TOE-MAY-TOE....TOE-MAH-TOE

             Some of us who live in New Jersey take the Garden State nickname quite seriously. You have seen pictures galore from the community garden in our little borough, and I have lavished this blog with photos from our own little gardens. My friends, Susan and Mark Davis, who also take part in the community garden here, have the most exquisite home and garden and they were nice enough to share a day with me. 
Follow me up the front walkway to their house ...would you like a better look at those hanging baskets?  I know...jaw dropping...they are gorgeous. Mark is the gardener in this relationship, and he developed an irrigation system to water these amazing hanging baskets as well as this window box  It is all so pretty...and yet that is not why I am bringing you here today. Let's got around to the back of the house
and have a peek at the vegetable garden. The tomato plants are easily 7 to 8 feet tall, the brussell sprouts are amazing, and the collard greens were ready to be picked. Mark plants an amazing garden every year, however, this year he concentrated his efforts on the heirloom tomatoes
and this is what really caught my eye as I rounded the house into the back yard. An antique statue made my Michelangelo himself could not have excited me more. I have seen heirloom tomatoes before, but never such a variety and I have never actually had the gardener there who created such a work of art.
With names like Green Giant, Half Moon China, White Beauty, Cherokee Purple, African Queen and Boxcar Willie, both Mark and Susan could talk about most of these, what they are supposed to look like and how they are supposed to taste.

All of these tomatoes are ripe, and ready to be eaten. My very good friends sent me home with a bag full of these luscious beauties, and not only did my husband and I try some last night, but my son's best friend, who is a tomato connisseur, also enjoyed them. I was initially shy to try the green tomato...which was sweet and delicious, but it was the white tomatoes that really made me happy. They are the flavor of my childhood...if you can imagine...fifty years or so ago, our vegetables were not scientifically altered. They had flavor that, at the time we took for granted...a tomato tasting just like what it is. Today, our tomatoes have been so genetically "improved", that they look lovely and have no flavor at all...but...we can purchase them year round. I will be happy to trade a winters worth of produce for a summer of this The memory was of me as a little girl, eating a dish of stewed tomatoes...that tasted just like what they should have. Thanks to Mark and Susan for the tour of their gardens and the wonderful tomatoes and most of all for the memory. Next year, we will be concentrating on growing heirloom varieties too, and just like Mark told me, you can find seeds for these, by searching the web...brilliant!

           This post is being linked to A Southern Daydreamer for Outdoor Wednesday, and Designs by Gollum for Foodie Friday.

♥, Susan

       

                             Lucilles Stewed Tomatoes

3 lbs Roma type tomatoes

1 tbsp. sugar

1 tsp salt

3 slices white bread...crusts removed

3 basil leaves

            Pop the tomatoes in boiling water for a minute or two and remove and remove to an ice bath. Peel the skins from the tomatoes and chop each tomato in half or thirds. In a large enough sauce pot cook the tomatoes with the sugar, salt and basil for 20 minutes on a low flame. When they are done, cube the white bread into small pieces and mix into the tomatoes. The bread will melt in and the tomatoes will have a pudding consistency. Serve as a side dish.

 

Comments

[Becky]

The home and the baskets are gorgeous...but those tomatoes...wow...I'm wordless!!! They are so beautiful...lucky you!!!

[salitype]

oh wow, very impressive garden, and those are a lot of yummy tomatoes.

[Vanessa]

Gorgeous photos and amazing garden! Thanks for sharing them with us and for leaving such a sweet comment on my blog!
Vanessa
htttp://southerninmyheart.blogspot.com

[Brenda Kula]

I have never seen a white tomato! But I grew up with fresh tomatoes from the garden on our table for lunch and supper.
Brenda

[Kristen {a little ditty}]

Stopping over from Southern Daydreamer. Gorgeous pictures!! I LOVE the hanging baskets, they look beautiful!

[laura]

To me it's the scent that takes me back...tomatoes in grocery stores do not smell like tomatoes. It's that unique vine scent I love so much!

[Jen_from_NJ]

That is one amazing garden! I love tomatoes so much that I even eat tomato sandwiches! All of those different heirloom varieties - fabulous!

[Kary Gonyer]

i come here and see all of this beauty..what a charming house....

why do i live in california???

i just love the east coast so much

LOVE the garden and the flowers and look at all those glorious tomatoes...

and YES!!!! yeah for julia....

happy to stop by for a visit today...

kary

[Su-sieee! Mac]

Your recipe has got me hungry now, and no tomatoes to make it....Thanks for the tour. I enjoyed it immensely. :-)

[Sue]

Oh my goodness, what wonderful growing things! The hanging baskets take my breath away and all those delicious tomatoes...I'm so jealous. What do they do with all those vegetables? It was a wonderful tour. Thanks for visiting me today...please come again!

Sue

[Pat]

Hi Susan
Your friend's home and gardens are lovely and their heirloom tomatoes are gorgeous!
I love to eat ripe homegrown tomatoes every summer...there is nothing quite like them!

[nannykim]

Those tomatoes look so fab!!!

[Julie]

Absolutely gorgeous tomatoes! I'm so jealous as I wait and wait for mine to turn. I'm just hoping that I'm not eating a bunch of "fried green tomatoes" this year! Thanks for visiting Color Chic!

[Linda]

Oh my goodness, those were wonderful tomatoes! I have 3 plants this year and they are so yummy. We have gotten so many that we were even able to supply them for a salad bar at my husband's work...but nothing as lovely as those....YUM!

