BILOWZ ASSOCIATES INC. is an award winning landscape architectural design firm with a proven philosophy: "Creating Design with Harmony & Balance."
Our company blog, Annie's Gardening Corner, takes a sneak peek at how we balance our own love for everything green + a place to find inspiration, garden ideas and landscape design tips.

To browse our award winning landscape design portfolios, click on our company website at WWW.BILOWZASSOCIATES.COM

Friday, August 20, 2010

It’s a Cherry of a Season


Fresh-picked cherry tomatoes add a sweet dimension unlike any other of the large tomatoes. Brandywine as a big slicer ranks a close second but a ‘Sweet 100’ or a ‘Sweet Million’ Cherry tomato usually tips the sugar content scale on the Brix test. This test measures sugar content in fruit and vegetables. So don’t let your cherry tomatoes split on the vine. The dynamic flavor and sweetness play off many other culinary ingredients. Here are four easy recipes for the weekend barbeques – strictly for these sweet Cherry tomatoes.

2 cups of Cherry tomatoes sliced in halves
Salt & Pepper to taste
Drizzle lemon-infused extra virgin olive oil (Available in specialty stores or create your own)
Add a few fresh sprigs of finely chopped spearmint and basil
Add shaved pecorino cheese (use a vegetable peeler) upon serving.

2 cups of Cherry tomatoes sliced in halves
½ cup of crumbled feta or goat cheese
¼ cup of pitted Nicoise olives
Drizzle extra virgin olive oil (to taste)
Drizzle white balsamic vinegar (to taste)
Fresh ground pepper
Do not add salt – plenty in the cheese and olives

1 cup Cherry tomatoes sliced in halves
1 cup cubed watermelon
Arrange on a plate and drizzle with balsamic vinegar syrup. This is balsamic vinegar reduced. (1 cup makes 1/3 of a cup of syrup boiled down).

The final recipe uses leftover corn on the cob. Don’t let it go to waste. Wrap it up and put the corn in the fridge for the next day to make this hot and spicy salad.

1 cup of corn removed from the cobs (Break up kernels)
1 cup cherry tomatoes sliced in halves
Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar (to taste)
Salt & Pepper to taste
A dash of ancho chili powder and chipotle chili powder to taste (or hotter if you like)
Add a few sprigs of fresh finely chopped cilantro
Toss and refrigerate for at least 1 hour prior to serving. This particular recipe goes great with anything smoked on the barbie!

We wrap up our week with a simple quote by Lewis Grizzard. “It's difficult to think anything but pleasant thoughts while eating a homegrown tomato.“ Enjoy the sweetness of these final summer days. This is peak tomato season so don’t let it slip by without trying some of these simple culinary tips in your kitchen.
Image from the Internet
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© 2009 Ann St. Jean-Bilowz/Bilowz Associates Inc. (including all photographs, unless otherwise noted in Annie's Gardening Corner are the property of Bilowz Associates Inc. and shall not be reproduced in any manner nor are they to be assigned to any third party without the expressed written permission and consent of Bilowz Associates Inc.)