Friday, July 22, 2011

You say “Tomato”, I say “Kumato”

The thing about dogs is that they don’t understand when you say “it’s too hot for a walk.”

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When I tell him that, I’m met with a head-tilt to the right and then to the left.

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So off we go. I wear the only shoes I can bear to wear in this heat. Much better for walks than flip-flops but not as hot as sneakers. Yes, they are TOMS. Yes, they are kind of ugly. But they are stupidly comfortable and I suppose I’m almost approaching that point in life where I accept comfort over style. Almost.

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I read this face to say “come on lady, quit taking pictures… let’s go!”

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Of course we stop at every hydrant/telephone pole/STOP sign for a sniff around.

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When we made it home, both panting, I needed sustenance and remembered these “brown tomatoes” I picked up the other day.

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Kind of weird or kind of cool? A Kumato, developed in Spain, is often referred to as a “gourmet tomato”. It is sweeter than a regular tomato due to a higher level fructose. The Kumato also has a longer shelf-life than a regular tomato.

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Buying these on a whim, I had no idea how I was going to use them. After some consideration, I went with a simple salad.

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I couldn’t have picked a better way to showcase these tomatoes, I mean “kumatoes”.

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{Cold Kumato Salad}

  • 6 Kumatoes, quartered and then quarters cut in half
  • 2 scallions, chopped
  • 1 T olive oil
  • 1 T red wine vinegar
  • 2 oz goat cheese crumbles

Whisk olive oil and vinegar together. Add Kumatoes and scallions to a bowl. Pour olive oil and vinegar mixture over them. Mix together. Gently mix in goat cheese crumbles. Chill salad for at least 30 minutes before enjoying.

*Serves 2-4 as a small side

Have you ever seen/cooked with Kumatoes before? How are your pets fairing in this heat wave?

6 comments:

  1. Oh golly, your dog should talk to my dog, who hates going for walks and often runs away when I get the leash! (True story.)

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  2. That salad looks exactly like what I love to eat all summer long.

    We feel really bad about the no walks thing too. We have a 90-pound chocolate lab and it's just way too hot to take him very far.

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  3. I FINALLY gave in and tried kumatos a few weeks ago and I am in LOVE. They are right up there with heirlooms for me.

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  4. I just got my dog yesterday after a month long vacation from each other so it's weird getting back into the routine of taking care of him. Add that to the fact I'm in South Florida and it's pretty much unbearable. Thank God my parents have a fenced in back yard because he just goes out there and will play for awhile and come back in when he is hot, it's perfect.

    I've never heard of kumato but I am intrigued by it now, if I can find it, I will have to try your recipe. I just found out what Toms were when I was in Boston-everyone was wearing them!

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  5. Yum! I love simple, fresh salads like this in summer. When heirloom tomato season rolls around, I can't get enough of them.

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  6. I keep seeing these and wondering what they are! Thanks!

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