Seventeen Tomato Sandwiches

I've been buying heirloom tomatoes one at a time. For sandwiches. These babies are an investment but they're also a meal. For two. Of course they're sweet, juicy, local. Plucked from the vine when they're ripe and not before.

Each sandwich is independent, spontaneous. It's different depending on the contents of the fridge, what I can pick from the backyard garden pots. It's informed by the weather and the farmers' markets.

In my mind a tomato sandwich is bread, tomato, mayo and salt, although I've yet to bite into that childhood tradition this season. I've decided to keep a list of this seasons sandwiches. To see how many local ingredients I can incorporate; to see how the sandwiches change as the summer races by and fall arrives.

I hope the last sandwich with the last tomato of the season will be as memorable as the first when the juice dripped onto my clean laundered shirt and I just didn't care. I suspect it will be, if only for the longing for just one more.

Let me know what you do with your local tomato sandwiches this season. I'll add them to the list and likely try it too.

#1
Cherokee Tomato
Acme Ciabatta
Arugula and Shiso
Olive Oil
Sea Salt

#2
Pineapple Tomato
No Knead Bread
Freckles Lettuce
Avocado
Mayo
Sea Salt

#3
Cherokee Tomato
Grace Bakery Sourdough
Minced Jalapeno
Andanto Chevre
Bariani Olive Oil
Sea Salt

#4
Big Red Heirloom Tomato
Penngrove Sourdough
Dark Edged and Feather Leafed Lettuce
Prather Ranch Bacon
Mayo

#5
Cherokee Tomato
Grilled Ciabatta
Spinach
Jersey Milk Monterey Jack
Butter

#6 From Simple Green Frugal
Tomato
Homemade Yogurt Roll
Local Gouda
Basil

#7 From Simple Green Frugal
Tomato
Homemade Yogurt Roll
Roasted Zucchini and Eggplant
Gouda

#8 From Chocolate Crayons
Tomato
Sourdough
Cheddar Cheese
Parsley
Salt and Pepper

#9 From A Sonoma Garden
Tomato
Crusty Bread Sprinkled w/Dry White Wine
Gruyere Cheese
Dijon Mustard
Broiled

#10 From Chile Chews
Tomato
Nice Sourdough
Basil
Salt
Toasted

#11 From Live Green Wear Black
Tomato
Acme Seeded Baguette
Smoked Tofu
Avocado
Squeeze of Lime

#12
Beefsteak Tomato
Brickmaiden Sourdough
Cress and Mizuna
Butter
Sea Salt

#13
Cherokee Tomato
Wildflour Seeded Wheat Bread
Cucumber
Slices of Jalapeno
Olive Oil
Sea Salt

#14 From Melissa at Better Living
Tomato
Local Sourdough
Mozzarella
Basil
Olive Oil

#15 From Melissa at Better Living
Full Belly Farm Heirloom Tomato
Toasted Sumano's Sourdough
Rouge Et Noir Brie

#16
Azoychka Yellow Tomato
Seeded Whole Wheat Sourdough
Cilantro Pesto w/Walnuts & Bulgarian Banana Chile
Sea Salt

#17
Early Girl Tomato
Brick Maiden Sourdough Toasted w/Ghee
Bacon (Optional)
Campfire

25 comments:

Unknown said...

Yummy sandwich ideas. I currently grow Big red heirloom and Cherokee tomatoes in my garden. For the past 3 years, I've been saving my own heirloom seeds.

hmd said...

Tomato sammies are one of my all time favorites: Here are two of mine:

1) homemade yogurt roll; toasted with fresh, local gouda cheese, topped with basil and thick slice of tomato

2) homemade yogurt roll; toasted with fresh, local gouda cheese, topped with a thick slice of tomato, and roasted zucchini, squash and eggplant slices

Both a wonderfully delicious!

Green Bean said...

How great are heirloom tomato sandwiches? Thanks for some more ideas on what to put with them.

Donna said...

My favorite is a childhood memory from a sandwich my grandma made me when I was about 12. They had a huge garden, so everything was fresh.

Sourdough bread, slices of your favorite tomato, thin slice of cheddar cheese, chopped parsley sprinkles, salt and pepper.

Anonymous said...

Great idea, having a list of tomato sandwiches. One of my favorites is a slice of crusty bread sprinkled with dry white wine, dijon mustard, a slice of gyuere cheese (how do you spell that?), topped with a tomato slice and set under the broiler for a few minutes.

