Farmer’s Market

Hi girls!  I’m going to Farmer’s Market this morning — are you?  What are you getting?  I’m hoping they’ll have tomatoes. The inside information is that there’s going to be a bumber crop on the island this year; I’m hearing they are ripening fat, red,  juicy and delicious, and as I like to say to Joe, “I’m gonna git me somma them.”  I wait all year for summer-vine-ripened-in-the-garden tomatoes.  Because I love to make this recipe:

Maybe the most delicious and useful tomato recipe I make all summer; looks cute sitting in the sun in a glass jar; quite decorative and industrious looking, as if I’m actually doing something. 

I’m taking this with me . . . because . . .

And I’ll bring back photos for you.  It’s dawning bright and beautiful.  I already ate a little homemade cheese blintz, hanging over the frying pan in the kitchen.  Because later on I’ll be starting to write a new Willard and I need my strength. 

I’d love to hear some of your favorite tomato recipes if you’re in the mood.  I’m sure I’m not the only one… we can have show and tell!  And if you have my Summer Book, look at the Baked Tomato Salad on page 56 — make it this year, you’ll love it.

Talk to you later, have a wonderful day xoxo love and kisses from your friend and Girl Kitty’s mom. me  (I had to say that, she’s sitting right THERE). 🙂

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60 Responses to Farmer’s Market

  1. Rachel Lucas says:

    Raining, raining, raining here…we need it, but I’d love to be there with YOU picking out the juiciest, ripest tomatoes in the sunshine! xoxo Happy Saturday

  2. Amy says:

    Have fun at the Farmer’s Market!! Isn’t Summer wonderful!!

  3. Dawn says:

    Yummmm! That Summer Tomatoes recipe sounds delicious. I make something like that for penne, adding roasted bell pepper, capers, pitted olives, and a few shots of tabasco.
    I have the prettiest bowl of heirloom tomatoes on the kitchen counter right now. So beautiful that I can’t bare to eat them! Ridiculous, I know.
    Our farmer’s market is always on Fridays; I brought home a big bouquet of the first sunflowers.
    Have fun at the market!

    • julie ivers says:

      Made a batch of this fresh tomato sauce today, and it basked in our 100 degree heat for four and a half hours. Soooo good on our dinner spaghetti : ) Thanks for this keeper!

  4. DeAnna Passmore says:

    Susan! I went to our local farmer’s market on Thursday. It’s held down in our little park in our tiny historic town! We bought green beans (lot’s of them because ours aren’t producing well) and some beautiful banana peppers!

  5. Nellie says:

    What a treat! Going to the Farmer’s Market for plump, ripe tomatoes is a perfect way to spend a Saturday morning. We don’t have such a trip in our plans, however. Our “market” is in our back yard.:-) We enjoy Tomato Pie in the summer – if we haven’t eaten all our tomatoes as part of a BLT.:-) We have rain and clouds here, so it appears that it will be a day without sunshine. I do want to mention, however, that we actually had thunder last evening, on the day your calendar mentions the
    “Thunder Moon!” We weren’t able to catch a glimpse of the moon last night due to the clouds.:-( Enjoy your Saturday! I love beginning mine reading your blog!

  6. Lori says:

    Fresh from the market, wash and slice tomato. Slather white bread with mayo
    and add tomatoes. Eat sandwich while standing at counter. Enjoy!

  7. I’ll be doing that very thing (Saturday morning run to the Farmer’s Market) just as soon as I finish my breakfast smoothie and morning blog hop! We live in a small town in Lancaster County, PA, and you can’t throw a rock without hitting a farm stand or market. Seriously, they’re everywhere, and sooooo good.

    Tomatoes are on my list too, and now I need to buy a few extra just to try your recipe, which sounds amazing. Nothing better than just picked summer tomatoes. I’ll also be picking up a large bunch of fresh flowers – 6 stems for $1! (Wildflowers to feed the soul, hehe)…

    Enjoy your day!

    ♥ Carolee

  8. Doreen Strain says:

    There have been nights during the summer when Rich and I have nothing else for dinner but fresh garden sliced beef steak tomatoes and an ear of fresh corn on the cob (which as been roasted on the bbq in it’s husk). Oh yeah…In the good old summertime..in the good old summertime…la…la…la…(can’t remember the rest of the words to the song! LOL ! Enjoy your marketing everyone! ~ Doreen ~

    • Doreen Strain says:

      To market…to market, to buy a fat pig…wait….to buy tomatoes!!!!! Home again, home again, jiggity jiggity! 😉

  9. I have a great pasta recipe (not actually “mine”, it was shared with me) that uses uncooked tomatoes and basil and other yummies in the sauce. If you’d like it I can post it. It’s one of my summer faves for vine-ripened home grown tomatoes.

  10. Pom Pom says:

    I can’t wait to see the photos of your jaunt to the farmer’s market today! I like that recipe in one of your books (I forget which one) where you stuff cherry tomatoes. Yum! Our tomato plants are getting big, but the fruit is still green. Soon.

  11. Laurie says:

    I AM going to the farmers market this morning,, I’m hoping to buy, local strawberries, early lettuce, onions, some herbs and rhubarb,Some honey and homemade bread.Have a happy saturday susan,

  12. Carolyn says:

    Hmmmm….your tomato recipe sounds yummy! And I love setting things out in the sun…(like sun tea)…it just looks so pretty and summery sparkling in the sun! Sunbathing! 😀 So I will have to try your sunbathed tomatos! Have fun at the Farmer’s Market! I went just about every week last year when I was not working…..so much fun! Rubbing elbows with the farmers, kind of makes you feel like you have a link with them or something…(always wanted to be a farmer’s wife as a young girl bec my grandparents were farmers)! 🙂

  13. Judy C in NC says:

    Our farmer’s market is sponsored by the NC Dept of Agriculture and is a really big deal – we usually go on Thursday. German Johnson tomatoes are in and are definitely the best eating tomato ever – just not a long shelf life – so we eat them fast. Recipe – Good-for-you bread with homemade mayo and slice the tomato thinly and pile it on. Not good unless the juice is running down your wrists. We also bought light lavender skinned eggplant, but haven’t a clue how to cook them – can they be baked? with parmesan? I am definitely trying your jar summer tomatoes – right up my alley. Judy C in NC sends her best wishes for a lovely day

  14. daricia says:

    i made salsa yesterday. it is so good — party in a bowl! going to try your recipe next; shooting for decorative and industrious, too. 🙂

  15. peg says:

    We are off to our Farmer’s Market, too! Arugala, fresh spinach, mixed greens for next weeks’ salads; a couple of potatoes, some nectarines and maybe a bunch of Sunflowers (since the squirrels seem to enjoy eating the ones in the garden!). Then, off to Cost Co (better known as the $500 club) for shelving for the garage! Scattered clouds and cool breezes this a.m. ♥

  16. Sharleen says:

    Our favorite vine ripened summer tomato recipe is from your cookbook “The Summer Book”, it is the Lemon Linguini on page 70. I add chopped tomatoes, slivered fresh basil and toasted pine nuts, one of the variations you suggest in your notes. The lemon zest and lemon juice make the flavor of the fresh tomatoes pop-yum! In Northern California where we live we have had unusually cool weather and no one has garden tomatoes yet, so we are still waiting to enjoy this summer treat.

    Wishing you a tomatolicious day!

  17. Karen P says:

    Yummmy! Fresh tomatoes…nothing like it! I’ll have to try your recipe. Have a fun day!!!

  18. Evelyn says:

    Great recipe. I’ll try it sometime. I love tomatoes but they don’t love me so I have to ration my enjoyment of them. Nothing better than summer tomatoes and corn. Mmmmmm…good.
    Enjoy.

