Today is another TomatoMania Monday. My tomatoes are at their height of production. My five pots have brought me quite a bounty.

Of course the irony is that I still can’t eat them. Because if I have not mentioned it lately, I still have a broken jaw. 

I say I can't eat them, but I should say I can't eat them in their solid form.

I know I declared with exhaustion that Sup! can't soup no more. But here I am bringing back another great summer soup.

This is a Cold Tomato Soup with Cucumber and Cantaloupe. This is a spectacularly good soup. Especially when you have impeccable tomatoes as most of us do this time of year.

I make this soup every summer. I look forward to this soup. I discovered it while staying out in Palm Springs for the weekend at a friend's house a few years ago.

When is cheese just cheese and when is it a stroke of genius? Is there even a difference between artisanal cheese and plastic wrapped grocery store cheese?

Of course there is a difference. But does that difference amount to much? Well, yes, and no!

I love the big bold flavor of good ole American Cheddar cheese.

But to be fair, I should say I love the big, bold flavor of good ole American Cheddar style cheese.

And to further define what I mean I am only referring to Farmhouse Cheddar. Because all the other styles (even the much beloved New York style) just do not stand up to the original in my opinion.

Technically, only cheeses produced in 4 counties of the South West of England (Somerset, Devon, Dorset, and Cornwall) may be given the Protected Designation of Origin name "West Country Farmhouse Cheddar"

Ahhh summer.  The anticipation of fresh ripe tomatoes and all that evokes can turn, as July becomes August, into elation, satisfaction and then often into frustration. “What do I do with all these tomatoes!?”
 
Such a problem!
 
Yes, flavorful summer tomatoes are beginning to pile up on kitchen counters in many areas of the country right about now.  The problem truly does become what to do with the harvest before the beauties you’ve worked so hard to produce become candidates for the compost pile.
 
The neighbor peeking over the back fence probably has a few ideas and doubtless you’ve shared your bounty with those near and dear. But the key is to enjoy them in every way possible now and then work out ways you can preserve them and use them later on this season and this year.

Hey tomato lovers, when is Louisiana just like New Jersey?

Heard that one before?

Well, when it comes to the enthusiasm for and an emotional attachment to summers gone by; the robust taste of our favorite garden vegetable connects these two diverse regions. How many times have I been asked, “Do you know of any tomatoes that are as good as an old-fashioned Jersey tomato?” There is definitely a bayou version of that same question, though with a decidedly different accent.

I’m in Louisiana visiting family and friends, and once again in search of the Creole tomato. Given it’s July and tomato seasons are early here who knows what I’ll find.

Well, big news at SippitySup. First things first. It's Monday and we have Scott here for more tips and encouragement for all of us TomatoManiacs.

Just in time because my harvest is starting to come in. I have quite a few small orange cherries from my Jenny plant. I even have one beautiful green-shouldered black tomato called, Nyagous. I picked it the morning I left for Sonoma and decided to let it sit and sweeten on the window sill a bit more while I was away for the long weekend.

You can imagine how excited I was to get back here and slice into that beauty and have my first real taste of a big juicy summer tomato.

But life, she is a bitter muse. Because she dealt me an irony that is almost epic in its comic proportions.

I broke my jaw in Sonoma and have had my jaw wired shut. It may be closed tighter than a tin can for the next 6 weeks! Can you stand it? A food blogger that can't eat! I would be laughing right now if it did not hurt so much...

I have spent countless weeks attempting to grow perfect tomatoes and now I can only look at them. This photo from the first of my harvest is going to have to satiate my tomato appetite.

And before anyone asks about the mysterious circumstances of my accident. Let's just say it involved 7 kids and one foolish adult in a game of tag. Because what happens in Sonoma stays in Sonoma! GREG