Heirloom Tomatoes

Most of my gardening efforts are flower beds and on our property I don't have room to plant a vegetable garden. I enjoy entertaining most of the year outdoors so I prefer my flower beds to vegetable gardens. However, this year I decided to plant in pots some different varieties of Heirloom Tomatoes. They have done very well and every morning my husband takes a lot of pleasure in taking tomatoes off the bushes that are ready to pick and bringing them inside.







I planted two Green Zebra's, two yellow pear, a Sioux, a Roma and a French heirloom called Juan Flamme. I think the heirloom varieties are much tastier than most of the hybrids.

This is one of the Green Zebra's.



We have enjoyed our Heirloom Tomato plants and will definitely plant them again next year. They have appeaared in countless salads and I am working on several new recipes.



This has been a favorite recipe using herbs from my garden too. It's a recipe from the newest book of the Houston Junior League called Peace Meals. I highly recommend this book too. It has lots and lots of recipes using the freshest of ingredients and the book has some fabulous photos.

Fresh Tomato Salad with Herbed Dressing

Herbed Dressing

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons minced shallots
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh oregano leaves
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh tarragon leaves
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh Italian flat leaf parsley
1 taplespoon finely snipped fresh chives
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh basil
1 cup diced red tomatoes
1 cup diced yellow tomatoes
1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
1 1/2 teaspoons course salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Salad

5 large red tomatoes, thinly sliced
5 large yellow tomatoes, thinly sliced
course salt and freshly ground pepper
6 cups baby arugula
2 ounces freshly shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Combine the lemon juice, shallots and garlic in a medium bowl. Whisk in the olive oil; add the herbs, diced tomatoes and grape tomatoes. Mix well and season with the salt and pepper.

Arrange the sliced tomatoes decoratively around a large platter, alternating colors; season with salt and pepper. Using a slotted spoon, remove the tomatoe pieces from the dressing and place over the sliced tomatoes; drizzle with three-fourths of the dressing. Toss the arugula with the remaining dressing. Arrange the arugula in the middle of the platter of tomatoes and top with the cheese. Do not refrigerate.

This is such a tasty but beautiful salad.

One day last week I was out in the garden and my grass was getting a little high. This little critter was camaflauged in the grass and I came very close to stepping on him.



Now he is a harmless little Rat Snake and I didn't want to hurt him but he surely gave me a fright.




Today and every Wednesday Susan at A Southern Daydreamer is hosting Outdoor Wednesday. Please go by Susan's blog and see other participants of Outdoor Wednesday.