by Lisa Giroday, Sandra Lopuch and Sam Philips | Here they are: the jewels of summer – tomatoes! The weather has been patchy that until a couple of weeks ago we wondered if our tomatoes would ever be ready. The different colours and variety bewilders. Black Krim, Golden Nugget, Green Zebra, and Oregon Spring are just a few of our favourites. For Heirloom tomatoes, we zero in the Brandywine, Black Prince, Yellow Pear, and Peron types.

If you’re new to growing tomatoes and want to ensure success next year, choose at least one cherry tomato variety, such as Gold Nugget. They are sure to ripen in our climate, and are great in containers (for those of us inhabiting small living quarters). Alternatively, choose a variety that has a shorter maturation time, and one suited to cooler climates, like Early Cascade.

As far as eating tomatoes is concerned, there is no time like the present to make a Panzanella Salad for your next outdoor meal after picking your bounty or hitting up the farmers market. Check out the recipe after the jump…

Panzanella Salad (feeds 8):

4 medium tomatoes – be sure to choose some yellow, purple, and green varieties
1 onion
3 cloves garlic, minced
6-cups of day-old bread (Russian rye is good to throw in with some French)
10 shredded basil leaves
1-cup burrata if you can get your mitts on some
1/2-cup olive oil (for bread)
1/3-cup olive oil (for dressing)
A few splashes of balsamic
s&p to taste

Make sure the tomatoes are at room temperature for optimal flavour – never put these gems in the fridge! The best thing is that all of the above are in season — garlic, tomatoes, onion and basil — woohoo! So here’s what you do:

Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees. Toss the bread pieces in a large bowl with the s&p, garlic, and olive oil. Lay the bread on a baking sheet and pop it in for 5-10 minutes until toasty. Let it cool a bit.

Whisk remaining olive oil and balsamic. Add more if you like it that way. Toss the bread, tomatoes, onion, and basil, and then toss in the dressing. Let it stand so the juices work their magic for about 20 minutes or so.

Oh, and if you find yourself in a dining out kind of mood, The Acorn makes an heirloom tomato panzanella salad with potato scallion bread that we’re seriously addicted to. Sit by the window, order the panzanella, and let the late summer breeze roll in.

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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.