US: Perfect weather makes perfect tomatoes,

Tomato season has arrived and area farmers report that the crop is bountiful. "It's the best I have ever seen," says Donald Tripp of Tripp Farm in Little Compton, R.I. "The tomatoes are perfect. We haven't had the wet weather that we had last year which ruined the crop," he notes.Mr. Tripp, who has been growing tomatoes for more than 40 years, says that if Mother Nature continues to deliver sunny days and warm weather, farmers will be picking different varieties of tomato up to Thanksgiving.The farmer sells his produce on Wednesdays and Saturdays at the Fall River Farmers' Market. He also delivers fresh vegetables every morning to small stands such as the one located at 59 Pine Hill Road in Westport and on Long Highway in Little Compton, where shoppers pay using the honor system."The tomatoes are reasonably priced and very fresh," says Sandy Wagner of Largo, Fla., who was helping her father at the farmers' market during a family vacation in Rhode Island. She recalled that, as a child, she spent many Saturday mornings falling out of bed before dawn to pick tomatoes to sell at the farmers' market."It was a nightmare," she says of sloshing through fallen tomatoes in the dark. Nevertheless, the cause was a good one. "People around here are spoiled by Little Compton and Westport tomatoes," she says of the produce at the Fall River Farmers' Market, noting the area's good soil.Ms. Wagner's favorite way to serve fresh beefsteak tomatoes is sliced and topped with a splash of balsamic vinaigrette, crumbled blue cheese or Gorgonzola and red onion. "It's awesome," she says, smiling. "It's a tasty, nutritious snack or way to serve tomatoes in the summertime."While there has been much confusion as to whether the tomato is a fruit or a vegetable, scientists will tell you that, technically, it's a fruit. Because a tomato develops from the plant's ovary and contains the seeds of the flowering plant, botanically it's a fruit or, more precisely, a berry. However, tomatoes are used as a vegetable in the kitchen, contributing to savory dishes rather than to desserts, and are therefore popularly referred to as a vegetable.Whatever you call them, tomatoes are heavy on the vine this summer. Aquecimo Pereira of Tiverton, R.I., agrees that this year's crop is "excellent." Mr. Pereira grows Big Boys, a large variety known for its size. "I had one tomato this year that weighed 3 pounds," he laughs, adding that most of the Big Boys he's harvested this year have weighed at least a pound.The hobby farmer, who owns a small 2-acre farm, obtains his tomato seeds from Portugal. His wife adds fresh tomatoes to roasted meat dishes and homemade soups, and often packs extra nutrition into a noontime meal by adding a thick slice of tomato to a favorite sandwich. "The Big Boys should be firm and meaty," he says.Swansea resident Ann Marie Ward says she shops at the farmers' market because the produce is always fresh and priced within her budget. "I bought a lot of tomatoes," she says. "My daughter is a vegetarian, so I stuff them."Mrs. Ward fills her tomatoes with cooked rice, pine nuts, chopped mint, parsley and onion, seasoned with salt, pepper, cinnamon and allspice. The busy educator notes that the rest of the family enjoys their tomatoes stuffed with a combination of sautéed ground beef, onion and pine nuts, and served on a bed of rice."I also serve tomatoes with sliced fresh mozzarella, drizzled with a little balsamic vinegar and oil, seasoned with salt and pepper," she adds. Sue Medeiros, a shopper from Dighton, says that she's been enjoying fresh tomatoes since her childhood spent growing up on a family farm in Taunton. "You can't beat the flavor of a fresh tomato," she says. "They ripen right on the vine."Mrs. Medeiros' favorite way to eat a tomato is to add a thick slice to a cheeseburger or BLT. She also uses tomatoes as an ingredient in omelets, adding chourico, diced green peppers and onions. "This is peak time for tomatoes," she says, urging shoppers to support their local farmers."Roadside stands are going to become extinct pretty soon," Mrs. Medeiros laments, noting that many small farmers cannot compete with large commercial enterprises and subsequently are selling their land to developers. She maintains that the best-tasting fruits and vegetables are those that were just picked fresh from the field."People can still come to a farmers' market and buy the same quality produce that they bought years ago," she concludes, surveying a wooden basket overflowing with beefy tomatoes just waiting to be eaten.
Source: southcoasttoday.com
Publication date: 8/29/2007