  19. Sandra Gillanders says:

    Love big juicy tomatoes, have some called Lemon Boy that are starting to ripen. Enjoy the farmers market. Lovely way to spend a Sat. morning. Going to try your recipe with some of my homegrown tomatoes. Thanks sweetie! xoxo

    • Sandra Gillanders says:

      Forgot to say, love them on toast with cheese on top or in a gratin. Also just sliced with some strips of basil and olive oil dizzle, salt and pepper.

  20. Jeanette says:

    I just returned from the Farmer’s Market! Armed with so many delicious goodies I had to make TWO trips to get everything in the house! Whew. Corn, green beans, lettuce, patty pan squash, cukes, foccaccia and croissant. Yum-o! I made spaghetti with marinated fresh tomatoes last night!!! Wonderful. I just LoVe everything about the Market. Such fun taking it all in…I also got a darling bouquet of flowers, grown from seed! Even with bells of Ireland! Now, to figure out what to eat first! Have a wonderful
    weekend! Xo

  21. Rosemary Thomas says:

    Let’s hear it for the real tomatoes! Sadly, I have to report that the last 6 tomatoes sit in a little, old, white enamelware bowl on my counter. Our harvest is done here in parched North Texas! We had a bountiful crop, though…salsa, Grandma’s chili sauce, spaghetti sauce…all canned and ready for winter! I think if I put your yummy-sounding tomato recipe in the sun, it would be boiled in no time.
    Enjoy the day on MV.❤

  22. mari1017 says:

    I’m with Lori – better yet, right off vine, wash, quarter wedges, s&p – YUM!

    barefoot always in summer – just had a pedi for the occasion 🙂

  23. Nancy says:

    First of all Susan I love all of your blogs AND I love everyone’s comments. It’s like talking to girlfriends every morning!
    Our tomatoes are still green on the vine but once they ripen I’m going to try drying them in the oven. I love dried tomatoes in everything, so sweet. Does anyone have a good recipe??
    I remember sliced tomatoes with sugar sprinkled on them for dinner as a child. I just can’t find any that are that ‘beefsteaky’ out here in CA.

  24. Jacqui G says:

    Hi Susan,
    I went to our local farmers market this morning too! BUT before I went I made a big batch of GAZPACHO. The very best thing to eat in the hot summer months. Very easy- 4 plum tomatoes, 2 cukes, 1 small red onion, 1 jalapeno (or not if you don’t like a bit of spice), 2 red peppers, 3 cloves garlic. Rough chop each separately in the food processor and then mix together. Add 3 cups of tomato juice, 1/4 cup Olive Oil, 1/4 cup white wine vinegar, 2 tbs Worcester sauce and 2 tsp salt. Sprinkle with a bit of chopped cilantro. Cover and chill for a couple of hours- YUMMY, lo-cal and summer-good:)
    FOSB 4-ever
    Jacqui

  25. I LOVE farmer’s markets. There’s so much color and yummy goodness there 🙂 🙂 I won’t be going today…but it’s twice a week here in my town..on Thursdays and Saturdays. Plus, there are many other farmer’s markets in the area…. 🙂 🙂 Enjoy the farmer’s market and the tomatoes 😉 🙂 I’d like to learn to make homemade ketchup with tomatoes someday 🙂 🙂 Have a great weekend. Love and hugs from Oregon, Heather 🙂

  26. Barbie Tabb, Wolverine Lk MI says:

    Hi Susan, you asked for tomato recipes. Hmm this isn’t one BUT it’s a great recipe for summer, using produce from the farmer’s market – and yes! I went to my local farmer’s market this morning…..in Pontiac Michigan – the Oakland County Farmer’s Market…it’s been there something like 60 years. Yummy food, gorgeous flowers and perennials, eggs, herbs, nice people! So here’s my recipe. I didn’t invent it but I love it and make it often each summer!!

    Barb’s Squash with Basil and Feta

    Olive oil
    4 cups squash – zucchini and/or yellow squash, sliced fairly thin
    2 cups leeks, sliced and washed
    Salt
    Fresh ground pepper
    4 oz crumbled feta cheese
    Handful finely chopped fresh basil

    Heat skillet, add oil.
    Add squash and leeks, sauté til tender crisp.
    Stir in salt and pepper.
    Transfer to serving bowl. Sprinkle with feta cheese and basil.

