Grow Your Own Sandwich
My Homegrown Sandwich (aka The Most Rewarding Lunch)
Spring is in the air. The sun is a little brighter. Between the clouds and rain there are days of warmth to bask in. My spirits begin to lift with the sun. My mind trails to the fl
ower beds and all I need to do to get them ready for a new season. Then, I begin to dream about eating a tomato sandwich. It has to be the best thing I have ever put into my mouth. The rich, tangy, sweet flavor of a juicy red tomato between two slices of bread. This combination leaves my stomach feeling healthy and satisfied.
A homegrown tomato simply cannot be compared to any other. Between two slices of nutritious whole grain bread, maybe a slice or two of cucumber or green pepper, a tomato sandwich can be a well balanced meal. Now, just imagine this delectable creation on a slice of homemade bread still warm from the oven. With this dream in my head, I have begun working on my bread making skills. This skill has turned out surprisingly easy with the new bread machine I received at Christmas. All I have to do is measure out about five ingredients, plug it in and within an hour my kitchen smells heavenly and I have a perfect loaf of bread. Using honey instead of sugar and adding whole grains, nuts, or seeds makes for a nutritious loaf of bread. My trials have been so easy and delicious that I am determined to try to make all of the bread my family eats.
I stumbled upon a new bread recipe in one of my favorite magazines that was so mouth-watering I had to test it out. This one could not be made in the bread machine but follows a time-tested recipe that is based on using less yeast and allowing extra fermentation time to convert the starch into simple sugars resulting in more flavor. This recipe sounded like it would take more time than it was worth but I found it was all in small steps and spread out so I did not feel overwhelmed. I actually sprouted my own wheat 
berries from a seed packet off the rack here at Fairview which at first sounded strange to me but made the bread slightly crunchy with a wonderful hint of wheat flavor. Using the wheat berries significantly increases the nutrition of your bread and makes it more easily digestible. The resulting loaf of bread was so perfect in texture and flavor that the whole loaf was almost gone before I realized I needed to stop tasting and save some for my husband! (Recipe via)
Take some time this spring and summer to relish the days when everything was not so convenient and commercial. Choose your favorite tomato variety to grow this spring. Celebrity or Better Boy produces consistent medium size tangy round tomatoes, German Johnson is a lower acid, pinkish tomato or choose from an assortment of heirlooms of which Cherokee Purple tends to be a favorite. Here is a list of sandwich tomatoes we are growing for 2013:
Traditional Varieties:
- Better Boy
- Park’s Whopper
- Celebrity
- Rutgers
- Early Girl
- Lemon Boy
- Roma
- Better Bush
- Big Daddy
Heirloom Varieties:
- Cherokee Purple
- Brandywine
- Mortgage Lifter
- German Johnson
- Pineapple
We also carry a wide selection of smaller tomato varieties.
Consider adding cucumbers and a colorful red, yellow, or green pepper to your garden or pot. Toss in some herbs, a little fertilizer, water and a sunny spot. Dream about that juicy, red, homegrown tomato sandwich you will be eating in the sultry days of summer.
Happy planting and devouring!