Tomato Girl Summer
It’s the last Summer Friday and I’m spending it doing a deep clean of the apartment and roasting these tomatoes David’s mom gave me from her garden. I’m still trying to figure out what I want this blog to be, something that’s fun and useful but also something that I can do consistently. Maury has dibs on Tuesdays, but Fridays are my day off where I usually do a little bit of self upkeep/care, putter around on the internet and actually have a chance to cook dinner for the first time all week. Cooking/baking is one of my favorite hobbies. It’s a way to express a bit of creativity that ends with something tangibly delicious. There’s also something about lovingly preparing nourishing food that makes me feel grounded. For me, chopping vegetables is akin to gardening for others. It somehow makes me feel more connected to the earth, especially if I get to rinse actual dirt off of them first.
In my kitchen I have the ceramic strawberry canisters that used to belong to my grandmother. She passed when I was in 3rd grade so I barely got to know her, but being a fan of Strawberry Shortcake as a kid, the image of these canisters on her counter, along with the matching strawberry curtains will forever remain a core memory. Every time I scoop out a cup of flour or sugar, I wonder how many times she made these exact same motions. and the woman who gave my dad life and I are connected again. I also have assorted silicone spatulas, and various kitchen gadgets and cookie cutters that my mom would pick up from her outings to Ross (her favorite store) or ordered from some kid’s fundraiser. Most of the time I grab these tools without thinking much about them because they are really useful, my tiny chicken whisk gets way more play than my bigger ones. Other times, I’m stirring and measuring with a lump in my throat and pooling eyes because I know this is all that’s left, there will be no more random, perfectly quirky kitchen finds from my mother. I feel like this is a very specific thing that moms do for their kids, so if you still have a mom that’s doing this, appreciate the love in it because once it’s gone…damn.
I really didn’t set out to get on a tangent about my mother, but it’s inevitable because there’s a piece of her in all I do and for that I’m thankful. I sat down to write about the trend that’s swept the internet, Tomato Girl Summer, of which my mother would approve. Red was her favorite color, so much so we all wore it to her funeral to honor her. I think she just knew it looked great on our skin tone and it’s a classic, just like her.
Here’s some fun finds and a recipe to make your Tomato Girl Summer last a little bit longer:
Tomato Leaf Soy Candle
My neighborhood lost a treasure this week, Pink Olive. It was a great little gift shop that saved me on many occasions when I needed a last minute gift or card or travel candle. Thankfully they aren’t going out of business, just closing near me. Maury and I had to go by one last time to shop the sale and show our appreciation, he had them in his memory bank of local shops that give out dog treats. Amongst other things we grabbed this candle, which is so perfectly fresh and leafy. A great all around candle but perfect in the kitchen, I’m burning it now as I type this.
Essie Nail Polish in Clambake
This is the most tomato red nail polish ever. It was discontinued for a while and I failed to find a dupe that captured the perfect orangey red of this shade. Thankfully the folks over at Essie realized what a huge error it was and brought it back. Looks best on hands holding Bloody Marys or lobster rolls, and sure to give you “an in on the heavy clambakes.”
Sweetheart Bow Dress
This look is what I call, “inadvertently hot,” where you look like a bombshell but not like you’re trying to be overtly sexy. I mean it’s actually called, “Sweetheart Bow Dress.” I love that it has a fun flippy skirt, but it’s long and fitted enough where you don't have to worry about a Marilyn moment on a blustery day. No longer available at Anthropologie, but you can rent it on nuuly, which I have been loving. You get 6 items for $88 a month, and if you fall in love with a piece you can buy it at a discount. It’s been great for weight fluctuations, vacations or just to try out different looks. This is totally not sponsored, but if you want to try it out you can use my code for $20 off your first month.
Platform Converse All Star Chuck Taylor Sneakers
I have been wanting a new pair of Chucks since Kamala was on the campaign trail. I wore out my last pair of Converse until the sides separated from the canvas. They were a lovely sunny yellow, so I wanted to switch it up and pick a different color. But I suffer from the most aggressive form of analysis paralysis. Black ones like the ones I had in high school for nostalgia? Nah, because I already have black and white Vans. Pink would be an obvious choice for me but I also have so many pink shoes and my tiny NYC apartment has no room for footwear redundancy. I thought maybe orange but that the black and white accents would be too Halloween. Wine, but those are A&M’s colors, so gross, no. In the early aughts, I got a pair of red ones, and a matching pair for my niece. I got two packs of shoelaces, one printed with strawberries and the other with hearts. I split them up so we’d have one each, telling her it was because I loved her berry much. I still love her berry much and since the aughts are cool again I’m going back to red. This time updated with a little extra height for this 5’4 gal.
Roasted Tomatoes
Keep scrolling for the recipe below
Okay now let’s get to the eats as promised. My boyfriend’s mom always gives us a ton of summer tomatoes, great for snacking and salads but if you need to use them up before they go bad, roasting is the way to go. Even if preservation isn’t a priority you still might want to roast them because they are delicious. I made the mistake of putting them in a bowl uncovered on the counter and I had to grab one or two every time I walked by. Pretty soon I’d eaten half of the 9x13 pan’s worth of them! So consider yourself warned.
You’ll need the following:
2-3 cups of cherry tomatoes, sliced in halves
1/4 cup of olive oil
Salt & pepper
3-5 garlic cloves (optional)
I like to listen to music while I’m cooking and for this I’d recommend putting on some Dean Martin or Red, Taylor’s Version, of course.
Preheat 425 degrees.
Grab a 9x13 pan and arrange your tomatoes skin side down, cut side up. I love this pan, it always comes clean and doesn’t have any weird coating on it.
Sprinkle your tomatoes with salt and pepper. I used coarse ground salt from the world’s oldest salt mine in Austria, nbd. I only had that because we just got back from vacay, normally I’d go with some flaky sea salt, but any salt is fine. However since these cook down don’t go too crazy with it.
If you are adding the garlic cloves tuck them in evenly wherever there’s space between tomatoes.
Drizzle with your olive oil, I didn’t use anything fancy just the standard extra virgin from Trader Joe’s.
Roast for about 40 minutes, give or take depending on your oven and how much char you want.
These are great on eggs, fish, toast, grilled cheese, or just about anything else you can think you’d want to give jammy tomato vibes. You can also pulse in a food chopper for a nice little pasta sauce, particularly delicious if you added the garlic. It will make enough sauce for two smaller sized servings of pasta. Or you could just keep them in a bowl on the counter and graze like I did.