  27. Joan Watson says:

    I got this recipe from Country Magazine years ago and it is wonderful!

    Marinated Tomatoes

    3 large fresh tomatoes, sliced thick
    1/3 cup olive oil
    1/4 cup red wine vinegar
    1 tsp. salt, optional
    1/4 tsp. pepper
    1/2 garlic clove, minced
    2 tbsp. chopped onion
    1 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
    1 tbsp. chopped fresh basil or 1 tsp. dried basil

    Arrange tomatoes in a large shallow dish. Combine remaining ingredients in a jar; cover tightly and shake well. Pour over tomato slices. Cover and refrigerate for several hours. Enjoy!

  28. Holly says:

    One of my favorite tomato recipes – Roasted Tomato Sauce! You need the meaty tomatoes for this, the kind that are more paste-like. Preheat oven to 425. Lightly oil some cookie sheets. Take 6 lbs. of halved and cored tomatoes and arrange in a single layer on the cookie sheets. Strip leaves from 12 sprigs of fresh herbs and sprinkle over the tomatoes. Slice 3 large garlic cloves and place over tomatoes. Drizzle all with 3 tbsp. olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. Roast for about 1-1/2 hours, until a thick sauce has formed and water has evaporated. Stir every 15 minutes or so while it’s cooking. Cool slightly and blend until smooth. Add more salt and pepper, if you like. Use immediately or freeze.

    You can vary the herbs to create different kinds of sauces. For spaghetti sauce, try oregano, basil, thyme and marjoram. Use cinnamon, cumin and lemon zest for a Middle Eastern flavor. Be creative!

    You will absolutely LOVE this!

    • f. says:

      Have never made my own tomato sauce, but always wanted to… going to try yours. Thank you!!

    • Jayne says:

      I’m famous for this tomato sauce. You just can’t go wrong. I’ll have to try it with a Middle Eastern flavor.

  29. erin says:

    my fave tamater (that is what we call them) recipe right now, is Caprese Salad! layer…a thick slice of tamater, fresh from the garden basil leaves, slice of fresh goat cheese (traditional recipe calls for mozzarella) and drizzle with balsamic. i’ll have to try your recipe soon, especially since it looks “cute” in a jar. CUTE matters! i am so happy to have found your sweet blog.

    erin
    xxoo

  30. Dee Van Ingen says:

    I DID go to our Farmers Market this am – was there by 8 because my FAVORITE peach vendor sells out if you’re NOT there early and the peaches are IN here in the Delaware beach area!!! We have TONS of tomatoes in our own veggie garden…………been having tomato and cucumber sandwiches for the past two days!!!!!! Getting ready to fix the fresh corn-on-the-cob for supper….enjoy the remainder of your day!!!!!!!

  31. I am so thrilled to find your blog today! I LOVE your books! I’m a BIG fan! So I added your blog to my favorite list! Thanks! And enjoy your weekend! ♥

  32. Angie(Tink!) says:

    Good Evening Sweet Sue…so How was The Farmer’s Market? I know it had to be Glorious! We’ve been tucked in Today…it’s been a Stormy Gray Day…nice to sleep in & then stay Cozy watching Movies….I Told Herbster bout Your Summer Tomatoes in a Jar…He said We Will do that…Yum…Now I’m craving a couple of BLTS…lol…I better get that Bacon going….Hugzzz & L♥ve To You & Joe & Kitty…have You been enjoying The Thunder Moon?….very Magical Indeed! Wishing You an Enchanted~Evening & a Scrumptious~Sunday! ahhhhhhh…these Lazy Hazy Crazy Days of Summer! xoxo Poof!♫♥ 🙂

  33. Carol C says:

    I made your baked tomato salad and served it to my quilting group last Monday. We also had chicken/pasta salad and crusty bread for mopping the tomato juices. Lemon pie for dessert. Everyone wanted the recipe for the tomato salad but when they saw the book it came from they decided they had to have the whole book. More new SB fans!

