Heirloom Tomatoes

It's official, I am addicted to summer. Very addicted. It's a problem. When it is a bagillion degrees out and everyone's freaking out because walking down the street barely seems feasible, there I am standing in the sun and wondering what the big deal is. On the flip side it's even more of a problem when I am indoors with air conditioners blowing at minus a bagillion degrees and everyone's final happy, except for me. Me? I am sitting there with full length pants and sweater, shivering and wondering what the hell is wrong with these people. Clearly, I have temperature issues. However, regardless of these minor frustrations along the way, summer just rocks, especially when squash, corn and heirloom tomatoes are beyond plentiful.

Of the summer harvest, heirloom tomatoes are without a doubt my favorites. Heirloom tomatoes fall into that cliche category of vegetables (ok, fruits) that, when bought in season, make you wonder why you ever buy those things that look like tomatoes when they're not in season. Every August, when those first sweet, juicy slices of almost technicolor tomatoes make their way onto my plate, I ask myself that question. Then as I take my first bite, I stop thinking and start enjoying, because needless to say these babies won't be around all year.

In my experience, the only problem with heirloom tomatoes is choosing them. So often they are marred with blemishes and cracks, that make them seem like they aren't 'good' when really that's how they should look. So, to make sure everyone is on the same page, I would like to offer a few heirloom tomato purchasing tips.

Shisito Peppers

If you were in New York City this past weekend, you know how brutally hot it was. If you weren't, I am going to assume that regardless of where you live, you've experienced brutally hot weather at some point. But no, I am not here to talk about the weather, although I find that I always have a lot to say on the topic....not the point. The point is, it was hot hot hot on Saturday and when invited my photographer friend over, I could promise her nothing more than a quick, easy and cold make-your-own salad for dinner.

Between our plan making and dinner, I felt a pang of guilt for not putting any effort into our dinner. After a quick peak in my fridge revealed a bag of shisito peppers that I had gotten at the market earlier in the week, I knew I had my solution. For those of you who don't know, shisito peppers are small green peppers that look a bit like jalapenos, but with a ribbed exterior and thinner walls and skin. These peppers are mildly spicy and are very popular in Japanese cooking, especially for tempuras and stir-fries. Anyhow, after spotting these in my fridge I knew that these would be my extra addition to our meal. Yes, the stove would have to go on, but it wouldn't be on for more than 5 minutes and the final result of slightly charred, blistery peppers to munch on was worth the few extra degrees in the kitchen.

Well my friend was definitely not disappointed in the peppers either and when I started babbling about shisitos, the market and god knows what else, she came up with a brilliant idea. When I have a 'market find' that I am so excited about, I should write about it here.