Cherry Tomatoes

[flyfishermann1955]

Our full-size tomatoes aren't doing very well this year; however, the cherry tomatoes
are doing great. Even giving half of them away, we have all we need!

Tight Lines- Ken

[woody osborne]

if my brother was still at tinker, he'd look you up. homegrown maters are something else.

[Mike N]

I’ve loved tomatoes ever since I was a boy, going up to my dad’s garden with a small pack of salt (from the local Burger Chef) to eat a few. As I grew older my preference turned towards those smaller cherry tomatoes like the ones show. Nothing like the natural sugars in a vine-ripened tomato.

[Adamsdry]

Guy Clark said it best;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-QzLIjL1u4

Love cherry tomatoes on home made pizza.

D

[Fanwing]

Try "Aunt Jane's Crazy Mixed Up Salt" on those.
Most grocery stores around here carry it.
Or....
In a large bowl, we halve them with German Thyme, Greek and Italian Oregano, Garlic Chives, Sage, Rosemary, Parsley, no Basil. fresh from the garden. All to taste.
A little onion salt,garlic powder, olive oil, and white balsamic vinegar.
Toss to combine,and let sit for a bit.
Yeah buddy!

[mer]

Our tomatoes are slow getting red, all the types (cherry, grape, plum and Goliath) this year.
But the cukes, peppers (hot and frying, no Bell), yellow squash and zucchini are going wild.
Bush beans are coming in too (Daphne eats them before they get in the house).

As for eating them:
Off the plant, little salt.
But fresh in a BLT on toasted rye bread with a little mayo and salt, "them's good eating".

[bassman]

I love them but nothing grows good here. Ours flowered but we only got a dozen or less from them. Love the ones we got but one problem may be amount of hoppers we have here the last few years.

[flyslinger]

I love cherry tomatoes. I've had a garden with cherry tomatoes every year for about 20 years. I usually have enough that I give some away to relatives and friends. I grow eggplants, cucumbers, and various peppers and have also shared them.

Occasionally the birds and squirrels have shared some of my bounty, and it never really bothered me. In the past I have considered it a "cost of doing business".

When the virus started changing the way we shopped, by wife encouraged me to grow a little more in the garden, which I tried to do.
Things started out very well, and the garden grew and started producing a very nice potential harvest.

I began to harvest my precious cherry tomatoes, Roma tomatoes, eggplants, bell peppers, and jalapeños all started coming in, and all looked very good for the Summer harvest. Then disaster happened.

For the first time since I've been planting and growing vegetables, the squirrels have descended like a biblical plague on my little garden and have harvested every single fruit and vegetable in it long before they could mature to a point where I would consider picking them and allowing them ripen off the vine. They have left nothing in their wake and have even taken to eating the flowers before the fruit set.

I finally just quit fertilizing and watering my little garden.

It's been a very disappointing summer for me as I usually enjoy at least some of the bounty that the tree rats have decided to completely and absolutely pirate.
I think I'm going to give up gardening.

[Brooks]

I love 'em. My very favorite steak (italian) recipe uses Cherry Tomatoes: Tagliata. (serves two)

I've modified slightly a recipe that was published by Nigella Lawson:
It takes two small to medium sized NY cut steaks
and the sauce:
4 tablespoons of olive oil
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
4 teaspoons of red wine vinegar
16 ounces of Cherry tomatoes cut in half

I put the ingredients (not the steaks) in an appropriate flat bottom bowl. Add the halved tomatoes. Squish the tomatoes into the sauce ingredients with something like an old fashioned potato masher.

Cook the steaks on a very hot barbeque grill for a couple minutes on each side for a rare steak.
Slice the steak into strips and put the slices (and any steak juice) into the bowl with the sauce/tomato ingredients. Stir it up.

Serve the steak strips over a bed of arugula and spoon the cherry tomatoes and sauce over the top. Grate on a little fresh parmesan and add a sprig of fresh oregano.

Gawd it's good.

[uppercreek]

My cherry tomato plants are growing like crazy, but I'm getting very little from my regular tomatoes. I was disappointed, since I love Caprese salad with slices of fresh tomatoes interlaid with fresh mozarella and basil leaves, drizzled with olive oil, until my Italian friend suggested using cherry tomatoes instead. So, I halved a bunch of cherry tomatoes, and mixed them with diced fresh mozarella, chopped fresh basil from the garden, olive oil, and a little salt. Served it on thin slices of sourdough bread with antipasto and good large green greek olives. Delicious! The sweetness of the cherry tomatoes constrasted nicely with the peppery basil and savory meat and olives. Next time I made it I omitted the salt and mixed in the olives directly. Even better! So now I'm happy with my bumper crop of cherry tomatoes.

This post needs a couple of photos:

[DrLogik]

There is a great recipe for a cherry tomato-based pasta dish in the July/August issue of Cook's Illustrated magazine. Check it out!

[16parachuteadams]

One warning if using them on pizza, they will boil inside their skin without bursting and burn the crap out of you when you cut them with the slicer.

[George Carson]

Try cutting them in half lengthwise if using them on pizza. This is also a favorite on salmon with capers, when broiling salmon in the oven.

[BearBio]

I eat a Cesar salad every day for lunch and we didn't buy any cherry tomatoes or cukes all summer. Gave some away along with loads of peppers.