before I was even married...he knows how much we all love tomatoes.  Somehow I ended up with two...shhh not sure where the 2nd came from...but we use them A LOT!  You can find them in all styles and prices if you need one...I'd say you need one LOL...if ya asked that is!

Red Delicious Slices of Freshness

Mmmmm thick slices of tomato..I like thick slices on my sandwiches with a thin layer of mayo

on my bread.  Then some ground pepper on top...mmmmmm....looking good so far.

Look!  Its ready for MY mouth LOL!

So good I almost made a second one but instead made one for my son who loves them almost as much as me.  Hubby likes his with cheese...sometimes we add cheese or ham or both and sometimes we toast them.  So many varieties and all soooo good.  But the first 2-3 tomato sammies are PURE...just tomatoes, mayo and pepper for me thank you!

So just sharing one of favorite summer rituals with you!!

What's one of your favorite summer rituals?