“And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food”
Genesis 1:29
Early girl. Better boy. Celebrity. If you’re from the south, these words are ringin’ a bell. Here in Alabama, we gauge our summer’s beginning by the day that we spot these little red beauties in our gardens! Last Thursday, much to my surprise, (ten days prior to summer’s official start) I picked our first tomatoes! This is the earliest we have had these guys make their debut…and you won’t hear me complaining! We love our homegrown tomatoes, and no store-bought imitation will do! The tried and true southern meal and the one that takes me back to my childhood like no other is fresh cut-from-the-cob sweet corn, the crispiest fresh fried okra, fresh pink eyed peas cooked with streak o’ lean, cast iron skillet baked cornbread, and home grown sliced tomatoes from the back yard!
Butch’s favorite way to enjoy a tomato is-a warm-from-the-sun tomato sliced and placed between two pieces of “white” bread, slathered with Hellman’s mayo and a heavy sprinkling of salt and pepper. I, on the other hand, (being the foodie that I am) love them sliced with a splash of extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar, topped with Belle Chevre, fresh basil from my garden, fleur de sel, and cracked black pepper! He says to-may-toh, I say to-mah-to! Anyway you slice it, we love our maters!
Making the exciting discovery of our first tomatoes in our garden prompted me to bombard Pinterest to find some new, as well as age-old recipes to share with you, our readers! You can click each picture for the recipe and you can follow my Pinterest board here: Sweet and Savory.
Home-grown tomatoes from our garden last summer!
Chef Chris Hastings of Hot and Hot Fish Club in Birmingham offers his famous tomato salad on his summer menu with peas, corn, okra, and applewood smoked bacon! Several years ago, I attended a cooking class where he prepared this amazing salad! It taste as good as it looks!
Tomato, watermelon, and peach salsa!!
Tomato, watermelon, and feta skewers with mint and lime! Great summer appetizer!
Who doesn’t like a BLT sandwich??
Fresh tomato bruschetta, another delicious summer appetizer!
Tomato, cheddar, and bacon pie…definitely worth the time and effort to prepare!
Tomato and cheese tart! Perfect for a summer luncheon!
Panzanella with summer vegetables! This is great for an al fresco summer supper!
Greek orzo salad with olives!
Hot bacon caprese salad
I enjoy making home-made pizza with fresh farm to table ingredients!
Our homegrown tomatoes with Belle chèvre, basil, and a light splash of balsamic!
“It’s difficult to think anything but pleasant thoughts while eating a homegrown tomato”
Lewis Grizzard
Linking with Pieced Pastimes, Silver Pennies, Life on Lakeshore Drive, Thoughts From Alice, Mod Vintage Life, Coastal Charm, My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, The Dedicated House, Dwellings-Heart of Your Home, Savvy Southern Style, Ivy and Elephants, French Country Cottage, From My Front Porch To Yours, Stone Gable, Confessions of a Plate Addict, Worthing Court, Between Naps on the Porch, Cedar Hill Farmhouse, A Stroll Thru Life, The Style Sisters, The Charm of Home, The Winthrop Chronicles, Cornerstone Confessions, A Delightsome Life, Imparting Grace, Posed Perfection, Katherines Corner, My Romantic Home, Chic On A Shoestring Decorating, Rooted In Thyme, Share Your Cup, The Enchanting Rose, Alabama Women Bloggers, 21 Rosemary Lane, Northern Nesting, Oh My Heartsie Girl, Cozy Little House, Rattlebridge Farm, The Turquoise Home
Great tomato recipes….we have a “tomato farm” very close to us and cannot wait til he opens…
Have a great day…
Thank you, Shirley! I had more ripe tomatoes today!! If you lived close, I would share! Blessings, Pam
The only thing better than your beautiful pictures are your inspiring words.
Thank you!!
Randy Hogue
Randy, you are kind!! Blessings, Butch and Pam
Great list! We adore our tomatoes too! Yummy! Pinned 🙂
I gathered more tomatoes today! Thanks for pinning and commenting! Pam
Your recipes are making me miss the garden I had as a child. We haven’t planted much at my own home, but it may be time to try!
