Thou Shalt Not Covet That Tomato

I love my office. It’s a sunny little room just beyond the kitchen in the back of our house with built in bookshelves, French doors on one side and a window seat looking out to the garden on the other. The only trouble is, the view can be distracting. Take, for instance, this Kellogg’s Breakfast tomato I’ve been oggling for days.

It’s ENORMOUS—and my ‘big’ tomatoes have traditionally not worked out so well, so this is a big deal. It’s turning the most delightful shade of Dreamsickle orange. And it’s so enticing that when I’m supposed to be focused on other things, like, say writing a blog post or editing my novel, instead I’m fantasizing about what I’ll do with this beaut when I finally pluck it from its roost. Will I cut it into chunks for a panzanella? Or slice it up for a BLT with really good bacon, really good bread, real mayo, and arugula in lieu of lettuce? It’s too seductive on its own to be sullied with any sort of heat. Maybe I’ll go with my most recent favorite—discovered as the answer to a desperate “what should I eat?” at 2:00 pm—a piece of good bread toasted, rubbed with garlic, spread with avocado, layered with tomato slices, topped with crumbled feta and anointed with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of Malden sea salt. Sheer bliss, I tell you.

But those are all my safeties, my ‘been there-done that’s.’ I want to hear what you think I should do with this behemoth beauty . . . what’s your favorite way to enjoy the perfect tomato?

Tags: heirloom+tomatoes, tomato, summer, tomato+sandwich