broiled heirloom tomatoes

I'm officially back in the kitch! I know it's been awhile since you've seen anything from me - that was one result of a busy time at work followed up by vacation to Seattle. The Seattle trip included many culinary treats: savory sushi and seaweed salad at Umi Sake House with Dave P., gastronomically pleasing Greek at Panos Kleftiko Taverna with Dave T., white truffle popcorn and Washington wine with Megan at The Local Vine, fresh fish tacos with Shannon at Southlake Grill, and tasty homemade meals at the Newsteads' and the Zawatskis'.

Though I sampled a lot of terrific food over the past week, I'm excited to have my kitchen back at my disposal! JR did not fulfill my request to consume all of the veggies that came in the CSA box last week, but the upside of that is that there were plenty waiting for me upon my return home yesterday. Including some very ripe heirloom tomatoes. These became part of our meal last night. Here's what I did:

Broiled Heirloom Tomatoes

Serves 2

2 large heirloom tomatoes, cut into 1 inch slices

1 Tbsp. fresh oregano leaves

1 Tbsp. fresh thyme leaves

olive oil

sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

Oil a broiler pan with a generous amount of olive oil. Position top oven rack 5 inches from broiler. Preheat broiler on high. Arrange tomatoes in a single layer on broiler pan. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and half of the oregano and thyme. Drizzle with olive oil.

Broil the tomatoes on high 8-10 minutes (long enough that they begin to roast, but not so much that they start to fall apart). Remove pan from oven. Move tomatoes immediately to two shallow bowls. As the tomatoes cool, their juices will fill the bottom of the bowls (this is the tastiest part, in my opinion!). Sprinkle each dish with the remaining oregano, thyme, and olive oil if desired. Serve tomatoes warm or at room temperature.

Our tomatoes were so juicy that this was almost soup-like. A great modification would be to use a hand mixer to turn the tomatoes into a full-on soup. I'll likely try that next time!

While we're on the subject of tomatoes, the following pic is of a beautiful tomato Stephanie gave me from her garden a couple of weeks ago. (Thanks Steph!) There is something almost indescribably delicious about fresh tomatoes. Speaking of which, the ones in my garden are beginning to ripen, which means more tomato recipes will likely be coming soon. Check on the other happenings at Cole's Container Garden.