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On Tomato Season & A Straightforward Way To Make Them Sing

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by Lisa Giroday, Sandra Lopuch and Sam Philips | Does writing about tomatoes ever get boring? That’s a rhetorical question. With the insanely gorgeous weather we’ve had this year (to balance out the nagging fears and nightmares of imminent blight-infestation involving the solanaceae family that gardeners ran up against last season), this may possibly be THE BEST tomato year we have had ever. Seriously, how many instagram photos can we post and re-gram of others’ insane bounties of Yellow Perfections, Green Zebras, Black Cherries, and Early Cascades in their dizzying array of opulent, vivid colours? No seriously, tell us when you get tired of them, because a few more might sneak their way into the mix. Restraint is difficult when a season is this awesome.

We wrote about tomatoes at last year’s harvest and featured instructions on how to make a panzanella salad. This year we offer an easy tomato and arugula salad recipe with a simple, kickass dressing; a reminder of how easy summer dinners (or lunches) are at your fingertips. Check it out:

Tomato and Arugula Salad (serves 4)

1 small onion or a few scallions
1 bunch of arugula
4-6 tomatoes, sliced or diced (your preference), depending on size
1/3-cup olive oil
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
Tsp Dijon
1 clove garlic, minced
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Prepare the dressing, an all-round, simple favourite (so feel free to apply it any green salad), by whisking the olive oil, apple cider vinegar, Dijon, and garlic with a little salt and pepper.

2. Lay down tomatoes on a wide plate, then arugula, then onions (or scallions).

3. Drizzle on the dressing. Lightly toss, but not too much. See? So easy it hurts!

THE VICTORY GARDENS ARCHIVE

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Victory Gardens is a team of local urban farmers for hire. Lisa, Sandra and Sam help transform tired or underused residential and commercial green spaces into food producing gardens. Their goal is to challenge the way communities use space and to participate in the change needed to consume food more sustainably. For the rest of the growing season, they’ve hooked up with Scout to share some cool tips and tricks on how to get the best from of our own backyards.