This year in February, a tomato plant sprouted in my little garden. I didn’t plant it so, I expect this was the result of composting my kitchen scraps or a long past and forgotten tomato I grew in this spot.
Naturally, I was intrigued by such an independent and self-sufficient tomato plant, unsure what type of tomatoes it would produce or if it would survive and produce anything. I watered the plant, fertilized it with compost tea, and watched. It grew large and expansive despite the stormy and wet spring. Once it had flowers and little green tomatoes started to appear, I could tell that we were in for quite a few cherry tomatoes. After a slow start, more and more tomatoes ripened and we enjoyed many tomato salads and other dishes with fresh sweet and super tasty cherry tomatoes.
Now, only a few tomatoes remain and I remembered what is probably the simplest and most nourishing tomato dish, my favorite when I was growing up:
The Tomato Sandwich
Simply whole wheat sourdough with butter, sliced tomatoes and a bit of freshly ground pepper. So tasty!
If you have any tomatoes (from your garden or the store), try this quick and simple open-faced sandwich.
P.S. In the middle of summer, a couple more plants were growing in my garden that I didn’t plant. I didn’t recognize what it was for several weeks until flowers appeared and fruit started to grow. It turned out to be two tomatillo plants. I had big tomatillo plants two years ago, maybe these are the result of tomatillos that fell on the ground? Again, I was full of anticipation, watching the little paperlike husks develop and the little tomatillos swell inside. Salsa verde was in my future, so I thought, until the plants started to mysteriously disappear, first the tips of the branches at the top and then the whole plants with stalks and all. It all happened within 24 hours. I tried to see the culprit but I couldn’t see anything. So much for an organic garden where all kinds of above ground winged and underground furry neighbors share in the bounty.