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Some of my fondest memories of time spent with my father during my childhood include the hours we spent outside planting and tending our substantial vegetable garden. There is nothing quite so satisfying as the taste of food you have grown yourself.
My dad is a native of New Jersey, otherwise known as the Garden State. He grew up on a farm where, legend has it, my grandmother grew the best veggies around. It is no wonder the man knows how to grow tomatoes! And hopefully he has passed that green thumb down to me. Therefore, I wanted to share some ideas and recipes for the delicious homegrown to’mater.
Gardening has recently become a fun activity for my toddler son and I to do together, just as it was in the past for my dad and I. I love to see the proud look on my boy’s face as he helps with his small shovel, rake and wheelbarrow. Even though he generally prefers the taste of tomatoes that have been cooked (i.e. tomato sauce on pasta or pizza), I think this shared activity is important in teaching him the concept of how food is grown. Also, I feel like, at summer’s end, after all the anticipation of waiting for our tomatoes to come up, he may be so excited that he’ll be a convert to the fresh tomato. If you grow it, they’ll eat it!
Homegrown tomatoes are so different from the ones you buy in the grocery store. In the store you may find standard beefsteak (usually shipped green and they never fully ripen), and sometimes the vine-ripened which are marginally better, along with grape or cherry tomatoes. They are usually hybrids that are bred to withstand being shipped great distances and to stay fresh a long time. These tomatoes will work for your recipes, but this summer you may want to try something different.
There is a whole other world of tomatoes in a wide ranging variety of shapes, colors, and sizes. They come in beautiful hues from deep red to purple, yellow, and everything in between including green zebra striped. Each year I end up planting more and more varieties of tomatoes.
Some of these varieties are known as Heirloom tomatoes, which have passed down through generations. One of my favorite menu items that you can find at restaurants featuring locally grown food is the delicious Heirloom Tomato Salad. It’s a really simple dish that is easy to recreate at home, just fresh sliced tomatoes lightly dressed with olive oil and vinegar, salt and pepper. Each mouthful is like a taste of summer.
The reason you don’t see the vast variety of tomatoes that are out there in the supermarket is because shipping these beauties is nearly impossible; they are more prone to cracking and less disease resistant than the standard hybrids. So you have to grow them yourself or buy them at the local farmstand. So if you can’t get your kids to eat the standard “garden variety” tomatoes raw, try growing them yourself in a new variety of shapes and colors and see if they like it!
©2026 CDKitchen, Inc. No reproduction or distribution of any portion of this article is allowed without express permission from CDKitchen, Inc.
To share this article with others, you may link to this page:
https://www.cdkitchen.com/cooking-experts/pamela-chester/1065-tomatoes/
You Say Tomato, I Say To'mater
Some of my fondest memories of time spent with my father during my childhood include the hours we spent outside planting and tending our substantial vegetable garden. There is nothing quite so satisfying as the taste of food you have grown yourself.
My dad is a native of New Jersey, otherwise known as the Garden State. He grew up on a farm where, legend has it, my grandmother grew the best veggies around. It is no wonder the man knows how to grow tomatoes! And hopefully he has passed that green thumb down to me. Therefore, I wanted to share some ideas and recipes for the delicious homegrown to’mater.
Gardening has recently become a fun activity for my toddler son and I to do together, just as it was in the past for my dad and I. I love to see the proud look on my boy’s face as he helps with his small shovel, rake and wheelbarrow. Even though he generally prefers the taste of tomatoes that have been cooked (i.e. tomato sauce on pasta or pizza), I think this shared activity is important in teaching him the concept of how food is grown. Also, I feel like, at summer’s end, after all the anticipation of waiting for our tomatoes to come up, he may be so excited that he’ll be a convert to the fresh tomato. If you grow it, they’ll eat it!
Homegrown tomatoes are so different from the ones you buy in the grocery store. In the store you may find standard beefsteak (usually shipped green and they never fully ripen), and sometimes the vine-ripened which are marginally better, along with grape or cherry tomatoes. They are usually hybrids that are bred to withstand being shipped great distances and to stay fresh a long time. These tomatoes will work for your recipes, but this summer you may want to try something different.
There is a whole other world of tomatoes in a wide ranging variety of shapes, colors, and sizes. They come in beautiful hues from deep red to purple, yellow, and everything in between including green zebra striped. Each year I end up planting more and more varieties of tomatoes.
Some of these varieties are known as Heirloom tomatoes, which have passed down through generations. One of my favorite menu items that you can find at restaurants featuring locally grown food is the delicious Heirloom Tomato Salad. It’s a really simple dish that is easy to recreate at home, just fresh sliced tomatoes lightly dressed with olive oil and vinegar, salt and pepper. Each mouthful is like a taste of summer.
The reason you don’t see the vast variety of tomatoes that are out there in the supermarket is because shipping these beauties is nearly impossible; they are more prone to cracking and less disease resistant than the standard hybrids. So you have to grow them yourself or buy them at the local farmstand. So if you can’t get your kids to eat the standard “garden variety” tomatoes raw, try growing them yourself in a new variety of shapes and colors and see if they like it!
Heirloom Tomato Salad
Made with basil, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, sea salt and black pepper, heirloom tomatoes
Made with basil, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, sea salt and black pepper, heirloom tomatoes
Serves/Makes: 4
- 4 heirloom tomatoes, such as brandywine, black krim or yellow (or any variety of homegrown tomato)
- sea salt and black pepper
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 1 small bunch basil
Slice tomatoes and place them on a platter.
Sprinkle with sea salt and black pepper and drizzle olive oil and balsamic vinegar over the tomatoes.
Slice the basil leaves and sprinkle on top.
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©2026 CDKitchen, Inc. No reproduction or distribution of any portion of this article is allowed without express permission from CDKitchen, Inc.
To share this article with others, you may link to this page:
https://www.cdkitchen.com/cooking-experts/pamela-chester/1065-tomatoes/