[AnimalPTsue]

Hi Susan, Thanks again for doing this post. I can't take much of the credit, as Mark should get all of it, but do appreciate everyone's nice comments. To answer one of your reader's Sue, what we do with all the tomatoes is can them, just like grandma used to do. Of course we are eating and giving them to friends and some local folks in need, but the rest are canned and stored in the basement to use in the winter for chili, sauce, etc. Mark also likes to open a jar and eat them right from a bowl for lunch. We also make cold gazpacho and even Bloody Mary mix! Lots of time spent in the kitchen these days!

Thank you for your interest.

[Mrs. Magpie]

Susan! Those are incredible and so are all of those lush plants and pretty house! WOW! And to think of my pitiful brown thumb in comparison. ;-)

Checking in from my blog break and hope to be back to blogging after the first of September. Hope all is well with you. See you when I return...

XO,

Sheila :-)

[Melody]

OH WoW what a haul and what a gorgeous garden. Here in the Southern Ohio, Northern Ky area that would also be pronounced......
Tuh-mater....especially if grown at home and the ole-timey varieties.

[[email protected]]

Tomatoes are truly one of the greatest gifts of summer! Heirlooms are the best, and thanks for the recipe, it sounds interesting. I never would have thought to use bread to thicken it up!

[jeanne]

Hello Susan, a day late but I am still visiting outdoors posts. I am glad you enjoyed the baby deer photos.

I love the tour of your friend's garden. It is so beautiful. The hanging baskets just knocked my socks off. I love the tomatoes you shared with your photos. I LOVE tomatoes if they are home grown too. The flavor is there and the stores just do not have good tomatoes. I have not eaten a white tomato. I am sure they are delicious. Your recipe is tempting to try. It is easy enough. We have enjoyed tomatoes from our garden in containers all summer. Mmmmmm.

Enjoy your week.
Hugs, Jeanne

[~ ~Ahrisha~ ~]

Oh my gosh I miss my Heirloom tomatoes. .no garden this year. When you find a tomato you really love save a few seeds and start your own plants next year.
~ ~Ahrisha~ ~

[ButterYum]

Wow - what a bounty! Amazing

:)
ButterYum

[Julie]

What an amazing assortment of tomatoes! Stewed tomatoes remind me of my childhood. My mother made them every summer.

[jen duncan]

Those tomatoes look wonderful. We're in the tiny little window of availability here now, too. I will NOT buy them in the grocery store...it's worth waiting for these few days that the local farmer's mkts have them. Glad to read the white one was tasty. I prob wouldn't have taken a chance on it!

[Debbi Does Dinner Healthy]

Very gorgeous garden!! WOW! That's a lot of tomatoes! Very beautiful! Thanks for sharing!

[[email protected] Farm]

What a blessing to get to share in that wonderful bounty!! Heirloom tomatoes are my favorites and I refuse to buy out of season, trucked from points faraway tomatoes.

Blessings!
Gail

[April]

I have always loved window boxes. I plan that when we redo our kitchen my window will face my rose garden and I will have a window box there...
Great post! Love all the beautiful pictures!
-April

[Dena]

I love those hanging baskets and those window baskets too...sigh...just lovely :)

Hugs,
Dena

[Heather]

It is all lovely! I am still waiting for tomatoes in Oregon, so I am a little envious:) Beautiful home and the front porch is divine!

[Cailin Yates]

oh I am jealous! I did try to grow tomatoes this year and it seems all I've done is feed the deer. I even bought canning supplies, I was so looking forward to making my husband's aunt's sauce and canning it-
I'll be off to the farmer's market tomorrow. Now I'm really hungry for tomatoes!!!
I stopped by for pink saturday - hope you have a lovely weekend

[Donna]

The garden is gorgeous yes, but Sue and Mark Davis (and little Penny) are the real treasures at this address!

[Suzanne]

I remember growing up and eating tomatoes like that as if they were an apple;)
Okay...the gardens are to die for...and they happen to be a part of my dream house! Sigh...maybe someday;)

[susan ericson]

Donna, I agree with you...the beautiful house and gardens are lovely, but it is Sue and Mark...and yes, Penny too, who have made it so. I am lucky to call them friends.
♥, Susan

[Susan]

Wow! Love that house and garden! It's so perfectly "Ozzie and Harriet." And those tomatoes are quite impressive.

[[email protected]]

GET OUT THE CANNING GEAR!

Yes, the garden is wonderful. Think of what people are missing when they drive by. It would cause a traffic snarl if they developed gardens in their front yard too (hubby wouldn't get to sleep if he had more to do).

Thanks for the visit,

Sharon Lovejoy Writes from Sunflower House and a Little Green Island

[Betty @ She's Sew Pretty]

Oh Yum!! I don't think there is anything better than a home grown tomato.

[Pat]

Hi Susan

I bet you are now up to your elbows with beautiful tomatoes! I hope you've been enjoying these last days of August. Hopefully cooler weather is ahead.

Hugs, Pat

[Melody]

Hi Sue. You hadn't posted in a while and I hadn't heard from ya....just checkin in.
Hope everythings ok. ;)

[susan ericson]

Hi Mel, I am okay....just getting over a lupus flare that has kept me inside and away from the sun. I will get back to writing soon....♥ you for asking.

[laura @ theshorehouse]

Oh MY! As I put my eyes back into my head, I'm just dying to know more about Mark's irrigation system!! My garden was just "eh" this summer due to the drought.

Sorry to hear you were feeling under the weather!! Glad to see you're up and about (and fleaing :-) again!