  34. grace thorne says:

    actually got to the farmer’s market last wednesday morning at 7 am, yes that’s right, 7 am. we got peas, cukes, beets, carrots, summer squash and cinnamon bread but no green beans or corn or tomatoes yet. they had “backyard beauties,” which are hydroponically grown tomatoes here in maine (madison), but no garden ones yet.

  35. Virginia says:

    My farmer’s market trip this morning netted carrots, radishes, white corn, rainbow mix of cherry tomatoes, a few heirloom tomatoes (black krim), raspberries, blueberries, local walnuts and a jar of raw honey.

    Next week I’ll be sure to buy more tomatoes so I can try the “summer in a jar” recipe. Sounds yummy!

    Just got back from a bike ride. Now I’m off to the kitchen to bake and decorate cookies for a friend’s 86th birthday.

    Sounds like everyone is having a wonderful Saturday.

  36. Gert says:

    Oh Susan, what a fun day I’m sure you had! There is nothing better than going to the “Farmers Market”… We did have one here today, but since our heat index was pushing 100 degrees early this morning…we stayed home:( But we did go last Wednesday and bought lots of tomatoes, a big yellow and red one..several medium sized red tomatoes and lots of little yellow cherry tomatoes (actually 2 boxes of them!) smile… I eat them like candy…they are so good.

    One of my favorite tomato recipes is “Tomato Cups” I found in a magazine one time.
    3 large tomatoes
    1/2 C crushed saltines (about 15 crackers)
    1/3 C chopped celery
    1/3 C chopped green peppers
    1/4 C chopped onion
    1/4 C mayonnaise
    1/2 tsp. garlic salt, optional
    1/8 tsp. pepper
    Sliced ripe olives
    Cut a thin slice from the top of each tomato. Leaving a 1/4 inch think shell, scoop out pulp. (discard or ave pulp) Invert tomatoes onto paper towels to drain. In a bowl combine cracker crumbs, celery, green pepper, onion, mayonnaise, garlic salt, if desired and pepper. Mix well. Spoon into tomatoes. Refrigerate until serving. Garnish with olives if desired.

    Always love your blog postings…you are amazing!

    Blessings…
    xoxo Gert

  37. Pat Mofjeld says:

    Here’s my recipe for Salsa:

    6 medium tomatoes, peeled and chopped
    3 green peppers, seeded and chopped
    1 sweet onion, chopped
    1 6-oz. can tomato paste
    2 T. chili powder
    1-1/2 T. Worcestershire sauce
    1/2 T. garlic salt
    24 drops Tabasco sauce (yes, count them!) 🙂
    1-1/2 C. cidar vinegar

    Boil vinegar until reduced by half. Add rest of ingredients and bring to a boil. Simmer 1 hour. Mix 3T. cornstarch with 3/4 C. water. Stir into mixture and bring to a boil. Put in sterilized jars and hot water bath can for 10 minutes. Let sit for 1 month for flavors to meld. (if you can wait that long!) Wonderful with corn chips, also mixed into cooked rice for spanish rice if serving tacos… 🙂

  38. f. says:

    My favorite summer salad with tomatoes. Of course, take out what you don’t like and add what you do, that’s the beauty of it!

    In a food processor, shred iceberg lettuce. I like to also add a small amount of mild darker greens too, in a 3 to 1 ratio, all shredded. Chop, in equal amounts, purple onions, cucumbers, and tomatoes. Then chop black olives. Use a ratio of 1 to 4, less black olives compared to the onions/cucumbers/tomatoes mixture. Combine all ingredients and add red wine and vinegar, mixing well (but gently). Top each serving with crushed croutons and pieces of feta cheese. Enjoy!

