Tomatoes in all their glory

Enveloped by blue sky and sunshine that manages to make everything glow brighter and greener, Seattle summers are magical. You walk out the door and can't help but smile.

This summer has been a big fat tease. A week or two here and there, us Seattlelites were blessed with the former. We did all the things we never really get to do (at least appropriately). We played volleyball on the beach, swam in lakes, tested our toes in the Sound, and unabashedly showed off our porcelain sun deprived skin in bathing suits and tanks.

And as summer slips through our fingertips into Fall, I want to share with you some recipes. Recipes I should have shared with you a lot earlier, BUT it's not too late. Last weekend I went to my local farmers market and was in complete awe of the produce. I frantically rushed around with my tote bag checking everything out and then checking it out again. I was in a hurry for a wedding so I didn't get a chance to buy everything that I wanted, but I did buy a couple of nectarines. These nectarines. These nectarines. I took a bite and my shoulders slumped, my eyes rolled back. Damn that was a good nectarine. Juicy and concentrated, it sang. It was quite good paired with Mt. Townsend Creamery's Cirrus cheese as well.



I felt much of the same way about those nectarines that I felt about the tomatoes I bought a month earlier. You have no idea you have been eating mediocre tomatoes (or nectarines, or any produce for that matter) until you slip your teeth into a piece of produce that has been carefully planted and cultivated.

I bought beefsteak tomatoes from Billy's in the market and I would be plenty happy eating them alone with a little kosher salt and pepper, but I saw a simple preparation in Sunset magazine and had the additional ingredients.

Thick slices of fruity tomatoes are dressed with fresh oregano, crumbled feta, olive oil, balsamic, and finished with salt and pepper. The fruitiness of the tomatoes lingers with ease with the salt from the feta, acid from the balsamic, and smoky oregano. I sat down with my pretty plate, took a bite, and proclaimed "Mmmmmmmm..." to no one but myself. This is what a tomato tastes like. Lovely and brilliant.



Tomato and Feta Salad
Sunset magazine

Arrange sliced tomatoes on a platter and top with chopped or small leaves of fresh oregano and crumbled feta. Drizzle olive oil and balsamic vinegar on top and season with salt and pepper.