Homegrown tomatoes

I sing the praises of the homegrown tomato!
A few days ago my friend gave me tomatoes from her garden. I wish I were a poet so I could adequately express the heavenly, delightful taste of those tomatoes. We can’t grow tomatoes here: the soil isn’t good, and rabbits and deer will have juicy tomatoes for a midnight snack before the humans can. So for my lycopene intake I’ve been relying on those plasticky things that pass for tomatoes at the grocery store.

Another heavenly fresh vegetable is sweet white corn. A good ear of sweet corn is like candy.

And here’s a recipe that combines my favorite tastes in one dish.

Corn-Tomato Salad
From our local newspaper, July 13, 2000

4 ears already-cooked fresh corn (for about 2 1/2 cups kernels)
2 medium (1 pound) ripe tomatoes
3 scallions (for 1/4 cup chopped)
1/2 cup cilantro leaves, loosely packed
juice of 1/2 lime
Salt (about ¼ to ½ tsp)
Pepper (about 1/8 tsp)

Cut the kernels from the cob into a shallow dish (such as a pie plate). Scrape the cob to remove any remaining kernels and “milk.” Core the tomatoes (but do not peel them) and cut them into roughly 1/4 inch cubes. Add them to the dish as you chop.

Chop the scallions, including enough of the tender green tops to make 1/4 cup. Add the scallions to the dish. Rinse and drain the cilantro leaves, chop and add them to the dish. Squeeze the lime juice into the corn mixture. Toss well to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste.