Tomato Overload!

This Labor Day weekend has been full of wonderful food adventures. I have many to share, so I will start with the most momentous - TOMATOES!

I went picking with my good friends Ashley and Chrissy at Larriland Farms in Woodbine, Maryland. For the tomato offerings, they had cherry, grape, garden (red and yellow), and roma/plum. I picked all of them, of course. Below is a picture of my total pickings for the day.


As you can clearly see, I will be eating tomatoes for every meal for the next several days (or weeks). I'm glad to do it though. For my first tomato meal, I prepared a simple salad with homemade croutons and gorgonzola cheese.

For the croutons:

Ingredients:

• Old bread (I used a baguette)
  
• Olive Oil
• Salt and Pepper
• Other herbs you like (I used fresh thyme)

Cut the bread into 1 inch cubes, or smaller if you prefer. Put them in a baking pan, making sure they are mostly in a single layer. Generously drizzle the oil over the bread pieces, coating each one lightly. Sprinkle on the desired amount of salt, pepper, and herbs. Bake in the oven at 375 degrees for about 20 minutes. I checked mine right at 20 minutes and they were perfectly golden, but keep an eye one them just in case.

For the salad:

Assemble:

• Arugula
• Chopped tomatoes (I used yellow and red garden variety)
• Torn basil leaves
• A handful of croutons
• Gorgonzola cheese
• Olive oil
  
• Balsamic vinegar

This is truly one of the most enjoyable days from beginning to end. Now as I sit digesting all of the produce I've consumed today, I'm watching the US Open and really thinking that life doesn't get much better than this.