Steph, thank you for taking time to comment! We are looking forward to enjoying the garden! Wishing you a joy-filled week! Pam
I enjoy to-mah-toes as well and you have some really nice ways of using them here. Handy for taking out or eating at home. I hope I can still remember them when summer rolls around again 🙂
Diana
Thank you, Diana! I plan on using our tomatoes in the recipes that I shared! Have a lovely rest of the week! Pam
I love home grown tomatoes, ours are not quite ready though we are picking a few grape tomatoes.You have shared some great ways to eat them! Thank you for sharing.
Blessings,
Sue
Sue, thanks for taking time to comment! We love our grape tomatoes! Have a lovely week! Blessings, Pam
Pam – Your tomato recipes look delicious! I really want to tray a tomato garden next year. My little one will be 2, so I think it will be a fun age for her to learn how to garden. I have recently started a new link party with Refresh Living and Vintage Refined and we would love to have you stop by and link with us! The party gets started every Tuesday night at 7pm CST.
Thanks for your sweet comments and for the invite! We linked up! Have a joy-filled Thursday with that little one! Pam
I love tomatoes, and it’s funny because I prefer mine like you do while my husband is more of a mayo guy. Thanks for sharing these ideas! 🙂
Thank you Dee! Looking forward to many tomato dishes this summer!
I am visiting my mom in Southern California and one of her neighbors brought over a basket full of the loveliest ripe tomatoes! We had them with sliced avocado and bacon on whole wheat toast. So amazingly delish. In my native Montana, tomatoes haven’t yet made their appearance. Thanks for sharing during the Thursday blog hop.
Thank you Sue! Your tomato dish sounds perfect! We love your native Montana! Spent a wonderful few days at Triple Creek Ranch near Darby last summer! Thank you for the party! Blessings, Pam
Everything looks delicious! I have always “disliked” tomatoes and often would not eat them. Then, I got pregnant and during the first three months I craved tomatoes like crazy – I could not get enough of them! Now I can only “tolerate” them.
Seeing your many tomato dishes has my mouth watering! You may have won me over for good, dear Pam 🙂 Thanks for sharing with Roses of Inspiration. Hugs!
Stephanie, thank you for always taking time to comment! Enjoy your party each week! I haven’t always liked tomatoes, but I certainly enjoy them now! Blessings, Pam
Love all the tomato talk. We are eagerly watching our first tomato grow. My mom used to say her favorite way of eating tomatoes too was right out of the garden. I know you aren’t thinking of picking any green tomatoes now but come fall you might consider trying Paula Deen’s Green Tomato Cake – http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/green-tomato-cake-with-brown-butter-icing-recipe.html. Visiting from Imparting Grace.
I definitely will try the green tomato cake, that sounds interesting! Thanks for taking time to comment! Have a lovely weekend!
Thanks for linking up with us! These recipes sound mouth watering! I agree, tomatoes definitely make it officially feel like Summer.
Thanks you, Ashley! Have a lovely week! Blessings, Pam
All these pictures of this food is making me starve! Love me some maters! Hugs and blessings, Cindy
Thank you, Cindy! Tomatoes just say summer! Blessings!
Yum, Yum! I have both Early Girl and Celebrity planted in my garden. No picking yet, but I can’t wait! Everything looks so delicious. I always hate it when the tomatoes are through and we have to go back to eating store bought. YUCK! Thanks for sharing with SYC.
hugs,
Jann
Jann, we just had the best tomatoes from our garden tonight with a splash of olive oil, goat cheese, and basil! So delicious! Thanks, my friend!
These all look so crazy good! I need to get some tomatoes (“may”). 🙂 Thanks so much for sharing at #HomeMattersParty! Hope you’ll stop by again this week. The door opens Friday morning EST (or 9pm Thursday PST). 🙂
Thanks, Kristi! Love your party! Blessings!!