Pure heaven!

Jenn said...

I planted 19 varieties of heirloom tomatoes this year - maybe we could have the blogger meet up at my house in August - I should have plenty of tomatoes by then. Check my blog in January for the list of the types I am growing... I have flowers on all plants right now and about five little green tomatoes on different plants....

Chile said...

My tastebuds are on overload just imagining the taste of those tomatoes. I'm partial to a nice bruschetta myself, made with homegrown basil. Unfortunately, I killed my basil plant.

Jenn said...

Chile, with basil, I find it is always better to not put all your future basil consumption on one plant. Buy seeds and start 20 plants. Or 200, like my boyfriend has done... he realllllllllly likes pesto.

Chile said...

Jenn, 1 plant or 20 plants, I'd still kill them all. I've very skilled that way. :)

Donna said...

I'm so glad I'm not the only one who can't keep a basil plant alive. :)

Kale for Sale said...

bobbi - I'm green w/envy. I only have sun gold cherry sized tomatoes in pots. Kudos to you for saving the seeds.

heather - ...and you make the rolls. Can I just come over instead of recreating these at my house?

green bean - Stay tuned. The season is still young.

donna - Can you recreate this sandwich as deliciously as you remember it? I've tried with my Grandma's bean soup and can come close but never quite as good as I remember.

kendra - What can I say? I'm afraid to try this because I may never make a tomato sandwich any other way again.

jenn - That's a lot of tomato sandwiches and definately cause for a celebration. Let me know what kind of sandwiches you come up with as you harvest and I'll add them to the list.

chile, oh killer of all plants basil - What do you put on your bruschetta?

Chile said...

I'm not prejudiced, Katrina, I'll kill any herb or vegetable plant. That's why my sweetie took over the garden. :)

Let's see, for my bruschetta, start with a nice sourdough French bread or a baguette, sliced medium thick. While the bread is lightly toasting in the toaster oven, slice tomatoes thinly. Lay a few slices on each piece of bread, overlapping to cover the entire surface. Top with chopped fresh basil and a generous sprinkle of salt. Toast until heated through but don't burn the basil.

You'll notice this method is not only vegan, it is fatfree. The tastebuds may miss the cheese, but the salt helps fill in that gap. No oil is necessary.

Donna said...

Hi kale,
No, I can't quite reproduce my grandma's sandwich, no matter how often I try. But Chili's making me very hungry!

Donna said...

Oops! I just read Chile's rant about how people can't spell her name!

hmd said...

kale for sale - you betcha! Come on over! I'll have the sammies ready...

Chile said...

LOL, Donna. I just read your first comment and thought, "She better go read my post." Too funny.

Christina said...

Oh my. My tomatoes aren't ripe yet, but I'm drooling for the tomato sandwiches to be. Yum.

Kale for Sale said...

Thanks for the ingredients Ms. Chile and I'm glad we all have your spelling down now.

heather - I'm on my way!

Christina - When the tomatoes get ripe let me know your favorite sandwich combo and I'll add it to the list. I'm shooting for 108 different ones.

Jenn said...

My post-swim lunch at the Berryessa 2 mile was:

Acme seeded baguette, spread with
1/2 avocado
tomato
smoked tofu
squeeze of lime

Kale for Sale said...

jennconspiracy - Two miles! Good job. I hope you had two sandwiches too.

Jenn said...

Ha! yeah - my goggles leaked (not so much of a problem in the pool, but in the lake - it really cuts into your time if you stop every 5 minutes to empty them out) so it took me FOREVER. I wasn't even tired, really. The geese made it faster than me... but did have a second sandwich with a tofurky sausage. :)

BerryBird said...

Mmm, these sandwiches all sound fantastic. My tomatoes aren't ripe yet, so I will have to be patient. The photo of the lettuce is lovely!

Kale for Sale said...

berrybird - When those tomatoes get ripe though, come back so I can add your signature sandwich to the list.

Melissa said...

OK, make it 15...in addition to my basil delight, I had this one yesterday: local sourdough (Sumano's), toasted, local brie (rouge et noir), and local heirloom tomato slices from Full Belly Farm (wouldn't really be a tomato sandwich without this, would it?) I didn't even realize it was 100% local until after I started eating. I love when that happens!

Kale for Sale said...

melissa - I wish I were growing my own heirloom tomatoes but the next best thing is a tomato from Full Belly Farm. I know that sandwich was good!