Sugar Snack Tomatoes Hardly Make It Into The House

This little gem of a tomato has my vote for the sweetest tomato ever. I'm not crazy about a really tart tomato. I love a sweet one. The grape tomatoes are nice, but I think their skin is tough. Nothing tough about this beauty. The plant is growing in my side flower garden along with some herbs. It is as pretty as can be. Bright green foliage with no blemishes, grape like clusters of bright red tomatoes. I work out in the yard near this garden, and before you know it, I have a handful of these yummy goodies. I bring them in the house and yesterday fixed a really nice pasta salad...including some of these. I have sauteed them with olive oil and herbs, put them on a relish tray, stuffed some with a cheese spread...oh, you can do lots with these. Can you imagine slicing them for a BLT, because you are so anxious for this sandwich with a fresh tomato? This one will be in my garden again next year...I hope that I can find it again. Maybe I'll start some from seeds or maybe it will reseed in the ground around the pot that is is planted in.. This is what Burpee says about their prize...

Wonderfully sweet red cherry tomatoes are delicious from the first early harvest up to the first frost. Vigorous plants have heavy foliage to protect fruit from sunburn and bear long clusters with an incredible number of tomatoes. Higher yields than other varieties, and fruit can hold well on the vine. These extra-sweet treats are delicious for snacking right off the vine as well as uses in salads and other dishes. Indeterminate. 65 days

Here is my pasta salad recipe....

I used fusilli pasta. Fusilli (also called pasta twirls) is a small, thick, corkscrew shaped pasta. The word fusilli means "little spindles" in Italian. Green and red varieties of fusilli (or any pasta) are created by using spinach or beet juice, instead of water. There are also whole wheat versions of fusilli available. I used just plain pasta as I didn't want any competition in the colors.

A couple handfuls of halved tomatoes

1/3 chopped English cucumber

1/2 jar pickled baby corn cut in thirds

a hand full of halved ripe olives

chopped parsley

chopped chives

about 1/2 cup leftover black beans these are drained and rinsed a little bit.

Vinaigrette Dressing:

3 tbsp. olive oil

3 tbsp. vegetable oil

3 tbsp. wine vinegar

1/2 tsp. Dijon mustard

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

1 tsp sugar
Shake in jar.

Pour most of the vine. dress. over and mix well. I save some for adding just before serving. At that time I add some cut up romaine lettuce leaves. Put them right in the salad when adding more dressing.

Hope you enjoy this...Balisha