Tomatoes in late August

Tomatoes have arrived! Fresh tomatoes from the garden are so delicious that this is the only time I eat them, store tomatoes are just not comparable. Feast or famine, now we have to deal with the abundance of tomatoes. They can be eaten fresh, just slice and eat (or add some basil), they are a staple of salsa (with bell pepper, onion, garlic, and flavorings like jalapeno pepper, basil, parsley, cilantro) and bruschetta. They can be given away to friends, neighbors and organization meetings you attend. You can make friends by giving food. Tomatoes can be frozen for use in soups and stews later in the year. They can be cut in wedges or slices, put on a plate and microwaved one minute, cooled, then frozen. This is the easy alternative to classical blanching where the kitchen gets steamed up as you plunk tomatoes into boiling water, then cool and process. Blanching kills the enzymes in the living cells of the tomato and stops life processes. All my tomatoes are heirloom, meaning the seeds will grow true to the parent plant (vs hybrids where the seeds, if viable, may grow into plants that show characteristics of both parents). Seeds are removed when tomatoes are cut, placed on a piece of 3x4 inch white paper labeled with the variety name and date, and the paper put on a piece to paper towel for a day to draw off excess moisture. The goop attached to the seeds glues them to the paper. When the paper is dry it is put in a paper envelope in the refrigerator where seeds remain viable for several years. The varieties grown differ in the size of the fruit, color, taste, and ease of skin removal. The plants differ in when they start ripening, number, the color of developing fruit and total fruit production. Many people have favorite varieties like Early Girl which has a moderate sized fruit or cherry tomatoes. Experiment with varieties, either heirloom or hybrid, for the tomato features you like best. One catalogue I receive is from Totally Tomatoes which has 33 pages of different tomatoes! A friend just visited and told me about making "Spanish cold tomato soup" using tomatoes, dry bread and seasonings. Don't forget about tomato soups and using garden tomatoes in recipes that call for tomato soup. The stuffed cabbage I make cooks in a tomato broth which is made by putting tomatoes in the blender then pouring it over the cabbage rolls. Don't worry about night temperatures in the 40s. Your refrigerator temperature is in the 40s and you store tomatoes there. If/when frost is predicted harvest remaining green tomatoes and store at room temperature. They will slowly ripen and you should have tomatoes until November or December. Garden tomatoes are the taste of summer. We don't want to think about it, but this weeks low nighttime temperatures are harbingers of fall. Start to think about bringing houseplants inside, both where they will go and checking and treating the plants for the transition indoors. Tropical plants don't like temperatures below 50 and September begins the downward slide. Enjoy fresh tomatoes now. Susan Carty is professor emerita at Heidelberg University.