pickled tomatoes

A lifetime ago, when I was a kid still living in Poland, each year my mom and grandma would pickle and preserve the little that our small farm would produce. I had no concept of fresh produce in winter or of a supermarket until much later. What veggies we consumed each winter were harvested by us that summer and fall. Now, when I think back on it, I realize how much planning must have gone into making sure we had enough variety (veggies and fruit) to sustain us through the winter.

The first fresh veggie that we got each spring were cucumbers from our neighbor's greenhouse. I cannot describe the taste and smell of the first fresh cucumber of the year, they were heaven...

Well anyway one of my favorite things to eat were my mom's pickled vegetables. Each jar a random combination of onion, carrots, cauliflower and whole tomatoes. I remember fighting with my sisters over the tomatoes if the jar didn't have 3 of them. Pickled tomatoes are really good (or maybe an acquired taste to some), vinegar is the dominant flavor, and they are kind of mushy.

A couple of weeks ago I had a major craving for some pickled tomatoes. When we visited my parents over the Easter weekend I asked if they had some (yup my mom does some preserving here as well, just not on the same scale). The few jars they had were made with habanero pepper and are supposedly really hot... not something I would enjoy... but they had one jar left of just regular pickled tomatoes with onion... but jeez I guess she couldn't find a bigger jar... lol... I wasn't sure if Jay and I could eat all those tomatoes, but then Jay had an idea for a pickled tomato vinaigrette... now that's a winner. It is one of the best vinaigrettes I've ever had. I hope mom makes some more pickled veggies this summer especially tomatoes, now that I've discovered a different way to enjoy them... yum

.... and hmmm pureed they may be a good addition for a kickass Caesar...