Go Ahead, Honey - Extreme Raw and Uncooked Edition

Cheryl of Gluten-Free Goodness is hosting this round of Go Ahead, Honey - It's Gluten Free!, the always delicious and often humorous gluten-free blog event started by Naomi of Straight Into Bed Cakefree and Dried. The focus of this round of GAHIGF is on raw and uncooked foods, perfect for steamy summer kitchens.

You might think that coming up with an uncooked food idea would be easy enough, but I didn't want to just submit a boring entry, like a peanut butter sandwich or cold leftovers, which is what we've been chowing down on in these busy and hot July days. Like our host Cheryl, I had a few fits and starts with this Extreme Raw and Uncooked Edition. At first I made a simple pineapple sorbet as bookmarked from the Fat Free Vegan Kitchen, but my family thought it was too sour, so I was forced to scarf it up all by my lonesome. It is a great recipe for a hot summer night, but you have to be a dedicated pineapple lover, and while my tribe loves grilled pineapple and upside-down pineapple cake, that's as far as they go, alas.

What to do...what to do....

Then I went into the garden for inspiration. I rummaged through many tomato leaves, finally scoring the first beautiful eating tomato of the season: all sun-ripened and ready to pick. The Striped German Tomato is really a gorgeous fruit. It is an heirloom variety with lots of ridges, bumps and splits; a sunrise of a tomato with yellow and red striped flesh that has the soft texture and colors of a nectarine. It is very, very juicy and has a mellow, sweet tomato flavor. You WON'T find this delectable treat at a supermarket, but will have to grow it yourself or hopefully find one at a farmer's market.

The Striped German Tomato is perfect for drippy tomato sandwiches and is wonderful sliced and macerated with a little dressing and sliced basil leaves. Pair it with some bread or rolls and you've got dinner.

Striped German Tomato Salad

1 large Striped German tomato, cored and sliced
Handful of fresh basil leaves, sliced thin
Splash of rice vinegar
Splash of extra virgin olive oil
Coarse salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Spread tomato slices on a serving plate or shallow bowl. Drizzle with vinegar and olive oil. Sprinkle with basil leaves and salt and pepper. Let stand at room temperature at least 15 minutes to marinate and exude tomato juices.

After you gobble this down, you can save the juice for a tomato salad dressing for sliced cucumbers and greens.

Be sure to check back with Cheryl's blog for the roundup of easy, uncooked recipes in the next couple of days.