A Cure for the Winter Blahs (esp. when it's -17)

The Heirloom Tomato

From Garden to Table

Recipes, Portraits, and History of the World's Most Beautiful Fruit

written by Amy Goldman

photographs by Victor Schrager

My first experience growing an heirloom variety of tomato was not that great. I didn't like the texture of the fruit and found it lacking in taste. So I never understood what all the fuss was over heirloom tomatoes. Then last year my garden neighbor (I have a plot in our community garden) who grows heirloom tomatoes exclusively gave me some of here big beautiful, flavor to die for tomatoes. Then I understood. And I was hooked, just like every other gardener who has grown the right variety. In her book Amy Goldman painstakingly examines many of the available varieties and takes the guess work out of it for us. Here lyrical descriptions of the flavors and uses for each tomato left my mouth watering. This is not your average boring garden book. It is at the same time informative and a joy to read. Schrager's photographs of the fruit on vintage pottery proves that the tomato really is the world's most beautiful fruit. But we gardeners already knew that. This book is the perfect accompaniment to the seed catalogs arriving daily in your mailbox. Be forewarned, you will have to put the book down for a while for want of tasting these delicious gems.