  39. deezie says:

    Ahhhh I love fresh garden tomatoes and I love Farmers Markets. Ours is on Monday here in Ct. Its just down the road.
    I remember watching my Grandmother go to her garden and pick a bunch of tomatoes and come in and boil them and then put them through a sieve. Hope that is what its called. She did this to make fresh homemade tomato sauce. Seemed like alot of work but then when it cooked all day,,,, oh my it was like heaven.
    My husband likes tomato sandwiches with mayo, salt and pepper on white soft bread. 🙂
    happy weekend Susan
    deezie

  40. Pat Simon says:

    Here is recipe for Roasted Tomatoes I adapted from one by Ina Garten – pure heaven:

    12 plum tomatoes, haved lengthwise, cores and seeds removed
    4 tablespoons good olive oil
    1 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
    2 large garlic cloves, minced
    2 teaspoons sugar
    1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
    1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

    Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
    Mix all ingredients except tomatoes in a bowl large. Put in the tomatoes and toss gently, coating each tomato half well. Arrange tomatoes on a sheet pan, cut side up, in a single layer. Roast for 25 to 30 minutes, until the tomatoes are concentrated and beginning to caramelize. Can be served warm or at room temperature.

    Ina suggests arranging the tomatoes on the pan, drizzling with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, then sprinkling the garlic, sugar, salt and pepper over the tomatoes. I mixed all the ingredients together and tossed the tomatoes in the mixture because I wanted to make sure all the tomatoes were coated with all the ingredients.

    Hope you enjoy.

  41. Jennifer says:

    Went to the farmer’s market with my 18 year-old daughter and it was one of the best days ever (of course it didn’t hurt that there were lots of cute boys there!!!). Tons of wonderful produce, including tomatoes – since mine are still green. I always try one new thing – today it was “Roman Beans” which look like a cross between a big grteen bean and a fava bean. Not sure how to cook them – will probably blanch then sauté in olive oil and garlic – unless someone has a recipe???? The tomatoes are destined for Panzanella!!

  42. Sarah Anne Nunnelly says:

    My favorite “homegrown tomato” recipe: Generously slather mayonaise on 2 slices of fresh bread. On one slice of bread lay several slices of a fresh, juicy, homegrown tomato. Sprinkle a little salt on top of the tomato slices. Place the 2nd slice of bread on top and eat like nobody’s watching! You’ll have a taste of PURE SUMMER ! You’ll need LOTS of paper towels since it’s very messy!!!

  43. Kimi says:

    Let’s give thanks to God above for this bountiful harvest

  44. Deborah says:

    childhood memories….walking to east park with our lunches packed, and a blanket…the best part of lunch was just picked whole tomatoes from the vine, and a salt and pepper shaker…juicy, and delicious. ( I think our mothers saved this treat for the park picnic, to avoid the resulting drippage from fat juicy sun warmed maters)
    My grown up version of my fav tomato recipe is very simple, but a take of the very Italian dish-Panzenella-
    Wedge the ripest fresh tomatoes you have.
    Wedge slices of red onion, or Videllia onion, equal amounts to tomato.
    Now comes the part I have never measured or done the same any two times,..I just go by the look, smell and taste:
    Fresh basil
    Oregano
    Lots of sea salt and black pepper.
    Wine Vinager and good olive oil.
    Toss, and let sit for about a half hour.

    My family grew up loving this simple summer side dish, and we all loved the resulting “juice” that was the best part! Just dip your Italian bread, rolls, or French bread for the heavenly soggy bites it makes, so filled with flavor of summer.

    The Panzenella version is to add fresh croutons to the dish,…they soak up the “juice” like the bread.
    It’s the best with fresh home grown ‘maters, store bought just doesn’t cut it!

  45. Deborah says:

    PS…I love your farmers market pictures,…..It’s like being there, I can hear the women thinking about what they are going to make with all that bounty!

  46. Sally says:

    Am anxiously waiting for my tomatoes to ripen to try the Summer Tomatoes recipe. Wondered if anyone had a suggestion for a good fruity olive oil?

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