For those who love tomatoes, the middle and end of summer is just the best time of the year.

The battle cry: carpe tomato! The gorgeous tomatoes start to appear in July, and flood the markets (and our gardens, if we’re lucky) for a couple of months. So let’s be prepared.

Keep your eyes open for those gorgeous heirloom tomatoes. Some available varieties include Cherokee Purple, Brandywine, Green Zebra, Black Krim, Mr. Stripey, Azoychka, Aunt Ruby’s German Green, Cherry Roma, Tomato Gold Medal, and Black Cherry. The names alone are cheerful, and if you just slice up a bunch, drizzle them with olive oil, and give them a sprinkle of salt and freshly ground pepper you will be in heaven. Look for heirloom tomatoes at supermarkets, of course, but better still at farmers’ markets during the summer and early fall seasons.

Any tomato lover knows, fresh tomatoes are really best in season. Out-of-season tomatoes are often pale and flavorless. Hothouse tomatoes are your best bet outside of the summer months. Plum tomatoes, grape tomatoes and cherry tomatoes are also available year round.

This is my (not even close to complete) list of must-make tomato recipes this summer. Oh yes, please also see How to Cook Tomatoes and How to Cook Cherry Tomatoes.

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47 Recipes with Tomatoes

What to do with all of those summer tomatoes!

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